With the Super Bowl, the Waste Management Open, and the Arizona Auction Week, Phoenix started off 2023 with a buzz of activity. All the auction sites were quite busy with Barrett-Jackson setting another record at over $184M sold featuring 1907 collectible vehicles.
Finally! After two stifling pandemic years, we finally had what seemed like a coming out party in the Arizona Auction Week 2022. Venues were packed, people were smiling, records were set.
Spring brings racing to Southern California, and several of the season’s best events happen over the next couple of weekends.
First of all, this weekend we have the Porsche Club of America (PCA) 13th Annual California Festival of Speed at Auto Club Speedway. The Festival of Speed is the largest Porsche event in the Southwest, and it really does have something for everyone: Cup Races, Time Trials, Autocross, Concours, Vendors, & a Swap Meet. More info including schedule and map on the calendar here: California Festival of Speed.
Next weekend the TUDOR United Sportscar Championship (TUSC) and IndyCar come to SoCal for the 40th Grand Prix of Long Beach – a massive weekend celebration of SoCal speed. Long Beach is really a can’t miss event for motorsports fans. Check out what SoCal’s Bill Auberlen of BMW Team RLL has to say about the party that is Long Beach here on the TUSC site. Information, tickets, schedule, map, fan guide and much more can be found here: Grand Prix of Long Beach.
So far, aside from some really horrible officiating calls that have directly effected the race results, the unification of ALMS and Grand-Am under the TUSC banner has worked out quite well. In particular, the series seems to have gotten the balance of power between the former ALMS LMP2 cars and the former Grand-Am DP cars just about right. No surprise, the racing the in the GT classes has been particularly exciting and competitive.
IndyCar welcomes fan favorite Juan Pablo Montoya back to open wheel racing with Team Penske with teammates Will Power and Helio Castroneves. The competition between the Penske guys, Team Ganassi (Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Briscoe, & Charlie Kimball), and Andretti Autosport (Ryan Hunter-Reay, Marco Andretti, James Hinchcliffe, and Carlos Munoz) should be particularly close this year. Sadly, we’ll be missing the 2009 Grand Prix of Long Beach winner, Dario Franchitti, who retired in the offseason due to injuries sustained in the Houston race last year.
Also next weekend, the Porsche Owners Cup will be running a Cup Race and Time Attack weekend at Willow Springs.
The 12th Annual California Festival of Speed, the largest Porsche event in the Southwest, comes to Auto Club Speedway April 5th thru 7th. With participation from Porsche Club of America (PCA), who is also the event host, the Porsche Owners Club (POC), and Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA West, this Festival of Speed promises to be one of the biggest and most exciting in recent years.
In addition to the PCA Cup Race and Time Trial, this year’s California Festival of Speed will also include POC Cup Racers and Time Trialers, a PCA Enduro, a PCA Zone 8 Concours, a Taste of Autocross, a celebration of 50 years of the 911, a Porsche Corral, swap meet, and of course, a Vendor Row.
On Friday, the California Festival of Speed features practice session for all groups, track tours, and a Pirelli GT3 Cup Race. Saturday’s schedule includes more practice and qualifying, PCA/POC Sprint Races, another Pirelli GT3 Cup Race, and a 60 minute Enduro to close out the day. Sunday brings three more sprint races, Pirelli GT3 Cup Race, and a Time Trial to close the weekend.
Check the calendar for detailed information, the event schedule for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and a free parking coupon.
Here is the track map for the Auto Club Speedway configuration used for the California Festival of Speed.
A handy web page for Schedule, Track Map, Time Trial entrants by PCA Class, & Results
This gallery contains 8 photos.
For those who have never been to Barrett-Jackson Orange County, there is a lot more here than what you primarily see on SpeedTV – that is, the action in the auction tent. Food, drink, beer (an unbelievable array of choices … Continue reading
Lots of cool action in SoCal this weekend! Two of the best are Barrett-Jackson coming to the Orange County Fairgrounds and HSR West races at Auto Club Speedway.
Weather for both events should be great. Stories and pix to follow…
The biggest West Coast gathering of Ultimate Driving Machines is tomorrow at Bimmerfest 2012 at the Rose Bowl. Bimmerfest, sponsored by HorsepowerFreaks, is a must attend event for BMW fans, and this 13th Annual celebration of the BMW community promises to be among the best yet.
Details posted in the calendar.
Don’t forget what could be the last Dunkel Brothers Open House tomorrow. Here’s a gallery of how it used to be: Dunkel Brothers Swap Meet 2003 posted on Pelican Parts website.
More info on the calendar: Dunkel Bros Open House