Takuma Sato stormed to a second Indianapolis 500 victory, beating the dominant figure of the race in the form of Scott Dixon, with the race finishing under caution after a heavy crash for RLL team-mate Spencer Pigot.
Dixon had dominated the majority of the race and looked in command as he led over 100 laps, however, he came under attack from Sato after the final run of pitstops with the Japanese driver storming past on lap 172.
The Kiwi appeared to have a shot at coming back at Sato in the final laps as they hit a group of backmarkers but was unable to get a final opportunity to challenge Sato after Pigot’s crash with just five laps remaining – race control chose not to throw a red flag which meant the race finished behind the safety car.
Despite being checked over by the medical team at the infield care centre, Pigot has been sent to hospital for further checks.
Graham Rahal was also in the battle for the lead in the final laps and was able to help team-mate Sato sandwich Dixon towards the end of the race, but missed the opportunity to make it a 1-2 finish.
Dale Coyne’s Santino Ferrucci was a surprise contender in the final stages having starting in 19th place. But couldn’t keep with the leaders despite his speed and was unable to latch onto the draft of the leading trio and had to settle for fourth.
Reinging IndyCar champion Josef Newgarden would come through to finish fifth as the first of the Chevrolet runners who were not able to match the raw speed of the Hondas.
Arrow McLaren SP’s Pato O’Ward became a surprise contender at the mid-point of the race and was able to hold his own in his maiden Indy 500 outing, eventually finishing in a solid sixth place, keeping him in the title hunt.
The Andretti Autosport pairing of James Hinchcliffe and Colton Herta carried solid speed throughout the race, but found it difficult to make progress due to the dirty air as the field spread out. The duo finished seventh and eighth respectively.
Britain’s Jack Harvey made a significan push forward from starting 20th to finish in ninth place for Meyer Shank Racing ahead of the No.28 DHL-Honda of Ryan Hunter-Reay who rounded out the top ten.
Andretti’s Alexander Rossi was a key contender for the win at the midway point in the race as he worked with Dixon over fuel strategy, but a collision with Sato in the pitlane after a slow stop meant the stewards forced the Californian to the back of the field.
Fernando Alonso would finish his first Indy 500 – albeit a lap down in 21st place – after a difficult race in which he was unable to make progress.
Conditions proved tough for many as the race became a war of attrition as eight drivers would fail to finish the race many finding the barriers.
Check out the updated points standings by clicking here.
The NTT IndyCar Series’ next event will be the double-header at WorldWide Technology Raceway at Gateway on August 29-30.
| # | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Takuma Sato | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | |
| 2 | Scott Dixon | Chip Ganassi Racing | 0.057 |
| 3 | Graham Rahal | Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | 0.095 |
| 4 | Santino Ferrucci | Dale Coyne Racing with Vasser Sullivan | 0.392 |
| 5 | Josef Newgarden | Team Penske | 1.661 |
| 6 | Patricio O’Ward | Arrow McLaren SP | 3.249 |
| 7 | James Hinchcliffe | Andretti Autosport | 4.269 |
| 8 | Colton Herta | Andretti Harding Steinbrenner Autosport | 5.191 |
| 9 | Jack Harvey | Meyer Shank Racing | 6.813 |
| 10 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | Andretti Autosport | 7.961 |
| 11 | Helio Castroneves | Team Penske | 10.314 |
| 12 | Felix Rosenqvist | Chip Ganassi Racing | 13.966 |
| 13 | Marco Andretti | Andretti Herta Autosport with Marco & Curb-Agajani | 16.065 |
| 14 | Will Power | Team Penske | 17.643 |
| 15 | Zach Veach | Andretti Autosport | 19.396 |
| 16 | J.R. Hildebrand | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 20.234 |
| 17 | Max Chilton | Carlin | 21.491 |
| 18 | Charlie Kimball | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 24.701 |
| 19 | Tony Kanaan | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 1 Lap |
| 20 | Rinus VeeKay | Ed Carpenter Racing | 1 Lap |
| 21 | Fernando Alonso | Arrow McLaren SP | 1 Lap |
| 22 | Simon Pagenaud | Team Penske | 2 Laps |
| 23 | Ben Hanley | DragonSpeed | 2 Laps |
| 24 | Sage Karam | Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | 2 Laps |
| 25 | Spencer Pigot | Citrone Buhl Autosport with RLL | 6 Laps |
| 26 | Ed Carpenter | Ed Carpenter Racing | 13 Laps |
| 27 | Alexander Rossi | Andretti Autosport | 57 Laps |
| 28 | Alex Palou | Dale Coyne Racing with Team Goh | 79 Laps |
| 29 | Conor Daly | Ed Carpenter Racing | 109 Laps |
| 30 | Oliver Askew | Arrow McLaren SP | 109 Laps |
| 31 | Dalton Kellett | A.J. Foyt Enterprises | 118 Laps |
| 32 | Marcus Ericsson | Chip Ganassi Racing | 176 Laps |
| 33 | James Davison | Dale Coyne Racing with Rick Ware Racing | 196 Laps |
