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Ryan Hunter-Reay crossing the finish line for the win in Long Beach.

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Ryan Hunter-Reay, the newest member of the Andretti Autosport quartet, received a bear hug from the CEO in Victory Circle. That meant a lot coming from a racing champion and newest enshirnee of the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Fame – Michael Andretti.

Hunter-Reay prevailed in the breakneck Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach – a race slowed by a lone full-course caution (tying an IZOD IndyCar Series road/street course record) – holding off Justin Wilson by 5.6031 seconds to give Andretti Autosport its first victory since June 2008 at Richmond (Tony Kanaan). Sux teams were represented in the top 10.

“It was the most fun I had in a race car because it was handling so well,” said Hunter-Reay, who is the first American-born driver to win at Long Beach since Andretti in 2002. “My mom is out there today. She passed along recently and this race is for her. Over the last couple of laps I said ‘This is for you, Mom.' ''

Said Andretti: "I love this place. It's where I got my first win as a driver (1986) and where I got my first win as a sole owner."

Will Power, the championship points leader and pole sitter, finished third in the 85-lap race on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn circuit. He heads to the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway on May 1 having extended his lead to 42 points over teammate Helio Castroneves (130). Hunter-Reay is third (129) and Wilson is fourth (125).

"The Verizon Wireless car is still leading in points and the team has a goal of winning the championship, so we are still in line for that," said Power, who won the first two races of the season. "Overall, it was a good day, but on one lap I got stuck in first gear. I have no idea why that happened and I hope it doesn’t do that again because I slowed down. I was able to get out of it and speed back up, but it hurt my placement."

Hunter-Reay, driving the No. 37 IZOD car, took the lead initially on Lap 18 when Power’s No. 12 Verizon Team Penske slowed exiting Turn 11 because the car was stuck in first gear. He regained it for good on Lap 59 as cars cycled through for their final pit stops.

Wilson, who matched his season high in the No. 22 Z-Line Designs car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing and also won at The Glen in ’09, overcame a Lap 53 incident while he was running second to regain the position from Power 14 laps later.

Wilson’s front nose assembly was damaged as it caught the right-rear tire of the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America car for Dale Coyne Racing attempting to overtake the lapped car in Turn 8. A 16-second pit stop for rhinoplasty and fuel, and Wilson was back on the course in 13th position.

“I am really disappointed," Wilson said. "Alex was a lap down and he nearly took Ryan (Hunter-Reay) out a couple of times. Once Ryan got past, it got him off line and slowed him up. I dove down the inside of Turn 8 and I braked pretty late. I just got the door slammed in my face. Even if you aren’t going to give way to the leaders, you need to leave room at the apex to back out. Nothing you can do about it.

"We had to come in and change the front wing and we were just in mad fuel saving mode after that. It’s just a shame that it happened. We had a great day. The Z-Line Designs car was fantastic.To have a front wing change and to come back in finish second is an amazing day.”

Hunter-Reay, who started a season-high second, didn't make a noticeable mistake.

"This is a race that means a lot to me," said Hunter-Reay, a former California resident. "This is the 'Indy 500' of street courses. I've been watching this race since I was a little kid. To do it right now -- the timing is unreal. We've been working so hard on this IZOD car and on this team. To do it in our fourth race - we feel like we're just getting started. This is a snowball that is just starting to roll."

Scott Dixon, the runner-up at Barber Motorsports Park a week earlier, was fourth in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing car and Andretti Autosport’s Tony Kanaan finished fifth. Mario Moraes, who started 15th in the No. 32 KV Racing Technology car, advanced to finish a season-high sixth.

Helio Castroneves and Team Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe finished seventh and eighth, respectively. It was the first time since Watkins Glen in ’08 that a Team Penske car had not finished either first or second.

"It was an interesting race," said Castroneves, who won at Barber Motorsports Park a week earlier. "It was very unusual in that there were so few yellow flags. We definitely had a car that was better than seventh place. Unfortunately, we lost a few positions during our second stint. The good news is we are still second in the championship points. We need to keep pushing heading into Kansas at our first oval race."

Dan Wheldon finished a season-high ninth in the No. 4 National Guard Panther Racing car, and Mike Conway gave Dreyer & Reinbold Racing two cars in the top 10.