Takuma Sato's IndyCar fortunes turn huge in one week
MADISON, Ill. — One week after being blamed for the horrific crash at Pocono, Takuma Sato captured an unlikely victory at Gateway, edging out Ed Carpenter by 0.0399 seconds.
Sato lost ground early after a failed early pass. However, the early mistake proved beneficial as it threw Sato off-sequence for the rest of his pit stops.
The win is Sato's second of the season. It was a victory that showed Sato's resilience following a tough week steeped in criticism following his involvement in the five-car wreck at Pocono.
"The win is always special, particularly after the difficult circumstances …" Sato said. "Just head down, do our job and believe in ourselves and taking the moment to come back. We came back."
Carpenter started the race in 17th but finished strong in the final race of his season. Similarly, Tony Kanaan charged up from 20th to finish on the podium.
"I had a pretty good start, we put ourselves in the top 13 and I said, 'Alright, let's start racing from now on,' " Kanaan said. "Obviously, we got a break and once we got to the front, we were strong."
Series points leader Josef Newgarden and Santino Ferrucci nearly crashed on the final lap, with Newgarden spinning and losing several places. He finished seventh, but his points lead only grew by three points over new second place driver Simon Pagenaud on a night where Newgarden had a chance to pad his championship cushion.
Turn 4 proves problematic
Sebastien Bourdais was turning in a great race before he encountered the turn that devastated drivers all night.
Coming out of a pit stop with 59 laps remaining, Bourdais lost control of his car and slid into Turn 4's outer wall. Bourdais spent most of his night at the front of the pack, largely sitting in second place.
"It doesn't really make any sense," Bourdais said. "I got the car down to the apex and it took off. It's my fault for sure."
Bourdais was checked and released from the medical center.
>> Will Power lost control of his car on Turn 4 and slid into the outer wall, ending his race after 52 laps. The crash came immediately following a pit stop for Power. Power was the only driver caught in the wreck.
"Such a good car man, such a pity," Power said after being checked and cleared from the medical center.
Power had spent much of the race in second place to that point. The wreck likely ends any chance Power had at the series championship.
>> Spencer Pigot found himself sliding into the Turn 4 wall 131 laps in. Pigot was squeezed to the inside by Charlie Kimball on an attempted pass, forcing him to hit the brakes and subsequently lose control of the car. He slid backwards into the wall.
"I had a good run on Charlie coming out of (Turn 2)," Pigot said. "It was a late move, but I was far enough along I thought to get a little bit of space from him but we arrived at the apex at the same time."
Pigot was checked and released from the medical center.
>> Marcus Ericsson also briefly collided with the wall on the turn, but was able to regain control of his car and continue.
Dixon runs into trouble in pit lane
Scott Dixon's championship hopes took a major blow 64 laps into the race when his crew was forced to wheel the No. 9 car into the garage after a problem in pit lane.
The TV broadcast later reported Dixon suffered a punctured radiator on the first lap. When he returned, he was 60 laps down. Dixon was unable to finish the race, driving 136 laps and finishing 20th.
Dixon had finished in the top five in each of the previous five races, with four finishes in the top two. The run put Dixon just 52 points behind championship leader Josef Newgarden.
Sato and Hunter-Reay cross paths again
Sato and Ryan Hunter-Reay had another run in on Lap 1. The drivers touched between the first and second turns, causing both cars to briefly lose control.
However, they quickly regained control of their cars. Sato and Hunter-Reay were part of the group that caused the Lap 1 crash last week at Pocono that collected five cars.
Aug 18, 2019; Long Pond, PA, USA; Indycar driver Takuma Sato walks on pit road prior to the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway.
Takuma Sato celebrates after wining the IndyCar auto race at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, in Madison, Ill.
Takuma Sato, left, jumps into the arms of his crew members after winning an IndyCar auto race at World Wide Technology Raceway, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2019, in Madison, Ill.