Pook named 2025 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Bob Russo Heritage Award winner

Yahoo

07-02-2025

Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach founder and visionary Chris Pook — who is largely regarded as the father of modern-day street course road racing in North America — will be doubly honored at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) 37th Induction Ceremony Presented by Toyota Racing Tuesday, March 11, at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. Just weeks before the 50th running of America's premier street course race in Long Beach, Calif., Pook will be presented with the prestigious Bob Russo Heritage Award and serve as the Honorary Chair of the formal gala honoring MSHFA's Class of 2025 inductees.
In addition to Pook's entry into MSHFA as just the 17th Heritage Award recipient in the Hall's nearly 40-year history, the complete Class of 2025 includes Skip Barber (Sports Cars), Miguel Duhamel (Motorcycles), Carl Haas (Open Wheel), Ed Iskenderian (At Large), Dale Jarrett (Stock Cars), Tony Schumacher (Drag Racing), Bill Stroppe (Off Road), Louie Unser (Historic) and William K. Vanderbilt (Historic).
The MSHFA's highest honor next to induction, the Bob Russo Heritage Award is named in recognition of the longtime motorsports journalist and historian and is presented only by the recommendation of the MSHFA Board of Directors in recognition of the recipient's contributions to motorsports.
Among the recent motorsports powerbrokers awarded the Bob Russo Heritage honor is Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris, who was the first recipient of the award since 2017 at the 2023 MSHFA Induction Celebration. Last year, the first dual Heritage Award recipients in MSHFA history were presented with the honor, with Lynsi Snyder-Ellingson, the owner and president of In-N-Out Burger, for her efforts to preserve the future of drag racing in the U.S., and Edsel B. Ford II, the 'Godfather' of Ford Motor Company's racing efforts and a prominent ambassador for the sport of auto racing globally.
In addition to his Heritage Award honor, Ford was also the first to simultaneously serve last year as an Induction Ceremony Honorary Chair. Pook will capably fill those big shoes next month in Daytona as he accepts the Bob Russo Heritage Award in addition to presiding over the 37th Induction Ceremony presented by Toyota Racing as the 2025 Honorary Chair.
'It will be with great humility and considerable pride that I will accept this dual honor at the annual Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Ceremony presented by Toyota Racing in March,' Pook said. 'Of particular significance is that it comes on the 50th Anniversary of the first Long Beach Grand Prix, which would not have occurred without the help and support of many people, particularly the late Dan Gurney who embraced and supported the concept from the very start! I would also like to thank MSHFA President George Levy and the entire Board of Directors at the Motorsports Hall of Fame for bestowing this great honor, not only to me, but also indirectly on the City of Long Beach and everyone on the GPALB, Inc. team, past and present, who have shepherded the event to where it is today. Thank you!'
Inheriting his entrepreneurial spirit from his father, who ran a variety of small businesses, Pook was properly educated at a series of private schools in his native England before attending the Sorbonne University in Paris. He soon set his sights on America in 1963 when he was 22 and – after a day or two in New York City – decided the sunshine and business potential of Southern California better suited him. He settled in Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles, and started a successful travel agency.
F1 hit the streets of Long Beach in 1976. Rainer Schlegelmilch/Motorsport Images
Days after watching the Monaco Grand Prix on TV in 1973, Pook was working in his office listening to a mid-week radio broadcast of that May's rain-delayed Indianapolis 500 and had the idea of a Monaco-style street race in Long Beach. While ideally located between Los Angeles and Orange County in the greater LA region, Long Beach lacked the sunny beach glamour of its neighbors and had instead developed into more of a seaside port town known more for its bars and adult movie theaters.
Unwavering in his focus and even relentless when on a mission, Pook soon convinced both the city of Long Beach and Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone a major open-wheel street race would not only work in Long Beach but could transform the city into a Southern California destination similar in appeal to the region's surrounding locales.
With the powerful support of Orange County-based racing legend Gurney (MSHFA Class of 1991) and other racing greats, Pook was granted a 'proving race' that took place in September of 1975 for Formula 5000 cars and was won by Brian Redman (MSFHA Class of 2002). Redman's winning Lola T332 was owned by the late Carl Haas who joins Pook as one of 2025's MSHFA honorees as the Open Wheel category inductee.
The success of the 1975 race opened the door to the first Formula 1 event just over six months later in April of 1976. A victory by American Mario Andretti (MSHFA Class of 1990) in the 1977 race provided a major buzz in mainstream U.S. news, and around the world, and the Grand Prix of Long Beach was off and running. Formula 1 headlined at Long Beach for nine years before rising costs compelled Pook to switch to CART and Indy cars in 1984, and the race continued to grow.
Toyota became the race's title sponsor in 1981 and over the following 38 years was Pook's most powerful business partner. In that time, Pook's 'crazy idea' to go racing in the streets became a model copied across North America for bringing racing to the people and using it to rebuild flagging urban communities. Today celebrating its 50th anniversary, the now-Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach stands as IndyCar's second biggest event outside of the Indianapolis 500 and is recognized throughout the world.
The 37th MSHFA Induction Celebration Presented by Toyota Racing takes place March 10 – 11 at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. The black-tie gala is the crowning event of this year's two-day Induction Celebration. For the complete two-day schedule, additional information and to purchase tickets, visit the MSHFA at http://www.mshf.com or contact MSHFA president Levy at [phone] or [e-mail].
Story originally appeared on Racer