Sato becomes first Japanese driver to win IndyCar race
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Heads turned last fall when A.J. Foyt approved the hiring of Japanese driver Takuma Sato, who had been on the IndyCar circuit for three years but had no wins and just two podiums.
Landing Sato for A.J. Foyt Racing was Larry Foyt's doing, but it was done, of course, with his father's approval.
"I hardly make any decisions that I don't bounce off of A.J.," Larry said.
However the pairing came to be, everyone in ABC Supply colors was smiling Sunday as Sato made history. He won the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, his first IndyCar win in 52 starts to became the first Japanese race winner in series history.
Foyt's team earned its first series win since the 2002 season, that one coming at the hands of Airton Dare at Kansas Speedway. Foyt reminded Larry of that on the phone after Sunday's race.
Foyt couldn't attend Sunday's race because of the back pain that will require surgery this week, but he watched every lap on edge from his home near Waller, Texas.
"The last five laps were the longest of anything," Foyt said. "We've had a lot of drivers; none of them wanted to win."
Sato came to IndyCar with the reputation of being fast but sometimes furious. He often made mistakes, and he has torn up a lot of equipment over the years. He was known to race well in wet conditions, but he had never put a start-to-finish run together.
Until Sunday.
Larry Foyt described it as a perfect race as Sato pulled away from Graham Rahal in the closing laps. Sato wouldn't go that far — there was an early mistake, he said — but the drive was easy in the making.
"Really easy, actually," he said.
Sato, who spent seven years in Formula One with one podium in 90 races, has never felt completely comfortable in IndyCar, bouncing around among three teams. Until he began meshing with the Foyt team during an offseason Caribbean cruise, he feared whatever ride he had at the time might be his last. He was so concerned that he has never moved his family to the U.S.
That could change if strong runs here keep coming.
Sato nearly won last year's Indianapolis 500 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing until he crashed trying to pass Dario Franchitti on the last lap in Turn 1.
Sato spent several minutes Sunday remembering the continued struggles of the Japanese in the wake of the 2011 earthquake.
He said his win would bring "excitement and enthusiasm" to the motor racing community in Japan.
Sato also became the second driver this season to get his first win in the series. James Hinchcliffe won the season-opening race in St. Petersburg, Fla.
But Hinchcliffe, like many other drivers, had a difficult day. His race ended with contact that started with Tony Kanaan and ended with E.J. Viso.
Charlie Kimball and Alex Tagliani went into a tire barrier together, and rookie Tristan Vautier struck a pair of championship contenders: Scott Dixon and Will Power.
Sato had no such problem. He might have won by five seconds had a caution not come out to end the race.
Cavin writes for The Indianapolis Star, a Gannett property. Follow him on Twitter @curtcavin
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Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach results
1. (4) Takuma Sato, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
2. (11) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
3. (24) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
4. (1) Dario Franchitti, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
5. (12) JR Hildebrand, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
6. (18) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
7. (25) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
8. (17) Simon Pagenaud, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
9. (19) Simona de Silvestro, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
10. (6) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
11. (26) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
12. (13) James Jakes, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
13. (16) Josef Newgarden, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
14. (22) Ana Beatriz, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
15. (15) Sebastien Bourdais, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
16. (3) Will Power, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
17. (27) Tristan Vautier, Dallara-Honda, 80, Running
18. (23) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Chevy, 80, Running
19. (21) Alex Tagliani, Dallara-Honda, 79, Running
20. (8) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Chevy, 78, Contact
21. (9) Charlie Kimball, Dallara-Honda, 78, Running
22. (10) EJ Viso, Dallara-Chevy, 53, Running
23. (14) AJ Allmendinger, Dallara-Chevy, 51, Mechanical
24. (2) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Chevy, 49, Contact
25. (5) Mike Conway, Dallara-Honda, 38, Electrical
26. (7) James Hinchcliffe, Dallara-Chevy, 34, Contact
27. (20) Sebastian Saavedra, Dallara-Chevy, 1, Contact
Race statistics
Winners average speed: 85.763. Time of race: 01:50:08.7155. Margin of victory: Under caution. Cautions: 5 for 16 laps. Lead changes: 4 among 4 drivers
Lap leaders: Franchitti 1-6, Hunter-Reay 7, Franchitti 8-28, Power 29-30, Sato 31-80.
Point standings: 1. Castroneves 99. 2. Sato 93. 3. Dixon 89. 4. Andretti 87. 5. Wilson 81. 6. Hunter-Reay 73. 7. Rahal 66. 8. Power 62. 9. de Silvestro 62. 10. Hinchcliffe 61.