Pole vault! Racer sent flying at Indy
Sato wins Indy 500, wreck costs Dixon
Scott Dixon, who started Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 in pole position, wound up with his car in pieces after it was sent airborne in a collision at 200 mph, landed atop a wall and spun back out onto the track. Incredibly, Dixon and the other driver, Jay Howard, were OK.
At the end of 500 miles around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, it was a former Formula One driver who took the checkered flag.
He even drove for Andretti Autosport.
It just wasn’t Fernando Alonso.
Takuma Sato became the first Japanese winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday when the former Formula One driver denied Helio Castroneves a record-tying fourth victory in the closing laps.
“It was a tough, tough race. Helio really drives well,” Sato said. “It was a fantastic race, hopefully the crowd enjoyed it.”
Sato’s victory gave owner Michael Andretti a second consecutive win in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” An Andretti driver has now won the 500 three times in the last four years.
Sato still had to hold off Castroneves in the closing laps. Castroneves briefly took the lead but couldn’t make it stick as Sato grabbed it back.
“Being second again sucks, being so close to getting my fourth,” Castroneves said.
The margin of victory was 0.2011 seconds — and it was redemption for Sato, who crashed on the final lap of the 2012 race.
Max Chilton finished third, the highest driver for Chip Ganassi Racing, and was followed by former 500 winners Tony Kanaan and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Pole-sitter Scott Dixon, already having a rough week because he was robbed at gunpoint at Taco Bell hours after turning in the fastest qualifying effort in 21 years, was knocked out of the race in a terrifying crash in which his car sailed through the air and landed cockpit-first atop the inside safety fence. Dixon’s car was split in two amid sparks and flames.
The tub of the car re- mained intact and the 2008 champion was able to climb out on his own to a roar from the crowd.
“It was definitely a rough ride,” said Dixon, who collided with Jay Howard. “We had a great shot. We had gotten a little loose but they had dialed it in.”
Dillon wins Coca-Cola 600
Austin Dillon gambled and won.
Dillon won the CocaCola 600 on Sunday night when he stayed out instead of pitting and made it to the finish line ahead of Kyle Busch. Martin Truex Jr. was third after leading 233 of 400 laps.
It was Dillon’s first NASCAR Cup victory and returned the iconic No. 3 Chevrolet — owned by grandfather Richard Childress and driven to fame by Dale Earnhardt — to victory lane.
“I was trying to be patient,” Dillon said. “I thought I had saved enough [gas] early. When Jimmie [Johnson] ran out, I went back into safe mode to save gas.”