80,000 Expected Sunday As Toyota Grand Prix Revs Up In Long Beach

LONG BEACH (CBSLA.com) — Tens of thousands are expected to attend the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday.

Chris Esslinger, the director of communications for the Grand Prix Association, says Sunday marks the event's biggest day.

The day will get underway at 9 a.m. and will feature IndyCars practicing, followed by the Pirelli World Challenge Sports Cars at 10 a.m.

"It's a sports car race. It's going to run about 50 minutes or so," he said. "These are, they look like the factory cars, but race-packaged."

Ryan Eversley, who will be competing in that challenge, says his pre-race routine includes having a lot of coffee.

Esslinger said the Verizon IndyCar series is slated to get underway at 1:30 p.m., and will be followed by the SPEED Energy Stadium Super Trucks, a fan favorite.

"These trucks, not only do they race each other around the track (and these are trucks that are meant for off-roading), but we have jumps set up around the track, and they are actually going to jump these trucks down the track, and it gets quite exciting," he said.

Organizers say the annual weekend event attracts crowds in excess of 180,000.