Toyota Grand Prix races on the streets of Long Beach

Dario Franchitti took first place in the IndyCar Series at the 35th annual Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Franchitti said at the press conference after the race, "that last restart we were able to get on it again, pull away, and the Target car, the pace was great all day from the car. It allowed me to drive exactly as I wanted to … Great to finally win here in Long Beach."

Will Power, last year's ChampCar Series winner, took second. Power was 3.3182 seconds behind Franchitti.

Tony Kanaan placed third, his 68th career top-five finish.

This was Franchitti's ninth career victory in the IndyCar Series but his first victory on a road/street course.

Power had no radio or telemetry during the race, making it more difficult for him since he could not communicate with his pit crew except the pit board.

"I'm very happy," Power said. "Second is very good."

Second place is Power's best IndyCar finish. Toward the end of the race, Power said he tried to conserve as much fuel as possible. He will not race again until the Indianapolis 500.

Kanaan's third-place finish was his 11th consecutive top-10 finish, the longest streak in the IndyCar Series.

Danica Patrick, one of the most popular drivers in the series and a fan favorite, came in fourth. Patrick started in the 22nd position and moved her way up to second by the 35th lap. She held that position until Lap 51 when she went into the pit lane for tires and fuel.

"We obviously had our moment in qualifying," Patrick said, "with spinning out and hitting the wall." Patrick said she would like to improve her qualifying to start the race at the front. She moved up 18 spots in yesterday's race, which was more than any other driver. This was her 12th career top-five finish.

The IndyCar series race consisted of 85 laps around the Long Beach street course, which is just short of two miles long.

According to Firestone engineers, the track temperature was 121 degrees under the Long Beach sun, the ambient temperature was 88 degrees.

Power lead past the start/finish line and into Turn 1. Power held his lead until the yellow flag in Lap 17.

There were five yellow flags during the race. The first was in Lap 17 when EJ Viso and Scott Dixon made contact in Turn 6. In Lap 24 the yellow flag came out again when Mario Moraes made contact with cars slowing for Turn 11, the hairpin turn. Justin Wilson made contact with Moraes, causing Moraes to do a quarter turn and block the track.

Darren Manning and Hideki Mutoh also made contact with the stopped cars and Dan Wheldon stopped behind the cars, resulting in five cars blocking the almost the entire track with very little space for other drivers to pass. The last three yellow flags resulted when Ed Carpenter, Mike Conway and Moraes made contact with tire barriers in Turns 1, 8 and 5, respectively.

The next IndyCar Series will take place at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. on Sunday, April 26.

The IndyCar series wasn't the only attraction that brought people to downtown Long Beach this weekend for the Toyota Grand Prix. There was also Firestone Indy Lights, American Le Mans Series and the traditional Pro/Celebrity race.

JR Hildebrand won the Indy Lights.

Gil de Ferran won the American Le Mans series in an Acura ARX 02a.

This year's celebrity winner was Keanu Reeves and the pro winner was Al Unser, Jr.

For attendees not extremely interested in racing, the Lifestyle Expo had a number of different displays from hot sauce to video games and new commuter car options to a blackjack table.

In the kids area were inflatable obstacle courses, slot car races, trampolines, and motocross, BMX and skateboarding demonstrations.

Over in Shoreline Village fans could get their own taste of racing by driving go-karts around a small course set up in front of the Yard House.

This year's Toyota Grand Prix hosted two concerts over the weekend. Mexican blues/rock band El Tri performed on Friday evening, and Saturday's concert featured rock band Puddle of Mudd.

Forumula DRIFT -- Streets of Long Beach

The grandstands of turns Nos. 9 through 12 on Long Beach's Grand Prix street course were the epicenter of excited drift fans under sunny skies Saturday.

It was Round 1 of the Formula DRIFT Pro Championship and 32 drivers were out to compete. The 32 qualified Friday, where 47 people initially competed.

The top 32 competed tandem style, two cars going at once, down to the top 16, top eight, and top four. In tandem competition, one driver leads and the other shadows.

Ryan Tuerck, took first place, Stephen Hubinette second and the 2008 champion Tanner Foust came in third.

The Formula Drift Streets of Long Beach competition drew a diverse crowd to downtown Long Beach for some serious motorsports showmanship.

Fans almost filled four grandstands and many others lined up along the fence behind rows of cameramen, other media people and crew members.

Tents next to the straightaway between turns Nos. 9 and 10 were also full.

Countless other fans wandered through the vendor fair and between the trucks set up by each drift team. They could see the cars up close and, with the right timing, could meet the drivers.

Even more people watched from balconies of surrounding buildings.

On the other side of the track, across the Firestone bridge, was the JTuned Auto Gallery. More than 60 modified cars were on display in the gallery varying in makes and years. All the cars on display were modified for drifting.

Drifting involves controlling a powerful car as it slides sideways at high speeds through a marked course. The sport originated in Japan and crossed the Pacific to the U.S., where it thrived underground until bursting into the mainstream over the past few years.

One thing that brought drifting to the public eye was the 2006 release of the movie "The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift," in which Foust was a stunt driver.

On Thursday, I got to ride along with Foust in his RWD Scion tC. It was a little scary as first, sliding toward a wall but Faust had the car under control and made the turn, speeding on to the next one. His angle and speed impressed me the most.

As in any motorsport, there is a risk of crashing, which is something fans enjoy - as long as no one is seriously injured. When Conrad Grunewald drifted right into the tire barrier, taking off the rear bumper of his Chevrolet Corvette, spectators rose out of their seats cheering and remained standing to watch the cleanup crew in action.

Early in the Top 16 competition, one car lost its rear bumper, inspiring one fan to shout, "I want that bumper!"

Drifting fans lucked out on the weather. Friday's event was covered by clouds, but Saturday was sunny with very few clouds over the track.

After this competition, Formula Drift moves to Round 2 in Braselton, Ga. Formula Drift will find its way back to Southern California in October for the final round of the season.

Vintage chic

It's always nice to have family and friends with great taste. Recently, I was fortunate enough to acquire a new-old pairs of shoes from my aunt. These shoes, made by RE-MIX are reproductions of a 1940s style and they are basically amazing. Until I have an occasion to wear them, I will continue to wear them around my house. Compared to some of my other heels, these ones are quite comfortable. Besides, a vintage look adds something extra to an otherwise ordinary outfit.

The same can be said for vintage cars. You might feel like your life is a little drab. Daily routines can become bland and without that something extra, you'll fall right into a rut. A classic car could be the cure. Unfortunately, classic cars can be quite pricey to own. So do the next best thing -- the auto version of window shopping -- check out the classic cars, hot rods, street machines, muscle cars and trucks at the GoodGuys 3rd Meguiar's Orange County Get-Together.

With more than 2ooo cars to look at, you can live vicariously through other people for the cost of a ticket -- $15 in case you were wondering. And at this event, you can do more than look at the cars in park.

The 3rd Meguiar's Orange County Get-Together will feature an autocross event. That's right, at the fairgrounds a street course will be set up for drivers to test their skills and spectators to spectate. Personally, I've never been to the OC Fair and Event Center, so I can't really describe what the course will look like, but who doesn't love seeing cars go fast? Especially cars that people have put so much time, money, effort and heart into.

Of course, along with all the hot cars will be a variety of vendors and exhibits and those are always fun to check out. You might even get to see a Sham-WOW!

If you're in the Southern California area, you should go check out the event, I already checked the forecast, sunny skies and mild temperatures! I think I might even wear my new-old shoes.

Time for a makeover and Peggy Lee update

OK, OK. So I haven't blogged since November. But cut me some slack, I had finals, then enjoyed a wonderful vacation where I didn't think about school or anything related to school -- and that includes this blog originally started for the purpose of publication in my campus newspaper.

Now I'm in my last semester of college and sadly taking 18 units with an internship, so my posts might again be sporatic, but I'll try to be good. There are a lot of exciting things coming up this spring.

First, I should tell you, I'm changing the focus of this blog. Actually, it's more accurate to say I'm splitting the purpose. While bringing you my views on the automotive industry, I'll also be focusing on classic cars, including updates on my own Mustang.

Now that I feel like I've covered the administrative stuff associated with blogging, on to the interesting part of the post!

If any of you are confused by the title, I'm not delusional. I know Peggy Lee the singer died seven years ago. I am talking about my 1965 Mustang, whom I have named Peggy Lee -- yes, after the singer. What can I say? That car gives me fever.

Picking up where I left off, after winning the car, I had to sadly go back to Long Beach and back to school. Everyone asked where my car was and some didn't even believe I won until I showed people pictures/articles/the winning key -- which I take everywhere with me for luck.

My parents were able to go over to the Good Guys headquarters and pick the car up. Meanwhile I was itching for a chance to go home and sit behind the wheel again.

That chance came when I went home for Thanksgiving. I got home, hugged my car, and then went inside the house to say hello to everyone. On clear days, when driving conditions were ideal, I drove the car whenever I could, even Thanksgiving Day, before people came over for dinner. Once the usual crowd showed up at my parent's house, I couldn't wait to offer people rides -- keyword being rides, as I don't let many people drive my car. It was great for me to be able to show off my car and drive it around town, sadly since it was a holiday, not many people were out to oogle her.

Thanksgiving break is never long enough. I didn't feel like I got to spend enough quality time with Peggy Lee, so I started counting down until winter break.

As the weather got worse, my dad bought a cover for Peggy Lee, to shield her from the elements.

After what felt like an eternity, I finished my exams and headed back to the Bay Area. Since I got home after dark, I knew I would have to wait one more day before I could uncover my Mustang. But that's exactly what I did Saturday morning.

Sadly, Saturday afternoon the clutch burned out on Peggy Lee. My older sister was driving at the time, and while I was mad at her when it happened, it wasn't entirely her fault. So with the help of my sister, her friend and my dad, we pushed Peggy home. It took the whole family to get her into our sloped driveway.

And that's where she sits today. My dad occasionally runs the engine to keep things working, but Peggy hasn't seen the streets since Dec. 20. I'm hoping to get her back to driving conditions as soon as possible.

That's the Mustang news, check back soon as the Good Guys car show season starts in Orange County in March -- more information on that is coming soon -- and the countdown to the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach will commence in the upcoming weeks.

As far as my next post goes, I'm hoping to spark your interest with the line of electric MINIS cruising different cities.