Will Power leads the pack into Turn 1 in early racing in the Grand Prix of Long Beach on Sunday. Associated Press Photo.

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Will Power will go down in the record books as the last driver to win a Champ Car World Series event, and that’s bittersweet for the Australian driver.

“I love Champ Car racing,” Power said Sunday after taking the checkered flag in the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. “I love the cars. I love the engine. It’s great to win here in Long Beach in the last Champ Car race. It really is pretty special.”

It was the last race of an era because another era — the unification of American open-wheel racing — began in February, absorbing much of what was Champ Car into its bitter rival of 12 years, the IRL IndyCar Series.

With the IRL scheduled to race this past weekend in Japan, and unable to talk Japanese officials into changing their date, it was decided to take the IndyCars to Motegi and run the Champ Cars one more time at Long Beach, the biggest event in the series formerly known as CART.

It turned out the weekend was even more historic than expected, with Danica Patrick becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar event less than 24 hours before the Champ Cars took the green flag for the final time.

Once the race on the temporary street circuit in downtown Long Beach began, though, there was no melancholy, just racing.

There are some who would have liked a more dramatic finish to the series that was begun by dissident team owners, breaking away from the U.S. Auto Club in 1979. But Power spoiled that, leading 81 of the 83 laps in the 1-hour, 45-minute timed race.

There was little question who was in charge once the Aussie drove his yellow and green No. 8 Champ Car from third to first before the first turn, passing both pole-winner Justin Wilson and veteran Alex Tagliani.

“I knew it was important to get a start because, if not, I was going to get hung up behind people,” Power said. “I know it’s very tough to pass around here, so I really had a good start and, from that moment on, we got good fuel mileage. In the last, probably 15, 20 laps, I just cruised.”

Once the race was over, like just about everyone else at Long Beach — including Patrick, who flew 12 hours to be here for the finish — Power was looking to the future.

“We’re going to be in Kansas next week for an IndyCar race and I’m fifth in the points, so, yeah, I’m looking forward to what’s coming,” the Australian said.

But Power, who has only two previous starts on the oval tracks — like the one in Kansas — that make up the majority of the IRL schedule, drew a laugh, adding, “I’m looking forward to the road courses and street circuits.”

Patrick, looking fresh and happy after her long flight, congratulated Power and said, “The momentum of the (IndyCar) series is clear. A lot of great things have happened over the winter and it’s a bright future. It’s just the start of everything, but it will snowball from here.”

The Long Beach race was run with Champ Car teams, drivers and equipment, but the points awarded were for the IndyCar Series.

Power, who finished fourth in last year’s Champ Car series for Walker Racing, earned his third career victory, this one with the KV Racing Technology team, one of several Champ Car teams making the transition to the IRL.

In fact, Power and eight other transitional drivers have already raced twice in the IndyCar Series, but moved back into their old equipment for this one last event.

Twelve of the drivers in Sunday’s race do not currently have rides in the IRL. Two of them, former Formula One driver Franck Montagny, and longtime Champ Car star Mario Dominguez, finished second and third. It was Montagny’s first Champ Car start.

Dominguez, who has two Champ Car victories in his resume, said he was sad it was the final race for the series that nurtured him.

“In the end, the best thing for open-wheel racing in the United States was to get together, to be united,” the Mexican driver said. “The future is very bright, I think. There has to be only one series. That was proven before.

“Even though I’m very, very sad that Champ Car is ending ... I’m happy because I’m sure in the end the fans are going to be the winners when they’re going to be watching one IndyCar race all the time, with all the starts, with all the great teams.”

Rookie Enrique Bernoldi and Oriol Servia, both transitional drivers, finished fourth and fifth.

Graham Rahal, the 19-year-old son of longtime racing star Bobby Rahal, who became the youngest driver ever to win a major open-wheel race two weeks ago in the IRL event in St. Petersburg, Fla., spun twice and finished 13th on Sunday.

The youngster had moved back up to seventh when he spun trying to pass Franck Perera, another transitional driver, for position on the last lap.

Wilson, the driver who replaced Sebastien Bourdais, who won the last three Long Beach races for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing, wound up completing only 12 laps before going out with a mechanical problem.

Former CART champions Jimmy Vasser, who came out of a two-year retirement to drive here, and Paul Tracy, who didn’t have a ride until earlier this week, finished on the lead lap in 10th and 11th.