The Indianapolis 500 victory that slipped away from Takuma Sato five years ago returned with a fury.
Sato tried to make a risky pass on leader Dario Franchitti during the final lap of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in 2012, but the gamble didn’t pay off. The two cars made contact, knocking Sato into the wall and out of the race as Franchitti took the chequered flag.
Sunday’s 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 was Sato’s time to shine. The 40-year-old from Japan fought his way back from the middle of the field following a problematic pit stop and pounced on the opportunity to snatch the lead cleanly from Helio Castroneves with just five laps to go. Sato opened up a bit of a gap and never looked back holding on for just his second win in the Verizon IndyCar Series.
It was a different story earlier in the race as Sato and Andretti Autosport teammates Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi and Fernando Alonso ruled the top four positions and cycled the lead amongst each other to help save fuel.
The conservative strategy and non-aggressive passes couldn’t last forever though, it is a 500-mile race after all where anything can happen, and there were no drafting partners for Sato late in the race. Both Hunter-Reay and Alonso bowed out due to engine problems and a poor pit stop for last year’s winner Rossi derailed his opportunity to defend the crown.
That left Sato as team owner Michael Andretti’s best chance at securing the crew’s third victory in the past four years at the Brickyard and he delivered. Sato pulled off an impressive run down the stretch not only needing to fend off runner-up Castroneves, but also surging Ed Jones, who came in third, and fourth-place finisher Max Chilton.
The glass of milk, kissing the bricks at the start/finish line, his face on the massive Borg-Warner trophy and all the other riches Sato missed out on in 2012 are finally his to cherish.
Alonso-mania runs wild
It was all about Alonso leading up to the race as the Formula One star skipped his series’ own prestigious race, the Monaco Grand Prix, in order to compete in his first-ever Indianapolis 500.
Alonso, who qualified fifth, didn’t disappoint at all in his oval debut. A slow start dropped him back to eighth place, but as he appeared more comfortable in his car, Alonso was back in contention pushing his way into the lead and holding the fastest average lap time in the race.
The two-time F1 world champion from Spain was on the move again with just 21 laps remaining when his engine popped and brought his Indy 500 run to an end. It’s just one of those unfortunate things where sometimes the engine just can’t quite hold up for the full 500-mile race. He wasn’t the only one either with 2014 winner Hunter-Reay and Charlie Kimball also having their engines fail on them too.
Despite the finish, Alonso brought worldwide attention to the North American-based series and proved he’s a natural talent behind the wheel. Even though it was just a one-time entry, the series would gain a lot if Alonso could secure another IndyCar ride in the future. Alonso has expressed a desire to win the Indy 500 and check it off his bucket list, so it’s probably not the last time we’ve seen him at the track.
Dixon, Howard escape serious injury after horrific crash
A terrifying situation occurred on lap 53 during an accident involving Jay Howard and pole sitter Scott Dixon.
Howard lost control of his car, bounced off of the wall and into traffic. With nowhere to go, Dixon launched over Howard and flew sideways into the inside fence. Dixon’s car flipped multiple times with debris and car parts scattering across the track. Castroneves dove down the inside and right under Dixon to remarkably avoid any major damage to his car.
How Dixon and Howard managed to walk away from the crash without any serious injuries is a miracle.
The red flag halted the race as safety crews cleaned up the mess and repaired the ripped-up fence where Dixon smashed into the barrier.
Combined with Sebastien Bourdais’ crash during qualifying — which resulted in fractures to his pelvis, hip and two ribs — it’s a scary reminder of just how fast 200-plus mph really is and the risks these drivers endure for the sport.
Hinchcliffe caught in five-car pileup
Just whenever it seemed like James Hinchcliffe was gaining momentum, the rug would get pulled out from under him.
The Oakville, Ont., native started in the middle of the pack in 17th needing to find space somewhere, anywhere he could to navigate through the field. Hinchcliffe had flashes, but every time he made it up to 12th or so, a caution would come out and pit stops would shuffle the deck. By the time the race was ready to return to green, he’d be back down in 19th and needing to start all over again as he hovered in the teens of the leaderboard.
Hinchcliffe managed to climb up to 10th with 17 laps to go, but got caught up in the five-car wreck that began with a collision between James Davison and Oriol Servia. The collateral damage collected Will Power, who dove into Hinchcliffe while avoiding Davison and Servia. That sent Hinchcliffe up into the wall and out of the race. Josef Newgarden also got mixed up in the mess as he went down low and hit the inside wall, however, he at least managed to keep his car intact.
Castroneves settles for second place again
Castroneves came oh-so-close, about two tenths of a second to be exact, to making history. The 42-year-old Brazilian was on the verge of becoming the fourth driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 four times. Instead, Castroneves finished second for a third time to tie him for the dubious record of most Indy 500 runner-up results.
Qualifying 19th on the grid, his worst Indy 500 start ever, didn’t deter Castroneves — neither did a broken winglet nor a drive-through penalty — as he used a different pit strategy than the majority to work his way up through the field and led the race at the midway mark.
Sato beat him out with only a handful of laps to go as Castroneves was saving his tires and just didn’t get another chance to slingshot back ahead.
Jones, Chilton deliver breakout performances
While Alonso was the newbie garnering the most attention, Jones ended up as the Indy 500 rookie with the best finish in third place.
Jones, who drives full-time for the underdog Dale Coyne Racing team, had a setback early in the race when a piece of debris from the Howard/Dixon crash punctured his car. The hole proved to be only minor as he slowly but surely chipped away at the rest of the field to score his first career IndyCar Series podium.
Meanwhile, sophomore Chip Ganassi Racing driver Chilton also turned heads by leading the most laps during the Indy 500. Chilton was riding in first following the final restart, but needed to save fuel like crazy while on a different pit strategy that put him in that position to begin with. Chilton faded down the stretch, but managed to hold on in fourth to also set a new career-best IndyCar Series finish.
