1. Chemistry helps Foyt score first win since 20022. Andretti delivers another top-10 finish3. Inside the numbers - Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach

1. Chemistry helps Foyt score first win since 2002: In the fall of 2006, Larry Foyt was named team director of A.J. Foyt Racing. It was a position that carried duties the three-time Indianapolis 500 starter acknowledged he did not initially fully grasp."I always felt comfortable around Indy car racing because I grew up with it, but I had to get back into the Indy car mentality," said Foyt, the son of racing legend and team owner A.J. Foyt. "They do some things differently from NASCAR and the (Indy) cars are more technologically advanced. I spent the first couple of years learning, watching a lot and listening, too."It was important see how things were done, analyze and see where we could improve and work to make changes in those areas. By making small changes, they can add up to big results on the track."Results have been mixed over the last few years for A.J. Foyt Racing, which has fielded entries for a variety of drivers. Results have been mixed for Takuma Sato, as well, in his three-plus seasons in the IZOD IndyCar Series with three teams.He had a high finish of second last July at Edmonton, but received the most notoriety for his all-out effort to overtake Dario Franchitti for the lead in Turn 1 on the final lap of the Indianapolis 500. Sato joined the Houston-based team this year.Preparation has met promise head on early this season with the international pairing of Sato of Japan, race engineer Don Halliday of New Zealand and assistant engineer Raul Prados of Spain.Sato qualified second and finished eighth in the season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., and followed with a 14th place at Barber Motorsports Park. He then delivered an emphatic victory April 21 in the 39th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.Sato became the first driver from Japan to win an Indy car race, and gave the team its first victory since July 7, 2002, at Kansas Speedway with Brazilian Airton Dare behind the wheel. The last win for the team on a road/street course was by A.J. Foyt on Oct. 1, 1978, at Silverstone in England."I'm just really proud of the day for A.J. Foyt Racing," said Sato, who won for the first time in his 59th race and leapt onto the homepage of Yahoo Japan. "This is just a tremendous start for us."With key personnel in place, it could be the start - the resurgence - of the proud and longstanding INDYCAR team."We knew he was fast," Larry Foyt said after the Vitory Circle celebration. "Until you really know somebody, you don't know how you're going to work together and how it's going to be. It was great our first working relationship was a seven-day Caribbean cruise. We've been good friends ever since."I really think between our chief engineer Don Halliday and Takuma, there was a lot of trust there, which you have to have. Like Takuma said, the speed has been there. Little issues can always bite you. Our junior engineer kept telling us, 'We don't have to be the biggest team to win. There can be positives to being a smaller team and a tight-knit group.'"There was so much hard work over the winter. It's a super group of guys with a super sponsor and it just all works. I'm glad we have another multi-year contract with ABC Supply, which has been awesome with us. I think that puts us in a good position with the future. What (Sato) did hopefully that keeps us heading in that direction."2. Andretti delivers another top-10 finish: Three drivers have placed in the top 10 of all three IZOD IndyCar Series races this season. Marco Andretti is one.Andretti, driving the No. 25 RC Cola car, recovered from a qualifying penalty that sent him to the 25th starting position in the 80-lap Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach to finish seventh. He previously finished third and seventh this season."Going into this, I knew that this would be about the best we would finish," said Andretti, who last posted three straight top 10 finishes at Richmond, Watkins Glen and Toronto in 2009. "I am definitely pleased with how we climbed our way through the field and how we stayed consistent throughout the day. We knew that if we just stayed in the race and didn't make any mistakes, we would be good."Andretti is fourth in the championship standings heading into the street course race in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 5. An Andretti Autosport car won the first two races of the season.Andretti's starts through the first three races the previous five seasons:2012 -- 14th, 11th, 25th2011 -- 24th, 4th, 26th2010 -- 23rd, 12th, 5th2009 -- 13th, 6th, 6th2008 -- 2nd, 5th, 18thJustin Wilson and Helio Castroneves are the others who have finished in the top 10.3. Inside the numbers - Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach: Some numbers to note from the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, the third race of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season.1 - Indy car race winners from Japan: Takuma Sato, who became the second first-time winner in three races.2 - Consecutive fifth-place finishes at Long Beach for JR Hildebrand.3 - Drivers who have finished in the top 10 in each of the first three IZOD IndyCar Series events: Marco Andretti, Helio Castroneves and Justin Wilson.5 - Different teams represented in the top five in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.6 - Points separating the top two drivers, Helio Castroneves and Takuma Sato, in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.7 - Different teams represented in the top 10 in the IZOD IndyCar Series standings.8 - Different drivers to score podium finishes in nine races.12 - Positions gained by Graham Rahal in the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings, the biggest jump among drivers who competed.13 - Drivers with at least one top-five finish in 2013.18 - Points separating the top-five drivers in the IZOD IndyCar Series point standings.20 - Drivers with at least one top-10 finish in 2013.21 - Positions improved by Justin Wilson, the most positions gained by any driver. Wilson finished third.27 - Laps led by Dario Franchitti at Long Beach. Franchitti led a total of 11 laps on road/street courses in 2012.50 - Laps led by Takuma Sato at Long Beach, the most laps he has led in any Indy car race. Sato's previous high was 31 at Indianapolis in 2012.199 - Consecutive Indy car starts for Tony Kanaan dating to the 2001 CART race in Portland. Kanaan is second to Jimmy Vasser's 211 straight starts.***The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season continues with the Itaipava Sao Paulo Indy 300 presented by Nestle on Sunday, May 5 on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The race will be televised live at 11 a.m. (ET) by the NBC Sports Network (Verizon FiOS 90/590, DirecTV 220, DISH 159 and AT&T UVerse 640) and broadcast by the IMS Radio Network, including on Sirius and XM Channels 211 and www.indycar.com. The next Firestone Indy Lights race is the Firestone Freedom 100 on Friday, May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The race will be broadcast by NBC Sports Network live, during the network's coverage of Carb Day.