Indy 500 champ Sato wins Pocono pole

LONG POND, PA. » Indianapolis 500 champion Takuma Sato was the last driver waiting to make his qualifying run when teammate Ryan Hunter-Reay’s car slammed into the wall.

Hunter-Reay, the 2014 Indy 500 champ, needed assistance out of his car and was transported to a hospital. Sato was worried for his friend — and the wreck put a tinge of unease into his mind.

“It made me nervous,” Sato said. “What happened to him is what could happen to me, too.” Not to worry. With his teammate on his mind, Sato posted an average of 219.639 mph on Saturday to win the pole for the IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway. Sato won his second pole of the season. He became the first Japanese winner of the Indianapolis 500 in May.

Sato’s pole was the highlight of an uneasy qualifying session for team owner Michael Andretti.

Hunter-Reay, who had topped the speed chart in Saturday morning’s practice, lost control of the No. 28 Honda late in qualifying. The left side of the Honda slammed the protective soft wall. The car shot down the track and hit the inside wall. HunterReay, whose last IndyCar win was at Pocono in 2015, had trouble putting weight on his legs, complained of pain in his hips, and was helped to an ambulance.

Helio Castroneves, a three-time Indy 500 winner, also was involved in a violent wreck as he chases his first career IndyCar championship. Castroneves is the series points leader with a seven-point advantage over Josef Newgarden with just four races left this season.

Ed Carpenter did not qualify because he also was involved in a big wreck in practice.

Newgarden, who starts 14th in the 500-mile race, has won the last two IndyCar races.

Simon Pagenaud, fourth in the points standings, joins Sato on the front row.

“We need to run around in the front all day and be there to strike at the end,” Pagenaud said. “There’s also the fact that we’re playing for a championship here, so we have to be smart at the end.”

Charlie Kimball and Tony Kanaan are on the second row.

The 40-year-old Sato called winning Indy a “lifechanging” moment and he has been honored by his native country seemingly since he kissed the bricks.