Takuma Sato passed a previously dominant Scott Dixon with just 15 laps remaining in today’s Indianapolis 500, and went on to score his second win at the famed “Brickyard” in a race dominated by Honda teams and drivers.
Although he led only twice for a total of 27 laps, Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Honda was fast when it counted, in the run from the last round of pit stops to the checkered flag. Exiting the pits in second to Dixon, Sato swept into the lead on lap 185, then held off several attempts by Dixon to repass as the pair worked their way through lapped traffic. The race was decided on Lap 196 of the scheduled 200, when Spencer Pigot crashed hard exiting Turn 4, leading the race to end under the caution flag. The win is the second at Indy for Sato, following his initial “500” triumph in 2017.
Prior to the final pit stops, Dixon had dominated the day in his Chip Ganassi Racing Honda, leading a race-high 111 laps as the championship leader sought his own second Indy victory. Starting in the middle of the front row in the 33-car field, Dixon took the lead at the Green Flag and went on to control much of the 200-lap contest, especially after Alexander Rossi, in a strong running Andretti Autosport Honda, crashed out of the race on Lap 143. Prior to his contact with the wall, Rossi led four times for a total of 17 laps as he and Dixon edged away from the field in the middle portion of the race.
But both Rahal Letterman Lanigan Hondas came on strong in the closing laps, with Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal closing the gap to the lead pair in the final laps to finish third. After a disappointing qualifying effort, Santino Ferrucci conducted an exciting late- race effort of his own, finishing fourth to complete a Honda 1-2-3-4 sweep at the finish.
Honda drivers claimed eight of the top-10 finishing positions, with James Hinchcliffe recovering from a clutch problem encountered in his second pit stop to finish seventh, with his Andretti Autosport teammate Colton Herta eighth. Jack Harvey had his best Indy finish to date with a ninth-place result for Meyer Shank Racing; while Ryan Hunter- Reay rounded out the top 10 in his Andretti Autosport Honda.
