MADISON, Illinois – Takuma Sato held off a charging Ed Carpenter by .0399 of a second Saturday to win the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in the closest Indy car race in the 10-year history of World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Sato (No. 30 Mi-Jack/Panasonic Honda) of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing overcame early issues that sent him to the rear of the field, but also put him out of sequence with the leaders. The misfortune ultimately put him in a position to win by virtue of the timing of the cautions. It was Sato’s second win of the season – the other came at Barber Motorsports Park – and fifth of his career.
CLICK IT: Unofficial race results
Joining Sato and Carpenter (No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet) on the podium was Tony Kanaan (No. 14 ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Chevrolet), who posted his first podium since a runner-up finish at Texas in 2017.
Championship leader Josef Newgarden (No. 2 PPG Team Penske Chevrolet) was involved in a last-lap incident that dropped him to a seventh-place finish, but leaves with a 38-point lead over Team Penske teammate Simon Pagenaud (No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet), who finished fifth.
Andretti Autosport’s Alexander Rossi (No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda), who finished 13th, slipped from second to third in the title race and is 46 back. Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (No. 9 PNC Bank Honda) finished 20th due to a radiator issue and now trails Newgarden by 70.
The NTT IndyCar Series heads to Portland, Ore., for next Sunday’s Grand Prix of Portland at the Portland International Raceway. Live race coverage on NBC begins at 3 p.m. ET (Noon PT - local) with pre-race coverage followed by the green flag at approximately 3:45 p.m. Live radio broadcasts will be available on the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network and SiriusXM Satellite Radio (XM 209, Sirius 98, Internet/App 970)