By snoadmin
After two qualifying sessions, the final starting lineup for the Champ Car race is in place.
This race is not only important because it’s the main event of this weekend’s race, but also because it will be the last Champ Car race.
Champ Car has merged with the Indy Racing League (IRL) and next year’s event will be focused on IRL.
The 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Champ Car line up is as follows:
Row 1: Justin Wilson, Alex Tagliani
Row 2: Frank Perera (R), Will Power
Row 3: Paul Tracy, Frank Montagny (R)
Row 4: Nelson Phillipe, Enrique Bernoldi (R)
Row 5: Graham Rahal, Mario Dominguez
Row 6: Bruno Junqueira, Oriol Servia
Row 7: Jimmy Vasser, E.J. Viso (R)
Row 8: Antonio Pizzonia (R), Alex Figge
Row 9: Roberto Moreno, David Martinez (R)
Row 10: Mario Moraes, Juho Annala
(R) indicates a rookie.
Wilson, who finished in the top spot with a time of 1:06.902 and a speed of 105.898 mph replaced former three-time TGPLB winner Sebastian Bourdais in the McDonald’s Racing Team for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. Wilson continued Bourdais’ pole-winning streak of 2006 and 2007, by taking the 2008 pole when he recorded the fastest lap of the weekend. This was Wilson’s seventh Champ Car pole.
The final race tomorrow will be preceded by a number of ceremonial events. Starting at 12:15 p.m. the cars will be on the grid. Following that there will be a vintage Champ Car parade then the drivers’ parade. Once the drivers are in their cars there will be the invocation and the national anthem. The drivers will take a formation lap and at approximately 1:06 p.m. the Champ Car race will start. The race will last for one hour and 45 minutes.
