For a few moments Sunday afternoon, the Grand Prix of Long Beach took a somber turn.<\/p>\n
Shortly before the IndyCar Series drivers started their engines for the titular Grand Prix, race officials and local leaders paused the festivities to pay tribute to Jim Michaelian, an iconic figure in Long Beach and motorsports history.<\/p>\n
Michaelian, the former president and CEO of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach, died March 21 at 83 years old, only a few weeks before he was to lead the city\u2019s 200-mph beach party for the last time.\u00a0 Ask anyone in the know and they\u2019ll say Michaelian was the driving force behind the Grand Prix becoming one of Long Beach\u2019s biggest annual events and the second-most prestigious IndyCar race, behind only the Indianapolis 500.<\/p>\n
\u201cI first met Jim in June of 1975 on an elevator at the Port of Long Beach, where we were headed for a dreaded Coastal Commission hearing,\u201d Grand Prix founder Chris Pook said during the tribute, with Michaelian\u2019s wife, Mary, and children Mike and Bob standing behind him. \u201cHe had heard about a Monte Carlo style street race being proposed for Long Beach and wanted to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Cofounder](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776809170_750_LPT-L-GPLB-DAY3-0420-DM-019-1.jpg\")
Cofounder of the Grand Prix of Long Beach, Chris Pook talks about his friend and founding staff member Jim Michaelian, who passed on March 21, 2026, speaks to race fans prior to the INDYCAR race during the 51st Grand Prix of Long Beach in Long Beach on Sunday, April 19, 2026 (Photo by Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News\/SCNG)<\/p>\n
During his career, Michaelian led the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach through not only the boom times, but also some challenges, Pook said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe led the company successfully through the IndyCar wars,\u201d Pook said. \u201cHe earned yours, the city\u2019s and the sponsors\u2019 respect and rebuilt the attendance only to be knocked down again by the COVID pandemic from 2019 to 2020. And, once again, he rebuilt the company as witnessed by your presence here today in what seem to me to be record numbers.\u201d<\/p>\n
The large crowd, which just moments ago had been cheering, dancing and chatting, were still, listening to Pook.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a cruel strike, he was taken from us, but knowing Jim Michaelian as I do, I know that if he were here today, he would want to say thank you,\u201d Pook said. \u201cThank you to you for being here, (and) thank you to his team at the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pook concluded his speech by asking the crowd to pay tribute to Michaelian.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease join me in saying thank you, Jim Michaelian, for what you gave this company, this city and this sport,\u201d Pook said to a somber crowd. \u201cThank you to his wife, Mary. Thank you to his two sons, Mike and Bob, for giving us Jim Michaelian for the past 51 years. God bless you, Jim. May you rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The crowd erupted into applause.<\/p>\n
Then, Pook moved to the side of the stage as a tribute video played on the large screens above the crowds, featuring photos of Michaelian\u2019s life and career, from 1975 to last year, when the Grand Prix celebrated its golden anniversary.<\/p>\n
Jim Liaw, co-founder of Formula DRIFT, took the stage following the tribute video.<\/p>\n
Liaw, had already been appointed to succeed the man he viewed as a mentor. But when Michaelian died last month, he assumed the role a few months early.<\/p>\n
\u201cJim has been a mentor and champion throughout my career in motorsports,\u201d Liaw said. \u201cSo, standing here today is truly an honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson concluding the tribute, emphasizing the impact Michaelian and the Grand Prix of Long Beach has had on the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs our dear friend Jim Michaelian would say,\u201d the mayor said, \u201c\u2018there\u2019s nowhere in the world where you will find a 200-mile-an-hour beach party, but here at the Long Beach Grand Prix.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Shortly after the tribute, the green flag waved, and the Grand Prix of Long Beach got underway for the first time without its longtime leader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For a few moments Sunday afternoon, the Grand Prix of Long Beach took a somber turn. Shortly before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279216,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[7,131,28942,133,132,137,100],"class_list":["post-279215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-california","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-grand-prix","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279215"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279215\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}