Takuma Sato, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2017, just won the 104th run of the legendary race.
The race ended under caution after Spencer hit Pigot in the Turn 4 wall with five laps to go.
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Sato started from third and ran in the top five most of the race, before taking the lead on lap 173 and holding off 2008 winner Scott Dixon, who led 111 laps en route to a finish on the second place.
The 43-year-old Japanese driver is the only Asian to have won the Indy 500 and was slammed as one of the torchbearers for the postponed Tokyo Olympics in July.
“I hope this gives a little boost to energy, and thank you for the support,” he told his fans in Japan of victory track.
This was the first time the Indy 500 was held in August, after it was postponed from its traditional Memorial Day weekend date due to the coronavirus pandemic. No fans were allowed to participate.
Sato was involved in an attack on pit 124 on shot 124, when Alexander Rossi pulled out of his stable and hit Sato’s Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Honda, but did not damage it. Rossi, who was also challenging for the win at the time, was fined and later knocked out of the race.
The unusual day began with Roger Penske, the new owner of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, giving the command “start your motors” and telling fans that they will be “back home in Indiana” to see the race in person next year. .
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Mario Andretti then led the field on warm-up rounds in a two-seater IndyCar with son Michael Andretti riding as a passenger to begin her grandson and son Anderson’s pole position.
Andretti would go on to finish 13th, while Sato’s teammate Graham Rahal, son of team-mate Bobby Rahal, took third.
With the victory, Sato became the tenth two-time winner of the race. He won an estimated $ 1.5 million scholarship, according to The Sporting News, which is down from last year’s $ 2.7 million price due to the lack of ticket sales. The Honda driver also received a replica of the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Easter car that got him over the finish line.
This story has been updated with additional information
