The Long Beach Grand Prix was the brainchild of promoter Chris Pook, a former travel agent from England. Pook was inspired by the Monaco Grand Prix, and believed that a similar event had the potential to succeed in the Southern California area. The city of Long Beach was selected, approximately 25mi (40km) south of downtown Los Angeles. A waterfront circuit, near the Port of Long Beach was laid out on city streets, and despite the area at the time being mostly a depressed, industrial port city, the first event drew 30,000 fans. The inaugural race was held in September 1975 as part of the Formula 5000 series.
In 1976, the United States Grand Prix West was created, providing two grand prix races annually in the United States for a time. Long Beach became a Formula One event for 1976 and the race was moved to March or April. Meanwhile, the United States Grand Prix East at Watkins Glen International was experiencing a noticeably steady decline. Despite gaining a reputation of being demanding and rough on equipment, Long Beach almost immediately gained prominence owing much to its pleasant weather, picturesque setting, and close proximity to Los Angeles and the glitzy Hollywood area. When Watkins Glen was dropped from the Formula One calendar after 1980, the now-established Long Beach began to assume an even more prominent status.
Despite exciting races and strong attendance, the event was not financially successful as a Formula One event. The promoter was risking a meager $100,000 profit against a $6–7 million budget. Fearing that one poor running could bankrupt the event, Pook convinced city leaders to change the race to a CART Indy car event beginning in 1984. In short time, the event grew to prominence on the Indy car circuit and has been credited with triggering a renaissance in the city of Long Beach. The race was used to market the city, and in the years since the race's inception, many dilapidated and condemned buildings have been replaced with high-rise hotels and tourist attractions.
The event served as a CART/Champ Car race from 1984 to 2008, then became an IndyCar Series race event in 2009. The 2017 race was the 43rd running, and the 34th consecutive as an IndyCar race, one of the longest continuously running events in the history of American open-wheel car racing. On three occasions (1984, 1985 and 1987) the race served as the CART season opener. In seven separate seasons (1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993 and 1994), it served as the final race before the Indianapolis 500.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 race was canceled as part of the City of Long Beach's ban on events with estimated attendance of more than 250. The following year, as a preparatory measure for the pandemic's effects on the schedule, the race was moved from its traditional April date to September 26, and served as the season finale. With the rise of the Delta variant there were concerns from IndyCar and the event promoters that the race would have to be canceled for 2021 or run with an attendance cap, but the promoters and the city of Long Beach were able to work out a compromise on safety measures and rapid testing to allow the event to go forward with full capacity.
The Grand Prix returned to its traditional April date for the 2022 season.
On March 28, 2024, it was announced that former ChampCar owner Gerald Forsythe would buy a 50% stake in the Long Beach Grand Prix from the estate of the late Kevin Kalkhoven.
The current race circuit is a 1.968mi (3.167km) temporary road course laid out in the city streets surrounding the Long Beach Convention Center. The convention center actually doubled as the pit paddock during the days of Formula One. The circuit also goes primarily over the former location of The Pike historic amusement zone. The track is particularly noted for its last section, a sharp hairpin turn followed by a long, slightly curved front straightaway which runs the length of Shoreline Drive. The circuit is situated on the Long Beach waterfront, and is lined with palm trees (especially along the front straightaway towards the Aquarium of the Pacific), making for a scenic track. Long Beach is classified as an FIAGrade Two circuit.
The circuit has undergone numerous layout changes since the race's inception in 1975. All iterations have featured a signature hairpin turn, main stretch along Shoreline Drive, and back stretch along Seaside Way or Ocean Boulevard. The first grand prix layout measured 2.020mi (3.251km), and featured two hairpins, one at each end of the Shoreline Drive straightaway. In its early years, the starting line and the finish line were located on different sides of the course.
In 1982, the hairpin turn and the end of the main stretch (turn 1) was removed, and replaced with a 90-degree right turn, followed by 90-degree left turn. When the race became a CART series event, the layout was changed significantly. The final turn hairpin was moved to the east, closer to the pit entrance. Other slow chicanes and turns were removed. After a minor tweak to the layout in 1987, the track was shortened in 1992 by the removal of the Park Avenue loop. That created a longer Seaside Way back stretch and a faster run to the passing zone.
In 1999, due to new construction in the area, the turn one set of curves was removed, and replaced with the new fountain complex. Turn one now became a 90-degree left turn, leading into a roundabout around a fountain, and a series of three 90-degree turns. A year later, this segment was revised again, to create a longer straightaway leading to Pine Avenue. This course layout remains intact today.
In 2015, a modified 1.324mi (2.131km) version of the Grand Prix track was used during the Long Beach ePrix of the FIA Formula E Championship, which featured seven turns. The ePrix was held once again in 2016. In 2017, Formula E went to Brooklyn Street Circuit instead of there.
The unofficial track record is 1:05.3095, set by Colton Herta in a Dallara DW12, during qualifying for the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. As of April 2026, the fastest official race lap records at the Long Beach Street Circuit are listed as:
Category
Time
Driver
Vehicle
Event
Grand Prix Circuit (2000–present): 1.968mi (3.167km)
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Grand Prix Circuit (1975–1977)
Grand Prix Circuit (1978–1981)
Grand Prix Circuit (1982)
Grand Prix Circuit (1983)
Grand Prix Circuit (1984–1986)
Grand Prix Circuit (1987–1991)
Grand Prix Circuit (1992–1998)
Grand Prix Circuit (1999)
Grand Prix Circuit (2000–present)
Formula E Circuit (2015–2016)
Álex Palou, Dallara IR-18, 2022, IndyCar)
Sébastien Buemi, Renault Z.E 15, 2016, F-E)
Juan Pablo Montoya, Reynard 99I, 1999, CART)
Bobby Rahal, Reynard 98I, 1998, CART)
Niki Lauda, McLaren MP41C, 1983, F1)
Nelson Piquet, Brabham BT49, 1980, F1)
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