
Ep.325-RE-HEATED: Chris Pook
From Dinner with Racers by Dinner with Racers
April 16, 2026 · 1h 57m · Episode 324
About this episode
The episode revisits Chris Pook's journey in creating the Long Beach Grand Prix.
The latest of our RE-HEATED series, where we re-issue episodes that might share something with racing stories in the news… Episode 222 featuring Chris Pook. With the Long Beach Grand Prix happening this weekend, we figured it was a good episode to re-visit. A known figure for a number of motorsport ventures, including running CART for some time, Chris’s wild idea to hold a street race in the California port city of Long Beach in 1974 was the start of tradition that continued today. Hailing from the UK and working as a long-time Long Beach resident, Chris’s path to creating the event was anything but smooth, with the detailed story in this podcast. This is of course a complimentary episode to our “Dinner with Racers” video series on MotorTrend’s YouTube and MotorTrend+ streaming, where you can see the story unfold in a two-part special. Lunch was served at 555 East Steakhouse in Long Beach, CA, with the song “I Got Me” by Jane & The Boy taking us out. Thanks again to Continental Tire and Acura for making it all happen.
People in this episode
Guest: Chris Pook
Topics covered
- motorsport
- Long Beach Grand Prix
- street racing
- CART
- Chris Pook
- racing history
Keywords
- Long Beach Grand Prix
- Chris Pook
- CART
- street race
- motorsport history
- California racing
- Dinner with Racers
Sponsors
Continental Tire, Acura
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: CART, MotorTrend
Books & works: I Got Me
Places: Long Beach, California
More episodes of Dinner with Racers
- Ep.324-RE-HEATED: Jim Michaelian · April 16, 2026 · 1h 48m
- Ep.323-RE-HEATED: RJ Valentine · April 16, 2026 · 1h 42m
- Ep.322-Matt Yocum · February 18, 2026 · 1h 54m
- Ep.321-Anthony Lazzaro · February 18, 2026 · 1h 45m
- Ep.320-Ted Giovanis · February 18, 2026 · 1h 46m
- Ep.319 - Christian Rasmussen · January 5, 2026 · 1h 49m
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