Full Throttle

Dario Franchitti has won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach resurrecting his dormant IndyCar career after his aborted foray in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series.

A second resurrection occurred as Danica Patrick finished 4th after starting the event at the tail of the field in 22nd position.

Dario Franchitti: “It was a lot of fun! The race came down to the timing of my first pit stop, and Chip [Ganassi] and the team called it perfectly, as the ‘reds’ were just starting to go off a little bit. The pace of the reds was fabulous, and they did just what we expected. They were very, very fast, but they didn’t have the longevity that the primary Firestone Firehawk tires did. The primaries were consistent, and we ran and we ran with them with no drop-off whatsoever.”

Danica Patrick: “It was a good job on the strategy for the #7 car. We pitted at the right times. If the yellows would have fallen just right, maybe we’d have made it to the podium, but there was just no passing out there. Unfortunately, I made a little mistake and Will Power got by and then Tony Kanaan got by me.

But it was a much better day than yesterday’s qualifying run. I’m real proud of my crew for keeping their heads down and making a result out of it, instead of getting down. The Motorola guys did a great job and got me out quickly.”

Helio Castroneves, who got back in his Team Penske car Saturday after being acquitted of federal tax evasion charges, started eighth and finished seventh.

“I’m so happy to be back,” said the Brazilian, who even led a handful of laps despite not even driving a race car for the past six months. “I thought I was going to be really tired, but I’m ready for the next race. I was sore this morning. My muscles were hurting. But this is what I love and I’m so glad to be back.”