Long Beach Pro/Celebrity Results
(Photos courtesy of Toyota Motorsports) |
LONG BEACH, Calif. (April 12, 2003) - In a down-to-the-finish-line race for first place, "Days of Our Lives" star Peter Reckell captured the checkered flag during the 27th annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Seven-time AMA Supercross Champion Jeremy McGrath finished first in the professional category.
"This year's race was, by far, one of the most competitive ever," said Les Unger, national motorsports manager with Toyota Motor Sales. "The racing field was filled with drivers who take life to the extreme - and their incredible drive to perform was evidenced today. That's what the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race is all about."
RACE HIGHLIGHTS
Reckell, who yesterday earned the PEOPLE Pole Award as the top celebrity qualifier, led the race from start to finish but had to fend off a tough challenge early on from "Monster Garage" host Jesse James, who finished second overall. Adam Carolla, host of "The Man Show" and "Crank Yankers" also ran a strong race, finishing third overall.
In the professional category, McGrath battled former Pro/Celebrity winner Josh Brolin (NBC's "Mister Sterling"), ALMS driver Milka Duno and NASCAR racer Shawna Robinson, winning the top spot for the pros and finishing fourth overall.
The final standings for the field are:
Overall Winner:
1. Peter Reckell - 18:14.894
Celebrity Category:
2. Jesse James - 18:16.990
3. Adam Carolla - 18:38.641
4. Dave Pasant - 18:58.695
5. Angie Everhart - 18:59.923
6. Picabo Street - 19:16.845
7. Bud Gordon - 19:20.051
8. Tommy Shane Steiner - 16:43.400
9. Steve Hartman - 19:06.587
10. Buzz Aldrin - 19:59.704
Pro Category:
1. Jeremy McGrath - 18:41.759
2. Josh Brolin - 18:44.163
3. Milka Duno - 18:48.874
4. Shawna Robinson - 18:50.562
5. Leilani Munter - 19:01.247
During the last 12 years, Toyota has raised more than $1 million for "Racing for Kids," a national fund-raising program to benefit children's hospitals in Long Beach and Orange counties through its involvement with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The 10-lap race will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN 2 on May 3.
2002 RESULTS:
(Photo courtesy of Toyota Motorsports) |
LONG BEACH, Calif. – For the first time ever, two women captured the top two finishes during the 26th annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Nine-time Olympic medallist Dara Torres took the overall checkered flag from a field of celebrity and professional drivers to win the overall race in the streets of downtown Long Beach. Open wheel racer Danica Patrick won in the professional category.
"With two women dominating today, this certainly goes down as one of the most memorable races in our 26 years of running this event," said Les Unger, national motorsports manager with Toyota Motor Sales. "Dara Torres is an unbelievable competitor and it was great to see her do well after coming so close to winning last year. Danica Patrick is a young, up-and-coming open wheel competitor who also made an incredibly strong showing."
Torres, who yesterday earned the PEOPLE Pole Award as the top celebrity qualifier, led the race from start to finish but had to fend off tough challenges early on from former pro wrestler Goldberg and "Malcom In The Middle" star Christopher Kennedy Masterson, who finished second overall. Start Dulé Hill ("The West Wing") and Christopher Titus ("Titus") also ran strong races, finishing third and fourth, respectively in the celebrity category.
In the professional category, Patrick battled former pro driver Tommy Kendall and Indy car racer Sarah Fisher, winning the top spot for the pros and finishing third overall.
2002 RESULTS:
Overall Winner:
Dara Torres – 18:21.70 minutes
Celebrity Category:
1.Dara Torres – 18:21.70
2.Christopher Kennedy Masterson – 18:25.01
3.Dulé Hill – 18:49.60
4.Christopher Titus – 18:56.27
5.Dave Pasant – 18:59.87
6.Keith Crain – 19:05.38
7.Bryan Cranston – 19:05.68
8.Goran Visnjic – 19:06.36
9.Jacob Young – 19:16.75
10.Patrick Stewart – 19:30.32
11.Patrick Warburton (DNF/6 laps)
12.Bill Goldberg (DNF/4 laps)
Pro Category:
1.Danica Patrick – 18:28.30
2.Tommy Kendall – 18:29.77
3.Sarah Fisher – 18:36.54
4.Mark-Paul Gosselaar – 19:05.15
5.Tom Rudnai (DNF/8 laps)
2001 RESULTS:
Piper Perabo teaches Billy Blanks and Erik Pallantino to fight. (Photo courtesy of Toyota Motorsports) |
LONG BEACH, Calif.--April 7, 2001--Ten-year CART racing veteran Scott Pruett took the overall checkered flag at the 25th annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race from a field of celebrity and professional drivers -- just edging out last year's winner, Josh Brolin. Toyota dealer Tom Rudnai barely won the celebrity category over Olympic Gold medalist swimmer Dara Torres -- the best-ever female finisher in the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race and the pole position winner.
"This was one of the most exciting and memorable races in our 25-year history," said Les Unger, national motorsports manager with Toyota Motor Sales. "We not only had our first-ever female pole position winner, but the fans saw the closest race ever with the most competitive and fierce fields ever, Josh Brolin making a incredibly strong showing for the second year in a row."
Driving identically prepared Toyota Celicas, the pros had to give the amateur drivers a 10-second head start in the 10-lap race, and it took Pruett, a former regular in both CART and NASCAR's Winston Cup series, until the end of the ninth lap to take the lead. Pruett beat Brolin by about six car-lengths on the 1.968-mile temporary street course.
Torres led the race for the first nine laps, but after she executed her line flawlessly on the right-hander from Pine to the high speed backstretch of Seaside Way, Tom Rudnai made a last-ditch effort to pass on the inside and hit her right rear bumper, resulting in both drivers careening into a lurid, synchronized half-spin. Both drivers pulled out of the skid and recovered expertly. (It even impressed the racing reporters in press row!) Unfortunately, the loss in speed killed Dara's momentum, and she was overpowered in the last lap -- still finishing less than a half-second behind the winner.
"I'm amazed how competitive this race is," Pruett said. "Josh is a fantastic talent. If he chooses to, he would have a fantastic career. At the end, it just came down to split-second decisions and I was able to take it."
"The only mistake I made was in lap nine," Brolin said. "I missed a shift near turn 11. Otherwise, I would have had Scott Pruett!"
William Shatner said, "That was the kick of my life. I was passed, I passed others and I finished in style."
Photo courtesy of Toyota Motorsports
The final standings for the field are:
Overall Winner:
Scott Pruett - 18:36.569 minutes
Celebrity Category:
1. Tom Rudnai - 18:39.201
2. Dara Torres - 18:39.780
3. Christopher McDonald - 18:53.003
4. Dave Pasant - 19:01.680
5. Mark Consuelos - 19:23.800
6. William Shatner - 19:42.465
7. Erik Palladino - 19:43.709
8. Jim Kelly - 19:44.389
9. Elisa Donovan - 20:35.318
10. David Alan Grier - 17:42.935/9 laps
11. Piper Perabo - 19:28.872/9 laps
12. Billy Blanks - Did not finish
13. Mark Steines - Did not finish
Pro Category:
1. Scott Pruett - 18:36.569
2. Josh Brolin - 18:37.642
3. Robert Huffman - 18:50.206
4. Sara Senske - 19:47.820
As part of the event, Toyota raised over $200,000 for "Racing for Kids," a national fund-raising program to benefit children's hospitals in Long Beach, Los Angeles and Orange counties through its involvement with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
The 10-lap race, held on the 1.99-mile Champ Car track, will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN, Saturday, April 28 at 3 p.m. ET.
2000 RESULTS:
George Lucas and Ashley Judd |
Polesitter Josh Brolin took the lead at the green flag and was never headed, winning the 24th Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity race by almost three seconds over runner-up Joshua Morrow of The Young and the Restless. Other participants in the race, which raised more than $100,000 for Southern California children's hospitals, included John Elway, Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Alyson Hannigan, and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch's Melissa Joan Hart. All drivers were in identically-prepared Toyota Celica GTS cars.
| POS |
NO. |
DRIVER |
LAPS |
TIME |
(DIFF.) |
| 1 |
10 |
Josh Brolin |
10 |
18:26.6 |
(-----) |
| 2 |
15 |
Joshua Morrow |
10 |
18:29.5 |
(2.293) |
| 3 |
6 |
Don Simons |
10 |
18:30.3 |
(3.715) |
| 4 |
25 |
Derek Daly (P) |
10 |
18:32.9 |
(6.318) |
| 5 |
12 |
Shaun Palmer (P) |
10 |
18:34.7 |
(8.132) |
| 6 |
24 |
Robin Yount |
10 |
18:44.0 |
(17.433) |
| 7 |
18 |
Dutch Mandel |
10 |
18:54.9 |
(28.343) |
| 8 |
5 |
Jon Shirley |
10 |
18:55.2 |
(28.604) |
| 9 |
7 |
John Elway |
10 |
19:00.5 |
(33.933) |
| 10 |
19 |
Rod Brewster |
10 |
19:01.0 |
(34.450) |
| 11 |
26 |
Lyn St. James (P) |
10 |
19:02.9 |
(36.348) |
| 12 |
16 |
Melissa Joan Hart |
10 |
19:11.0 |
(44.417) |
| 13 |
20 |
Cliff Cummings |
10 |
19:27.7 |
(1:00.133) |
| 14 |
9 |
Alyson Hannigan |
10 |
19:27.8 |
(1:01.225) |
| 15 |
14 |
Ashley Judd |
10 |
19:29.8 |
(1:03.217) |
| 16 |
12 |
George Lucas |
10 |
19:30.6 |
(1:04.051) |
| 17 |
8 |
Dallas Raines |
5 |
5 laps |
(wussy) |
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