INDIANAPOLIS– Takuma Sato took his 2nd Indianapolis 500 triumph on Sunday as he held back Scott Dixon and ultimately won under care at an Indianapolis Motor Speedway left empty since of the coronavirus pandemic.
IndyCar officials declined to toss a warning after a violent crash by Spencer Pigot with just a handful of laps remaining. Pigot required medical attention on the track, the crash scene was a debris field and there was no way the race could resume without a blockage.
Dixon, the five-time IndyCar champion who had actually dominated the race, asked on his radio if IndyCar was going to offer the chauffeurs a final shootout to the checkered flag, NASCAR style.
Dixon asked. “Theyve got to go red.
IndyCar never tossed the flag, and Sato led Dixon across the goal under yellow. Dixon, who led 111 of the 200 laps in pursuit of his own second Indy win, was noticeably dissatisfied.
We had such a great day,” Dixon said. “First time Ive seen them let it run out like that.
Unlike NASCAR, which normally sets up two-lap shootouts to the finish when a care interrupts the ending, IndyCar seldom follows the same treatment. The series did throw a late red in the 2014 Indy 500, and it infuriated purists.
This time, with just 4 laps remaining after Pigot crashed, there really wasnt adequate time to enable a correct shootout. Dixon had figured he would ultimately run down Sato as Sato overcame lapped traffic, and he believed Satos group was cutting it close on fuel.
Takuma Sato won his second Indy 500 under caution on Sunday. Picture by Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesNone of it mattered in the end as Sato was able to coast around the speedway and after that ride the lift that new track owner Roger Penske installed to take the winner to a raised victory circle. Along for the ride were group owners Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy 500 winner, and David Letterman, his mask buried in an unruly gray beard as he welcomed Sato.
Sato became the first Japanese winner of the Indy 500 in 2017. Graham Rahal, Satos colleague at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, was third behind Dixon.
Sato knew Dixon was going to be difficult to beat under green.
” I know Scott was coming right through, out of Turn 4, he was shrieking coming,” Sato stated. “I needed to hold him off.”
The celebration was rather soft as the RLL group had a socially distanced winners circle. Penske was forced to host his first 500 as owner of the iconic speedway without fans, and it made the largest location worldwide strangely peaceful. The speedway generally draws more than 300,000 viewers on race day; Penske said there would be just 2,500 in participation on Sunday.
It was Pigot, the 3rd Rahal motorist, whose crash set up the questionable surface. His vicious hit damaged his car, and he was prone on the track being dealt with before he was taken to a local hospital for more examination. IndyCar said he was alert and awake.
The Sato win assisted Honda snap Chevrolets two-year Indy 500 winning streak. Santino Ferrucci ended up fourth as Honda took the first four areas.
We had such a great day,” Dixon stated. Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesNone of it mattered in the end as Sato was able to coast around the speedway and then ride the lift that brand-new track owner Roger Penske installed to take the winner to a raised triumph circle. Along for the ride were team owners Bobby Rahal, the 1986 Indy 500 winner, and David Letterman, his mask buried in a rowdy gray beard as he welcomed Sato.
No one did, actually, as Dixon appeared to have it under control after casually passing pole sitter Marco Andretti in the first turn of the very first lap and pulling away. After Dixon took command, Andretti moved back into the field and eventually ended up 13th.
Reigning series champion Josef Newgarden was fifth, the highest-finishing Chevrolet driver and finest of the four-car Team Penske group. Chevrolet lagged behind Honda in speed the entire buildup to the 500 and had simply one driver start in the front nine.
Bogged down in traffic, the Chevy group never ever contended.
No one did, actually, as Dixon seemed to have it under control after casually passing pole caretaker Marco Andretti in the very first turn of the very first lap and pulling away. Andretti was looking for to end the 51-year losing streak for his famous household and had actually a shot with the first Andretti pole in 33 years. After Dixon took command, Andretti slid back into the field and ultimately ended up 13th.
Fernando Alonso, attempting to win the last leg of motorsports version of the Triple Crown, was 21st and never ever contended. This was his third effort at winning Indy, and the two-time Formula One champ is going back to that series in 2021.
