Takuma Sato Wins His Second Indy 500

Sato, 43, who ran in the top three most of the race, could not get his Honda-powered Dallara into the lead until the final quarter of the race. He then traded the lead multiple times with Dixon, who led a race-high 111 of the 200 laps, until taking command for the final time with 28 laps left.

Although Dixon was only one second behind with five laps remaining and appeared to have the power needed to retake the lead, Spencer Pigot crashed into the pit entry tire wall, spraying debris all over the track. Pigot was taken to an Indianapolis hospital for treatment.

The race could not continue with the extent of the damage to the tire barrier, and officials decided to finish the event under caution, rather than stop the event, fix the damage and attempt to restart the race with two laps left.

Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan teammate, Graham Rahal, was scored third. Santino Ferrucci was fourth, followed by Josef Newgarden, in the highest finished, Chevrolet-powered car. The fastest qualifier for the race, Marco Andretti, faded late in the race and came in 13th.

Dixon, a five-time series champ who is in his 19th season with the Chip Ganassi team, looked like the man to beat from the drop of the green flag. Starting second, he immediately took the lead from Andretti and drove away. But Sato, who started third, managed to keep Dixon within sight.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/23/sports/autoracing/takuma-sato-indy-500.html