Takuma Sato became the 20th multi-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
This one, admittedly, was a bit different.
“WE WON IT!”@TakumaSatoRacer is a two-time #Indy500 winner! @IndyCarOnNBC pic.twitter.com/jMA4CrBU1Y
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) August 23, 2020
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Sato joined The Dan Dakich Show on Monday to talk about his second 500 victory in four years, and what it was like celebrating in Victory Lane without fans in attendance.
Dan cut right to the chase, asking Sato about the race ending under caution rather than being red flagged after Spencer Pigot’s terrifying crash.
Sato credited his race team for their efforts on pit road, which put him in a great position to snatch the lead back from Scott Dixon with less than 30 laps left.
“The driver is a part of it. It is important, but it’s just only part of it,” Sato told Dan. “And that’s why I’m so proud to be part of the #30 [team]. Certainly my Panasonic PeopleReady #30 car did a phenomenal job yesterday, not only for just the racing part, but also pits stops. If you look at every single pit stop, we made no mistakes yesterday. That is so crucial, particularly for the 500 because you have possibly seven or eight [pit stops].”
What’s it like winning ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ when nobody is in the stands cheering you on?
“Needless to say, it’s sad,” Sato said. “The atmosphere is never the same [without fans], of course not…preferably, yes, we have energy buzzing around, 300,000 people.”
“It was one of the most beautiful days of my life yesterday, again. And I wished the fans would’ve been there, but I’m sure in 2021 they will have it fully packed in here. That’s my hope.”
We won’t have to wait a full year to find out. Just 279 days remain until the best drivers in the world hit the track for the 105th Running of the Indianapolis 500.
Check out Dan’s full interview with Takuma Sato:
Be sure to subscribe to The Dan Dakich Show Podcast
