LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Dario Franchitti came here believing the seaside street circuit in downtown Long Beach owed him a win.

He collected Sunday, winning the first IndyCar Series race at the venue that previously hosted the CART circuit and its now-defunct successor, Champ Car.

In six previous times racing in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach -- all in CART -- Franchitti came close to taking the checkered flag twice -- finishing second to Alex Zanardi in 1998 and Juan Pablo Montoya in 1999.

Zanardi and Montoya had one thing in common: Both were driving for Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

"Yeah, the Target cars do have a great history here,'' Franchitti said. "I remember distinctly following that Target (logo) on the rear wing, so it's nice to be on the other end of that today and get the job done. And it feels great to win again in the IndyCar Series.''

And he did it in a Target Chip Ganassi Racing car.

It was a big win for both Franchitti and his team owner because it wasn't easy for either of them to accept the failure last summer when a lack of sponsorship forced Ganassi to shut down Franchitti's Sprint Cup team in the former IndyCar Series champion's abortive move to NASCAR.

"For both of us, that was very tough to swallow because we're used to such success,'' Franchitti said Sunday after giving Ganassi his fifth victory here, but his first since that Montoya win.

``Chip lost an awful lot of money last year, I lost my drive and a bunch of people lost their jobs. So I don't think it was easy on anybody.''

The win in only his second race back in IndyCar, and only his second race driving an open-wheel car for Ganassi, was a big moment for both.

As Franchitti was interviewed after getting out of his car, a beaming Ganassi walked up, hugged his newest driver and said, ``Sweet.''

It was all he had to say.

Franchitti dominated this time, leading 52 of the 85 laps and beating runner-up Will Power, the pole-winner, by 3.318 seconds --half of the final straightaway.

``That was a lot of fun,'' said Franchitti, who dedicated his ninth IndyCar victory to actress wife Ashley Judd, who celebrated her 41st birthday watching the race from the Target Chip Ganassi Racing pits.

Judd said, ``With about 25 laps to go, I got really nervous and I said to myself, `This is the Target Chip Ganassi team. Winning is what they do.' So I was able to calm down a little. I'm just so happy for him.''

It was also a big day for 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 three 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.''