One week ago Takuma Sato was at the center of 2019's biggest IndyCar controversy. The Japanese driver had all the fingers being pointed at him following the five-car Lap 1 pileup at Pocono, Sato responded to the criticism in the best possible way.
The race started out rough for the driver of the No.30 Panasonic Honda, contact with Ryan Hunter-Reay nearly lead to an early end for both drivers after a failed three-wide pass attempt by James Hinchcliffe. With a masterful save by both drivers, the race stayed green.
Pocono winner Will Power suffered a huge blow to his season. Lap 54 saw the Australian slam the wall coming out of turn four, coming to rest on the front-stretch, it marked the race's first retirement. Power's Gateway DNF marks his third of the season and his fifth finish outside the top 15.
Rookie Santino Ferrucci flexed his muscles as well as both Dale Coyne Racing entries. Ferrucci managed to prove why he is a serious contender for Rookie of the Year, having finished more laps than any of his rivals. The Cly-Del Manufacturing team lead for 94 laps on the night.
While a rookie seemed to flourish, a veteran encountered some serious issues. Scott Dixon fought with engine issues all race long, finally culminating in his eventual DNF. Dixon's third DNF of the 2019 season.
Heartbreak would later show for Dale Coyne Racing. After running 1-2 with his team-mate and qualifying on the outside of the front row, Sebeastien Bourdais seemed to be running a perfect race. Everything changed on Lap 194 however, running in the top ten Bourdais hit the wall and spun. The damage would end Bourdais' race and set up a wild chain of events.
After waiting to pit, Takuma Sato would be in prime position come the drop of the caution flag. With only four cars on the lead lap, Sato, Newgarden, Tony Kanaan and Ed Carpenter all received a free pit stop. Come the restart it was all Sato, pulling away almost instantly.
With Newgarden dropping and Ferrucci charging, Sato needed to be perfect in the final laps. With three to go Carpenter made a charge, making up nearly half a second in a single lap. If Carpenter had one more lap, things might have ended in his favour. For the 40,000 plus fans at Gateway, they were treated to the track's closest IndyCar finish ever.
Carpenter went high with Sato going low. Sato edged out Carpenter by only 0.0399 seconds to win the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway.
Tony Kanaan would hold on for the final podium spot. Santino Ferrucci scored his best finish in fourth, followed by Simon Pagenaud in fifth. Conor Daly would come home sixth and Newgarden would drop to seventh after a last lap spin. Ryan Hunter-Reay, Colton Herta and Marco Andretti completed the top ten. Alexander Rossi would come home 13th, one lap down.
The Series will be back September 1 for the Grand Prix of Portland at the Portland International Raceway in Oregon.
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