NASCAR out as Penske Entertainment takes over Long Beach Grand Prix

Amid speculation that NASCAR would purchase the Long Beach Grand Prix, those rumors were silenced when Penske Entertainment bought the street race a few weeks ago. The acquisition adds to many other well-known racing assets the group has purchased in recent memory.

Back in March, rumors swirled that NASCAR could be the frontrunner to purchase the Long Beach Grand Prix after the sport wrapped up its final visit to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Southern California for its annual season-opening Busch Clash. NASCAR's Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovations Officer Ben Kennedy made a statement to RACER on the matter last March.

"The Southern California market is extremely important to NASCAR,” Kennedy said. “We have explored several different options in the area, and will continue to do so. I won’t speak specifically to any particular racetrack in Southern California, but will say that if we had our druthers, we would have a race in Southern California every year.”

However, any hope NASCAR had of acquiring the Long Beach Grand Prix were drowned out when Gerry Forsythe, a long-time IndyCar owner, purchased a 50 percent stake in the street race and made his intentions known for what type of event it will be in the future.

“The estate has agreed to sell its 50% to me,” Forsythe said via RACER. “If [any series] has its sights on Long Beach please tell them to look elsewhere. This [is] an IndyCar event, and it will be into the future.”

That's when Penske Entertainment, founded by long-time motorsports owner Roger Penske, bought the Long Beach Grand Prix to ensure the event stays synonymous with the IndyCar Series. The entertainment group is a parent company of the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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The L.A. Coliseum hosted NASCAR's Busch Clash the last three seasons

Once a staple at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway to kick off the season, NASCAR moved its annual Busch Clash, a short exhibition race, to the L.A. Memorial Coliseum in Southern California ahead of the 2022 Cup Series season. The venue held a 150-lap race around a 0.25-mile track.

The event would only be temporary as NASCAR will be moving to Bowman Gray Stadium to host the race next year. Joey Logano, this year's Cup Series champion, won the inaugural event in 2022. The following year, Martin Truex Jr. wheeled his #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to victory for his first Busch Clash win.

This season, Denny Hamlin notched the win in the 150-lap event in his #11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The victory made for a memorable TV moment as the Virginia native acknowledged the fans booing him by saying:

"You know I beat your favorite driver again, right?"

The Cup Series circuit will continue to race at the Sonoma Raceway road course, which now stands as the lone track on the schedule in the state of California.