THE
STREETS OF LONG BEACH, CA
Sunday,
April 13, 2014 on NBC Sports Network
Franchitti,
Forsythe, Kalkhoven to be inducted into Walk of Fame
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| Photo
credit: www.lbmotorsportswof.com |
Dario
Franchitti, Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven
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LONG
BEACH, Calif. -- Three motorsports legends with
a history of checkered flags at the Toyota Grand Prix
of Long Beach – driver Dario Franchitti and owners
Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven – will be inducted
into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame on Thursday,
April 10.
The
public is invited to the free, ninth annual induction
ceremony, which will be held at 11 a.m. on South Pine
Avenue in front of the Convention Center, along the route
of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
“Dario
Franchitti, Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven have made
legendary contributions to the field of motorsports, and
they have truly earned their place on the Motorsports
Walk of Fame," said Mayor Bob Foster, who will be
presenting medallions to the honorees. “These three
honorees have tremendous accomplishments, here in Long
Beach and around the world.”
In
2009, Franchitti won the IndyCar Series race at the Toyota
Grand Prix of Long Beach. He has 11 starts here, finishing
2nd in 1998 and 1999, and 3rd in 2011. Franchitti has
four IndyCar Series Championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
and three Indianapolis 500 wins (2007, 2010, 2012). The
Scotland native is the winningest driver in U.S. open-wheel
history from Great Britain, and his 31 career Indy Car
wins place him seventh on the all-time list.
Forsythe
was the winning owner of the 2003 and 2004 Toyota Grand
Prix of Long Beach with driver Paul Tracy. Forsythe’s
teams have won the Atlantic Championship Race here four
times (1993, 1997, 1999, 2006) and the 2003 CART Season
Championship while amassing 32 CART and Champ Car wins.
Several other notable drivers have driven for Forsythe,
including Danny Sullivan, Greg Moore, Jacques Villeneuve,
A.J. Allmendinger, Patrick Carpentier, and Alex Tagliani.
Kalkhoven’s
KV Racing Technology, which he co-owns with Jimmy Vasser,
was the winning owner of the 2008 Toyota Grand Prix of
Long Beach with driver Will Power. Kalkhoven’s team
was also the winner of the 2005 Atlantic Championship
Race here, as well as the 2013 Indianapolis 500 with driver
Tony Kanaan. Several other notable drivers have driven
for Kalkhoven, including Paul Tracy, Simona de Silvestro,
Cristiano da Matta, Oriol Servia, Takuma Sato and Rubens
Barrichello.
Kalkhoven’s
and Forsythe’s investments in motorsports go beyond
owning teams. Forsythe, Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi
created the Champ Car World Series when CART folded after
the 2003 season, and in 2005 Forsythe and Kalkhoven purchased
the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach and have maintained
the success and appeal of the pre-eminent street race
in North America.
“We’re
delighted to acknowledge the tremendous success that Dario
had both here at Long Beach and in his illustrious motorsports
career,” said Jim Michaelian, president and CEO
of the Grand Prix Association of Long Beach. “And
both Gerry and Kevin deserve recognition not only for
their teams’ on-track success but also for their
continued investment in the Grand Prix Association of
Long Beach.”
The
Walk of Fame medallions include renditions of the racers'
cars and their major achievements in motorsports. For
more information, visit www.lbmotorsportswof.com.
Fans
can follow the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Facebook
at GrandPrixLB,
Twitter @ToyotaGPLB
(#TGPLB40) and Instagram at ToyotaGPLB.
Source:
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Logo
credit: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
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