Danica Patrick returns to Long Beach for Grand Prix

In her autobiography, Danica Patrick said a race in Long Beach seven years ago was the turning point in a career that ultimately made her one of the nation’s most popular race-car drivers.

That’s when Patrick won the professionals’ leg of a pro/celebrity race that’s among several races held each April on the city’s streets. This year the race weekend culminates with the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday.

Her win seven years ago eventually led her to the top-tier IndyCar Series in 2005, where overnight she became a fan favorite and marketing sensation after nearly winning the Indianapolis 500 as a rookie.

But Patrick and the rest of IndyCar’s drivers hadn’t been able to race in the Long Beach grand prix in recent years because of a split in the U.S. open-wheel racing series.

Now the sport is reunified and Patrick is leading a contingent of IndyCar drivers back to Long Beach for this year’s grand prix, which for the tens of thousands of fans is as much a spring party as an auto race.

“I always have a good time there because of the atmosphere of the event,” Patrick said.

Patrick, 27, visited the grand prix as a spectator a year ago, hours after her only IndyCar victory, at Motegi, Japan, where she became the first woman in history to win a major U.S.-sanctioned open-wheel race.

At that time, the IndyCar Series had just absorbed the Champ Car World Series, the other U.S. open-wheel league whose races included the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. But because of scheduling commitments, IndyCar went ahead and raced in Japan while Champ Car held its final race on the 1.97-mile, 11-turn Long Beach circuit the same weekend.

Now they’re one series again, which means Patrick will be joined in Long Beach by such IndyCar drivers as reigning series champion Scott Dixon, Ryan Briscoe, Dario Franchitti and Marco Andretti.

“We’ll see what it’s like in an Indy car, but it’s like any street course, it’s tough to pass and there’s no room for error,” said Patrick, who also raced at Long Beach in 2003 and 2004 in what was then the Toyota Atlantic minor league series. Patrick, who now drives the No. 7 car for Andretti Green Racing, had a subpar season last year after her win in Japan, with only three top-five finishes overall.

And in this season’s opener two weeks ago on a street course in St. Petersburg, Fla., she finished 19th after colliding with another driver. Briscoe won the race for Team Penske.

Looking at the new season, Patrick said that “it’s hard to set your expectations with just one race” but that she’s hoping to rebound Sunday and later when the series moves to fast oval tracks such as Indianapolis.

“I don’t go away from a weekend disappointed if I know I’ve done everything I can to prepare. For me, it’s about doing my homework and keeping my focus,” she said.

And her homework will swell later this year because 2009 is the final year of her contract with Andretti Green.

Patrick, with her good looks -- she posed in Sports Illustrated’s swimsuit issue this year -- is one of the sporting world’s most popular figures and can help draw considerable sponsorship support to any racing team. Patrick has hinted at possibly driving in NASCAR stock-car racing or some other form of motor sports.

“It’s my job as a race-car driver and a business and a brand to evaluate all of my options,” Patrick said. “At the end of the day I’m going with my gut and heart and going to a place where I feel happy and I’m having fun.”

In any case, “it’s always interesting and exciting when a contract year comes up,” she added. “I’m not really afraid of change.”

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james.peltz@latimes.com

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Long Beach Grand Prix

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying, Versus, 3 p.m.; Sunday, race, Versus, 12:30 p.m.

Distance: 167.3 miles, 85 laps.