Local News
Rich Archbold: Grand Prix of Long Beach founder remembers planning race on a restaurant napkin
When he was working feverishly in 1973 to get the first Grand Prix of Long Beach off the ground, one of the things Chris Pook remembers vividly is a cocktail napkin.
If you’re wondering how a cocktail napkin fits into the history of a race that has become a worldwide motorsports success story — and will celebrate its 50th anniversary next weekend — you’re in luck.
I recently sat down with Pook, the founder of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach to talk about that napkin and those early days, when he was struggling against multiple obstacles to host a car race on the city’s streets.
We met at the 555 East Restaurant on Ocean Boulevard. Back in the 1970s, that location was Lombardo’s, a venerable restaurant owned by an ebullient Leonard Lombardo.
Pook’s travel agency was outside the back door of Lombardo’s, so it was a convenient place for him to do his personal business — and then his Grand Prix work.
“Leonard was a great big guy, very Italian, from New York,” Pook recalled. “He was an old-fashioned restaurateur who greeted all of his customers by name. It was definitely the place in Long Beach to see or be seen.”
For more on the napkin and other insights and recollections of those early Grand Prix days, keep reading.
Q: When did you get the idea, which some people said was crazy and would never happen, to run a grand prix race on the streets of downtown Long Beach?
A: On Memorial Day 1973, I was a young travel agent (age 32) in Long Beach watching on television a grand prix race on the streets of Monaco when an entrepreneurial lightbulb went off. I thought to myself, “If Monaco can do it, why can’t Long Beach?” I figured this would help the city’s economic development and also help my travel business.
Q: You were born Christopher Robin Pook in 1941 in Glastonbury, in the south of England. Were you a racing fan in England before you came to the United States?
A: Oh, yes. I loved racing. I first discovered motor racing after World War II when cars were racing at an airfield that had been abandoned after the war. I was 7 or so and rode my bike to watch drivers race. I also made pram racers with wheels from baby carriages, which in England were called prams or perambulators. In 1960-61, in my early 20s, I did some amateur rally driving with Mini Coopers and Austin-Healeys. One of my favorite races was driving from Glasgow to Monaco. I liked competing and enjoyed it. I also met the famous Dan Gurney during a race. He didn’t know me, but he was friendly. He was to have a big impact on me and the Long Beach race 15 years later.
Q: Why did you immigrate to the United States?
A: I believed there were more opportunities to get ahead in the United States if you were prepared to work hard, which I was. I came to California in 1963, did some construction work and started Hollywood Tours, a sightseeing tour business. Eventually, I opened a travel agency in Long Beach in 1971 in the Fidelity Savings and Loan Building next to Lombardo’s. I was married with two children and working hard with my travel business when I saw the grand prix race in Monaco on TV.
Q: You needed city approval for the race. John Mansell was city manager at the time. Describe your first meeting with Mansell when you talked about putting a contract before the City Council.
A: I thought Mansell typified a character out of one of Damon Runyon’s novels. When we entered his office, he had his back to us in his chair, with his feet up on the credenza. We could only see the top of his hat — a cloth fedora. He turned around in his chair with a cigar in one hand and an apple in the other, and his opening words were, “So you want to run a car race in my city, huh?” Everything went fine until I was asked the name of our company. I hadn’t really thought of that, but The Grand Prix Association of Long Beach was the answer that rolled off my tongue.
We had to quickly incorporate that name. That’s when we went back to Lombardo’s and we structured the company — that is, who could be the CEO, VPs, etc. — on a Lombard’s napkin, which attorney Don Dyer took with him to register the company that afternoon and in time for the council meeting, which is when the Grand Prix of Long Beach was officially born.
Q: You were relatively new to Long Beach. Did you know anyone on the City Council?
A: No. My path to councilmembers was the introduction to Al Crutchley at his sporting goods store, where I met Councilmen Don Phillips, Tom Clark, Russ Rubley and Bert Bond on the Saturday morning before the council meeting.
Q: Did you ever think the Grand Prix of Long Beach wouldn’t survive?
A: There were several occasions when I was concerned that we would be stopped. Two of the occasions were with the California Coastal Commission. In July of 1975, in San Diego, we prevailed. The worst was in January 1977 in San Francisco, when the late Peter Douglas came to me and said he was going to recommend an adjournment because we did not have the votes. The real savior was then-Gov. Jerry Brown, who had his office make calls to his appointees because Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula 1 motorsports executive, said the Coastal Commission’s cancellation of the Long Beach race would create “a slap in the face” to an International Sporting Federation made up of over 100 countries. Jerry Brown was about to run for president, and his office was concerned that fallout from cancellation of the race would have a negative effect on his campaign. The Coastal Commission approved the race.
Q: Did you ever think there were just too many obstacles to continuing the race and wanted to quit?
A: No, never! I always believed we would succeed.
Q: What kept you going?
A: I’m not really sure. Probably a good bit of naivety, the enthusiasm from Dan Gurney and the people at the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau and the belief that, if we could make it work, it would be really good for the city and business. Gurney was of real importance because he instilled in me that the event was worth fighting for, no matter what it took. I also had an incredible supporter from Day 1: a local businessman, John Queen Sr., who worked tirelessly with me in 1974 and 1975 on a pro-bono basis and then formed the Grand Prix Charity Foundation, which has endured over all these years and has raised millions of dollars for the less fortunate of our community. (It’s formal name is the Grand Prix Foundation of Long Beach.)
Q: When Mario Andretti won the race in 1977, did you feel you had turned the corner on the event?
A: Yes. When we got massive media coverage from around the nation and the world after he won that year, we realized that what we had promised the city would happen, actually happened. During the same time frame – 1977-78 – together with Toyota, we developed the Toyota Celebrity Race, which drove our Friday and Saturday audiences up in quantum leaps, which, in turn, allowed us to get financially healthy.
Q: Do you have any favorite races? Favorite drivers?
A: My favorite races: 1977 when Andretti, Jody Scheckter and Niki Lauda put on an 80-plus lap driver demonstration, with Andretti winning, and 1983 when John Watson and Lauda started on the last row of the grid and sliced through the entire field to finish one and two.
My favorite drivers: Andretti and Al Unser Jr. because they were so good with the media, worked with us, with everyone, and always spoke highly of Long Beach.
Q: You were recently inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame, where you were honored “as the father of modern-day street course road racing in North America.” How does that and the 50th anniversary of the Grand Prix of Long Beach make you feel?
A: I feel very humbled by this. I would be less than honest with you if I didn’t say that every time I drove through today’s downtown, I feel a little sense of pride, but this must be shared with a whole lot of people. This was not just me; I had some tremendous folks who worked alongside me, from Jim Michaelian (the current CEO and president of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach) and his personal assistant, Allison Wilson; to Patti Butcher and Gemma Bannon, my personal assistants; to Pete Biro, Hank Ives and Adam Saal in public relations; Brian Turner, our original marketing director and Mike Clark, his successor; and to Dwight Tanaka, operations director. One cannot operate this kind of an event without volunteers and the Committee of 300. A big thanks to city officials, including John Dever, George Medak, Jim Hankla, John Shirey, Jerry Miller and former Mayor Beverly O’Neill.
Finally, my wife, Ellen, has kept my feet on the ground and in the right direction for 40-plus years. She is the champagne in my bottle, and I am lucky to have her by my side.
By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points a day after being named the NBA’s MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overwhelmed the Minnesota Timberwolves again, winning 118-103 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 12 for 21 from the field and 13 for 15 from the free-throw line after receiving his MVP trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver before the game.
“I feel like all my emotions were so high, but I was a little bit tired out there, especially at the start,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I was a little too juiced up. Special moment. I’m happy we won so I can really enjoy the last couple days and soak it up. That really helps.”
Jalen Williams had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Chet Holmgren added 22 points for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort was named first-team all defense and Williams was named second-team all-defense earlier in the day. They helped anchor a unit that held Minnesota to 41.4% shooting.
“When you win games, you do it together and you have fun out there, everything else – all the individual stuff you want – it comes with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points for Minnesota, but it took him 26 shots to get them. Jaden McDaniels scored 22 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 17 for the Timberwolves.
Game 3 is Saturday in Minneapolis.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in the first half, then made a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to help Oklahoma City take a 58-50 lead. He scored 19 points before the break.
“We didn’t close the half very well,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “I thought if we close the half better then we don’t put ourselves on such a razor edge in the third.”
In the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the paint and threw up a wild shot that went in as he was fouled by his cousin, Alexander-Walker. Gilgeous-Alexander made the free throw to give the Thunder a 73-64 lead.
A lob by Cason Wallace to Holmgren for a two-handed jam on a fast break put Oklahoma City ahead 82-65 late in the third quarter. The Thunder took a 93-71 advantage into the fourth.
Minnesota closed to within 10 in the final period, but Oklahoma City kept the Timberwolves at bay late. Now, Minnesota gets to go home, where it is 4-1 in the playoffs.
Finch remained optimistic.
“Every minute in a series is a chance to find something,” he said. “So we’re going to go back home. This is a good team at home. So we’re going to go home and fight for Game 3. Heads up, look at the tape and get ready for Game 3.”
MONTEBELLO – The deeper a team goes in the playoffs, the tougher it gets. The Montebello baseball team has found that out the last three seasons.
The Oilers have amassed 61 wins during that span, but each time they have bowed out of the CIF Southern Section playoffs in the quarterfinals.
Montebello had flawless pitching and defense over the first two rounds of the postseason, but three errors helped contribute to a 7-3 loss to Heritage Christian in the Division 6 quarterfinals Thursday.
The Oilers (20-10) briefly threatened in the bottom of the seventh by scoring two runs, but left the bases loaded.
Heritage Christian (20-8-1) advances to Tuesday’s semifinals. It will face the winner of Friday’s game between Marshall and Santa Fe.
“You know, they are fighters year in and year out and this is the third year in a row going to the quarterfinals,” Montebello coach Manny Arana said. “We’ve had success and they’re all winners and we instill in them to be a winner. You have to be a fighter.
“You could see that in the last inning with a ball that could have gone five feet either way and put the tying run on base. After that, anything can happen. That’s baseball.”
Leading the way for the Oilers were senior center fielder Isaiah Cervantes, who had two singles, and freshman shortstop Nathan Govea, who had two singles and scored a run. Senior catcher Roberto Barraza had a double and an RBI.
Heritage Christian senior shortstop Eden Nalin led the way for team with three hits and an RBI, while three other players had two hits apiece.
The Warriors (22-8-1) opened the scoring with two runs in the first inning. One run came across on the first of three errors by the Oilers.
Two innings later, Montebello cut the lead in half with a run in the third inning.
Starting pitcher Fernando Cruz singled up the middle with two outs and came home on a double to left by Barraza.
The Oilers left two runners on base in the inning and also left runners on second and third in the second inning.
“From day one in the playoffs we’ve told them you have to throw strikes, play defense and get a clutch hit,” Arana said. “The first two games we did that and (Thursday) we had a couple of opportunities early and missed and that hurt us.”
Cruz opened the playoffs with a one-hitter. On Thursday Cruz scattered six his through five innings with five strikeouts.
“It’s been a good ride with my teammates, and we’ve been playing together for almost two or three years,” Cruz said. “I’ve shared the field with these seniors since before high school.”
The sixth inning turned out to be the downfall for Montebello, as the Warriors scored three runs.
With two outs, an infield pop fly was dropped for the third error of the game. That loaded the bases and the next two Warriors batters combined to knock in the three runs and increase their lead to 5-1.
Two more runs came across the next inning for a 7-1 advantage.
“In the seventh inning, we were down 7-1, but our team almost managed to get a comeback,” Cruz added. “We had the tying run at the plate, but just couldn’t get it done.”
Cruz was referring to the two-run rally and how they left the bases loaded to end the game.
Govea opened the inning with a single to left. Senior left fielder Devin Lopez was hit by the pitch and Cervantes loaded the bases with a single to right center.
An RBI walk to junior second baseman Michael Rios brought in the second run and a sacrifice fly by Cruz sent Lopez in to score. A fly ball to right ended the game and season for the Oilers.
Two tenant unions and several residents have each filed lawsuits against the city of Pasadena and the county of Los Angeles, frustrated in what they allege are agencies that have failed to meet their legal responsibilities to inspect and enforce safe and habitable living standards for renters following the Eaton fire.
Neighborhood Legal Services of L.A. County, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, announced on Thursday morning that, in conjunction with the legal firm Morrison Foerster LLP, it had filed lawsuits on behalf of the Altadena Tenants Union, Pasadena Tenants Union, along with four named wildfire survivors.
“The message that we’re sending with these lawsuits is simple,” said Whitney O’Byrne, a partner with Morrison Foerster and a board member of NLSLA. “When a government agency fails to protect the health and safety of its residents, especially the most vulnerable, it must be held accountable.”
The lawsuits aim to force government agencies to take legally required actions to thoroughly inspect rental residences for hazardous toxins and see that appropriate remediation methods are used by landlords to make them safe and livable.
“A primary issue presenting was that landlords were not remediating units contaminated with toxic smoke, soot and ash,” said Lena Silver, director of policy and administrative advocacy at NLSLA.
Silver said the city and county governments are responsible for conducting the inspections that are the first step in the process, but they have not met that responsibility.
“The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, responsible for enforcing and inspecting habitability rights for tenants in unincorporated Altadena, and the City of Pasadena Code Compliance Division, responsible for doing the same in Pasadena, both maintain that smoke, soot and ash inspection do not fall within their purview,” she said.
“Pasadena continues to state that smoke and ash remediation is a purely civil issue,” Silver said. “While Los Angeles has informed us that it has performed a handful of inspections, the type of inspection they’re providing cannot adequately identify the health risks of the impact of toxic smoke, soot and ash.”
L.A. County Public Health did not comment on the claims, and Pasadena’s spokesperson said the city has not been served with the lawsuit and couldn’t respond.
Conditions have put tenants between a rock and a hard place, Silver explained. Because some landlords are refusing to pay for the professional, certified remediation necessary to address toxins imbedded in places like walls and insulation, renters are having to make a choice.
Some have moved back in to unclean units and have begun experiencing health issues, Silver said, because they can’t afford to move elsewhere. Others are still living in temporary quarters, or in their cars, or paying two rents at once in order to keep their Altadena and Pasadena places, because they’re ultimately more affordable.
“We’ve also heard stories of tenants paying out of pocket at extremely high cost for testing just to confirm the toxic levels of lead and other contaminants that we know are present,” Silver said.
Brenda Lyon, a tenant in Pasadena, asked her landlord to file a homeowner’s claim in order to bring in a qualified remediation team, but they refused. Instead, she and her husband paid out of pocket for the work, expecting reimbursement from the landlord.
“I called every politician’s office, every city office,” Lyon said. “I was advised to file a code compliance, so I did, (but) the code compliance was denied, stating my problem was a civil issue.
“A habitable premise, per the state of California, is a right of a tenant,” she said, “so why would no one in the city make that happen for me?”
When she and her husband again approached the landlord about filing a homeowner’s claim so the couple could be reimbursed, they were told No and that, if they didn’t like it, they could move.
“We need our city to have our back, so that we can all move back in safely,” Lyon said.
Katie Clark, a founder of Altadena Tenant Union, who lost her rental home of 15 years to the Eaton fire, said she speaks with people every day that are still displaced, are living in unclean facilities, have been hit with illegal rent hikes, or are a step away from being homeless because their money is dwindling as they cover the cost of temporary housing.
“Throughout all of this, Los Angeles County has been virtually silent when it comes to the plight of tenants,” she said.
Many, Clark said, are people of modest means who rely on rent-controlled apartments to get by.
“The county has consistently passed the buck and shrugged off its responsibilities, telling tenants, ‘You’re on your own,’” she said.
“We’ve been told there’s nothing the County can do,” she said. “We know that’s not true … Just because we don’t own property doesn’t mean we’re not part of this community.”
Silver and the legal teams from both groups intend to make both Pasadena and L.A. County meet their obligations.
“The County and City must immediately provide adequate inspections of rental units with smoke, soot and ash damage caused by the Eaton fire and do it in a manner that actually ensures the health and safety of tenants,” Silver said. “They must cite property owners for any damage and they must require property owners to remediate that damage promptly and thoroughly to eliminate any health risks.”
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.
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