Franchitti Has Smooth Sailing At Long Beach

By Joe Jennings
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Updated: April 19, 2009

Long Beach, Calif. – Dario Franchitti made it look easy as he scored a convincing victory for Target Chip Ganassi Racing in the 35th edition of the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. The race also marked the first-ever IndyCar Series event on the famed street circuit.

For Franchitti, the win was his first since returning to the IndyCar Series and his ninth career triumph in the series. His last taste of victory came at the Chicagoland Speedway in 2007.

The Target Chip Ganassi team celebrated its 25th victory in the IndyCar Series.

“I have lots of Champ Car street and road course wins, but I haven’t had one in the IndyCar Series, so to finally get one feels good for a lot of reasons,” the winner said. “Having finished second here twice (to Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya), it is good to be on the other end and get the job done. It also feels good to win in the unified series. Today reminded of the good old days of racing in Long Beach.”

Regarding his race and the strategy employed, he added, “The guys pitted me early, and that got us track position ahead of Will Power, and after that I did my best to save fuel. My second stint didn’t go too well, but on the last restart, the car allowed me to drive it just like I wanted to.”

Asked if felt pressed by runner-up Power, he stated, “If I had to go (faster), there was another two seconds in the car.”

Franchitti dedicated his win to his wife, Ashley Judd, who celebrated her birthday today.

Starting second, Franchitti trailed leaders Will Power and Raphael Matos in the early laps before passing Matos on the 15th circuit. Thereafter, he only lost the lead during pit stops. At the end, he held a solid 3.3 second advantage.

The victor led 51 of the 85 laps around the 1.97-mile, 11-turn street course.

Will Power, driving without an operational communication system, took second place in the Team Verizon Wireless car fielded by Team Penske.
“It was a great day,” Power said. “We had no radio and no telemetry, so I was doing it off the steering wheel and off the pit board. Second is very good, and I feel happy for the guys, as they put a lot of effort into it. Team Penske has given me a fantastic ride, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Tony Kanaan raced his way into third place after starting 11th. Said the Brazilian, “We work better under pressure, I guess. It’s a good day for Andretti Green Racing and a great job for my 7-Eleven team. When we have a car to win, we win, and when we don’t, we finish on the podium.”

Danica Patrick brought another AGR home fourth, and she came from the 22nd starting position after spinning out and hitting a wall during qualifications. “We have made incredible strides through being sort of calm with the car in the last couple of runs, and just putting something comfortable under me, and then our strategy was good as well.”

The high-profile driver realized when the race was over that she may have had a chance at victory if a yellow flag had come out at slightly different time. Her team believed with a little luck she could have been in the lead at one point in the race.

Fifth place went to Dan Wheldon, who had started 14th.

Sixth went to Marco Andretti and seventh to comeback driver Helio Castroneves.

With emotion after the race, Castroneves said, “Wow. That’s the first word that comes to mind. It was a special day for me. As I rode around the track before the race, the crowd gave me so much support. It was emotional, but I was thinking, ‘I have to race and I have to focus.’ I have to thank the fans from all over the world for their support. It is an incredible compliment that I’ll never forget.

“It was rough in the beginning because I didn’t want to couch anybody. I saw the nose of my car had some scratches, but that’s what happens when you haven’t been in a car for a while.”

Castroneves hadn’t practiced in traffic and he indicated it took time getting accustomed to running near other cars.

Eighth through tenth were Raphael Matos, Robert Doornbos and Alex Tagliani, who picked up one position on the last lap.

Eighteen of the 23 starters were running at the end.

Five caution flags slowed the race for 18 laps. Scott Dixon, E. J. Viso, Justin Wilson and Darren Manning were among the accident victims.

The IndyCar Series moves to the Kansas Speedway for its first oval race next weekend.