MILLER: Sunset for 40 years of Pro/Celebrity fun

It's where Hollywood gets a taste of reality, athletes learn that driving isn't as easy at it looks and even astronauts get thrilled. It's where Joe Montana, Queen Latifah, Jay Leno and Martina Navratilova all wore the same uniform. Kelsey Grammer needed counseling after his lone appearance, Tony Dorsett and Larry Csonka literally ran into a wall, Carl Lewis was faster on two legs and Lynn Swann caught a terrible scare.

Dan Gurney and Al Unser Jr. were unbeatable, Danica Patrick scored her first big win there while Frankie Muniz, Jason Priestly and Patrick Dempsey got hooked because of it.

Bizarre? Donny Osmond once shared the podium with Parnelli Jones.

For the past 40 years, the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race has been a staple of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach and it's brought together the rich and famous from all walks of life to race identically prepared Toyota and Scion sedans.

It's 10 laps of mayhem, comedy and occasionally some inspiring driving as the participants all get trained at Danny McKeever's Fast Lane Racing School at Willow Springs in the California desert, before being turned loose.

And this Saturday will be the final race.

"It was a lot of fun – I think Rufus and I scared the hell out of some pretty big names," chuckled Gurney, a four-time winner of the event. "I remember we made a sandwich out of one football star (Swann) and he drove head-on into the tires.

"And once a NASCAR driver tried to spin me out but I reacted faster than he thought and he wound up crashing. Good fun."

There were always two categories, pros and amateurs, but because of the prowess of the 1963 Indy 500 winner and the only American to build and drive his own car to victory in Formula 1, a 30-second gap was instituted between classes.

It didn't matter because Jones (three wins), Al Unser Jr. (three wins) and The Big Eagle still kicked everyone's butt.

"They should have to start a lap behind us," said William Shatner (RIGHT) prior to the 2006 race.

Apollo astronauts Pete Conrad and Buzz Aldrin seemed to have just as much fun as actress Cameron Diaz or Olympian Mary Lou Retton.

"I drive on the [Interstate] 405, so it wasn't that intimidating," said Diaz in 1995.

One of the highlights came in 2002, when sportscar star Tommy Kendall and Patrick (BELOW) made a bet that the loser between them would have to wear a dog collar and be led around the paddock. T.K. graciously crawled on all fours the Sunday of the IndyCar race.

Actor Alfonso Ribeiro, whose turn on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was his calling card, became so adept at driving he twice won the celebrity category and then captured the pro division in 2015.

NFL stars John Elway, Eric Dickerson, Jim Kelly (pictured below getting sacked by David Alan Grier during the 2001 race), Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds, Marc Gastineau, Walter Payton and Kenny Stabler all had a newfound respect for racing following their turn.

"A lot of them were worn out in 10 minutes, so it was good to hear their stories," said Gurney, whose association with Toyota in sportscars helped fuel the celebrity race after he helped persuade the Long Beach city council into trying a street race in 1975. "I know some other tracks tried to copy Long Beach with celebrity races, but none of them lasted very long and it's pretty cool this one lasted as long as it has."

Toyota is moving its headquarters from Torrance, Calif. to Texas, so it was decided this will be the swansong, although the popular IndyCar race still has a contract through 2017 with the auto manufacturer.