LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Two years ago, Bobby Rahal stood at the starting line a few minutes before the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach roared to life. Everywhere you looked there were people -- packed into the grandstands, shoulder-to-shoulder in the pits and perched on the outside of high-rise apartment buildings.

As the vintage Formula One and champ cars made their way down Shoreline Boulevard the sun-baked crowd roared its approval.

	Since 1984, the streets of Long Beach, Calif., have been CART's showcase in the United States.

"Wouldn't it be great if we had 20 venues like Long Beach?" said Rahal, the three-time CART champion who along with David Letterman co-owns the cars of Jimmy Vasser and Michel Jourdain Jr.

"It's such an awesome atmosphere and these fans really get it."

Since 1984, when then-promoter Chris Pook replaced F1 with Indy cars, the streets of Long Beach have been CART's showcase in the United States.

A weeklong buildup that includes black-tie parties and racing flea markets in the middle of downtown commences with a three-day show that draws in excess of 200,000 people.

More importantly, it's one of the best partnerships in motorsports history.

When Pook convinced Dan Gurney to help him sell a Monaco-like race to the city's fathers in 1975, the main drag in Long Beach was an eyesore with drug dealers and porno shops dominating the landscape.

But the steady stream of revenue brought in by 18 CART races has transformed this community into a progressive place with skyline full of first-rate hotels and restaurants.

And, while CART revitalized Long Beach, the race returned the favor by giving the FedEx Championship bragging rights to the biggest weekend in California each year.

"I know a lot of people thought we were crazy back in the mid-'70s but to see how this city and this race has grown together should make everyone proud," said Pook, who became CART's president and CEO last December but still has a fondness for his creation.

"What stands out to me is the venue is bigger than the show and you can't say that about every track. Long Beach has taken on a life of its own and just grew and grew.

"It's Americana running at its very, very best."

The key to Long Beach is how it mixes the masses -- from serious gearheads to girl watchers to the corporate crowd to kids just wanting to be near fast cars and bikinis.

"You think about the accumulation of all the things," said Jim Michaelian, Pook's righthand man for three decades who now calls all the shots. "The environment, the beach, the facilities we have.

"Who knows how many people come to the event to meet other people. It makes it attractive to the non-race fan."

That's the unique thing about Long Beach. While open-wheel racing struggles to try and regain its oval-track crowd, CART's largest stateside hits are road and street courses but nothing tops this event.

On Friday, anywhere from 30,000 to 40,000 turn out to watch practice and the first-round of qualifying. Saturdays usually draw upwards of 50,000 for the Toyota celebrity race, Trans-Am and final qualifying. On race day, Pook always announced a slight increase every year with a figure hovering around 90,000, but he couldn't keep a straight face when it was suggested there were 25,000 people just walking around for two hours.

The tight, unforgiving street circuit tests the driver's skills but it doesn't make for the greatest racing in the world and passing is at a premium. But these fans don't seem to mind if an Unser, Andretti or Zanardi runs away and hides. Just as long as it's loud, sunny and there's plenty of skin on display.

"Long Beach isn't a race, it's a happening," said Michael Andretti, CART's all-time winner who scored his initial champ car win here in 1986. "I've been coming here a long time and I still get excited about it. I wish every race had this kind of atmosphere."