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Scotland's Dario Franchitti won the IndyCar Series race at Long Beach, beating Australian Will Power by more than three seconds.

"That was a lot of fun," said Franchitti, who dedicated his ninth victory to actress wife Ashley Judd, who celebrated her 41st birthday watching the race.

Franchitti said he felt the Long Beach layout owed him after he finished second to both Alex Zanardi and Juan Pablo Montoya during his days in the now-defunct CART series.

He said a pit-stop strategy, starting on soft tyres and making his first stop before the other contenders, was key to the win.

"The timing of that first stop, they called it perfectly," Franchitti said. "After that, we were saving fuel and still making good lap-times."

Power finished 3.318 seconds adrift in the 85-lap race.

"It was a great day. We had no radio and no telemetry, so I was doing it off the steering wheel and off the pit board," Power said. "I'm very happy. Second is very good."

Brazilian Tony Kanaan was third, followed by Danica Patrick. Former series champion Dan Wheldon of England was fifth.

Brazil's Helio Castroneves, who returned to the cockpit on Saturday, a day after he was acquitted of US tax evasion charges in a court in Florida, started eighth and finished seventh.

"Wow," Castroneves said. "It was special day for me. Before the race as I rode around the track, the crowd gave me so much support. I could see they weren't all wearing my shirts, but they didn't care. They were cheering for me.

"It was emotional, but I was thinking, 'I have to race. I have to focus'. I have to thank the fans from all over the world for their support. I need stuff like this to forget about what happened."

Franchitti took the lead in the series standings with 84 points, with Power second on 69.

AFP