INDIANAPOLIS - Dario Franchitti won his third career Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, but it came at the cost of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver Takuma Sato on the final lap.
The 96th Indy 500 was nearly the hottest one in history - temperatures reached 91 degrees, one shy of the record set in 1937 - but it was also a race without many interruptions. The only multi-car accident came when Mike Conway spun out and points-leader Will Power crashed into him.
But the race did set a race record for most lead changes and Sato came within inches on Turn One of lap 200 of adding one more lead change.
Coming out of the straightaway and into Turn One, Sato tried to pass Franchitti on the inside but got too low. Tires touched and Sato spun out into the wall just after the white flag was raised, leading to a Franchitti victory.
After the race, the two drivers had different versions of how the accident occurred.
In his interview on Victory Lane, Franchitti said he saw Sato coming up on his left side and moved over to try and avoid contact, but then came back over into the inside.
"I don't know if he got loose," he said. "I was side by side with Takuma. We hit and I managed to keep it out of trouble."
But the driver for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, part owned by Ball State alumnus David Letterman, had a different view of the incident.
"It looks like he didn't give me enough room to go there," Sato said. "I was a little below the white line. I had nowhere to go."
Sato was making only his third start at the Indianapolis 500 and his best finish in his previous races was 20th place. Had he been able to get around Franchitti on the final lap, he would have had to hold him off for the final three-fourths of the track.
He also had a missed chance at history in being the first Japanese-born driver to win the Indy 500.
"He had the better angle and gave me no space," Sato said. "I tried not to touch him and then I lost control. It would have been a great moment for the fans, and I was hoping to hold him off for the last three quarters. It's really disappointing."
Sato's teammate, Michel Jourdain Jr., finished 19th after completing 199 of 200 laps.
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