While the regulars of the IndyCar Series do their stuff on the opposite side of the Pacific Ocean, those that joined them in the newly-unified future of US open-wheel racing will remain in the States to bid farewell to Champ Car.
With the Motegi and Long Beach events unable to find alternative dates for the 2008 events, IndyCar organisers had little option other than to schedule both as point-scoring races towards this year's championship, splitting a field that was just getting to grips with one another after two events - one each on an oval and street course - at Homestead and St Petersburg.
It also means a change of machinery for those racing in California, as the Panoz-built DP01-Cosworths are dusted down after a couple of months in mothballs for one last thrash around the streets that came to symbolise the Champ Car World Series, and will help to form the backbone of future US open-wheel campaigns.
The entry list, while still to be finalised in the days leading up to the event, already contains several names made famous by Champ Car, alongside others who cut their teeth in the series but have been left high-and-dry by unification and those that successfully made the switch to IndyCars at Homestead. Completing the picture are a handful of relative novices, eager for one chance to show their worth.
At 20 cars, the grid is expected to be the biggest seen for a Champ Car race in Long Beach since 2002, as the 34th Toyota Grand Prix bids farewell to the CCWS as it did earlier in its history to both F5000 and
Formula One.
