‘No attack, no chance’: Plug-and-play Takuma Sato goes for third Indy 500 win

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Sato is making his 16th start in the Indianapolis 500 and his seventh in the 500-Mile Race for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

His first Indy 500 start was in 2010 with KV Racing Technology. He started 31st and finished 20th.

Two years later, he was in the Indy 500 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, and it’s a day that changed his career path. 

He battled Dario Franchitti of Chip Ganassi Racing to the end. Franchitti was attempting to win the Indy 500 for the third time in his career. Sato was trying to score his first INDYCAR win.

As the two drivers went into Turn 1 on the final lap, Sato dove to the low side of the turn to pass Franchitti on the inside. Franchitti pinched off the lane, Sato’s car dipped across the painted white line that separates the race track from the apron and lost control.

Sato’s Honda spun and slammed hard into the outside wall in Turn 1. Franchitti went on to take the checkered flag, but from that point forward, Sato became a fan favorite for his daring racing style.

“I think I’ve said it many times, but Takuma is a pro,” primary owner and winning driver of the 1986 Indianapolis 500 Bobby Rahal told FOX Sports. “The guy, he’s a hell of a race car driver. I’ve watched him race when he was in Formula 3, when I was at Jaguar Formula One, and he was always at the front.

“When he came to us in 2012, we damn near won this race, and I didn’t think we had a chance in hell. 

“It wasn’t because we had the best car. It was because he took it there.”

Sato had gained the respect, love and friendship of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Unfortunately, the team did not have enough sponsorship to retain Sato for the 2013 season, and he signed a contract with AJ Foyt Racing.

Sato drove to his first INDYCAR win with Foyt in the 2013 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. It was the last time AJ Foyt Racing has won a race in INDYCAR.

He nearly won a second-straight race in the next contest on the schedule in Sao Paulo, Brazil and entered the month of May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway leading the INDYCAR Series points.

Sato remained with Foyt through the 2016 season before joining what is now known as Andretti Global.

It was a combination that made tremendous sense because Sato was the hero of Japan and Andretti was the top Honda team in IndyCar.

With Sato behind the wheel of the Andretti Honda, he became the first driver from Japan to win the Indianapolis 500 in its long history when he drove to the victory in 2017.

It was a popular victory internationally, and the famed Borg-Warner Trophy went on the road for an international trip for the first time ever. Fans in Japan turned out by the thousands during the many personal appearances Palou made with the Borg-Warner Trophy in Tokyo and at Twin Ring Motegi, a race course about three hours away from the world’s largest city. They also made a stop in Mount Fuji.

Sato won at Portland in 2018 before returning home to Rahal Letterman Lanigan in 2019. He won from the pole at Barber Motorsports Park and won on the oval at Gateway Motorsports Park later that season, finishing ninth in the championship.

Sato was on a roll entering 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world. The INDYCAR Series season was delayed until June 6 of that year, and most of the races were held with severe limitations for spectators.

That included the Indianapolis 500, the only time in the history of the race it was moved off its traditional Memorial Day Weekend race date because of COVID. It was held on August 23, 2020, at an empty Indianapolis Motor Speedway because fans were not allowed to attend.

Scott Dixon of Chip Ganassi Racing led 111 laps in the 200-lap contest, but he couldn’t shake Sato, who led 27 laps.

Late in the race, Sato was stretching his tank of fuel and if the race remained green, he was going to have to pit in the closing laps.

But fate intervened as Spencer Pigot slammed into the pit road attenuators in a massive crash with five laps to go. The caution came out and Dixon was convinced Sato couldn’t make it to the finish.

But Sato was good to the last drop and made it to the checkered flag, winning his second Indianapolis 500.

“I think Scott Dixon still hasn’t gotten over the fact that he was going to make it on fuel,” Rahal said. “He’s just a pro. I just love having him with us. I think he brings great value to us as a driver, as a person. And also, let’s face it, he’s a great representative for the country of Japan. 

“That’s pretty cool to have somebody like that in your car.”

Sato had full-time rides in 2021 and 2022 before a limited schedule with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023. He finished seventh in that year’s Indy 500.

Sato came back home, once again, to Rahal Letterman Racing for one race in 2024. He started 10th and finished 14th in the 108th Indianapolis 500.

He is back again this May and with one of the fastest rides in the field, Sato could join the likes of Louis Meyer, Wilbur Shaw, Mauri Rose, Bobby Unser, Johnny Rutherford and Dario Franchitti as three-time winners of the Indianapolis 500.

Sato is plugged in, and now he is ready to hit play.

“There is no secret, I just simply enjoy it,” Sato told FOX Sports in an exclusive interview. “The moment in the cockpit with the steering wheel, pedals I love it. And the sensation of going fast, the age hasn’t slowed me down so far.

“I enjoy the environment and like the challenge.”

Sato admitted being out of the cockpit for 11 months before returning for the month of May is not an ideal situation, but he remains sharp because of experience.

“I have a lot of adrenaline and feel good,” Sato said. “I have enough experience, even being out of the car for a long time, that I can get back in the car and immediately get back to where I was.

“I can’t express the reason I jump into a car immediately and do well. I just simply like it.”

Sato helps young drivers in Japan with a driver development program. He also uses the Honda simulator for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, but that doesn’t replace real-life racing.

Sato is confident he has a “great chance” of winning his third Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

“We have narrowed with the top teams, the Ganassi boys and Penskes are strong in traffic, but hopefully we will be as competitive as they are,” Sato said.

He backed up his qualifying pace from Sunday with the third-fastest speed in Monday’s full-field practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sato’s top speed was 226.087 mph in race setup.

INDYCAR points leader Alex Palou was the fastest at 226.765 mph in the No. 10 DHL Honda followed by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves at 226.441 mph in the No. 06 Honda for Meyer Shank Racing followed by Sato.

Castroneves is the oldest driver in the field at 50 and he is going for a record fifth Indy 500 win. Sato is the second oldest and the two are proving that the old guys can still drive a fast race car.

“Takuma sometimes can really go for it,” Castroneves told FOX Sports. “No wonder he’s a two-time Indy 500 champ. He likes the style of this race. He has experience. He takes risks and it pays off sometimes.

“With the experience he has, it shows they are doing a great job. It’s good to see him up there.

“It will be good to get up to him and race him during the Indianapolis 500.”

For the plug-and-play driver of the Indianapolis 500, Sato is determined to hit the winning note on Sunday.

Bruce Martin is a veteran motorsports writer and contributor to FOXSports.com. Follow him on X at @BruceMartin_500.

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