INDIANAPOLIS — It was 2020 all over again at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as Takuma Sato once again finished ahead of Scott Dixon at the Indianapolis 500.
Unlike the 2020, however, there were actually fans in attendance for Wednesday’s Indy 500 practice. When Sato defeated Dixon for the win in the 104th Indianapolis 500 on August 23, 2020, fans were not allowed into the facility because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Also, that was the actual race. Wednesday was the first day the 34 cars and drivers that will compete for the 33-car starting lineup for the May 28 Indianapolis 500 hit the 2.5-mile oval for practice.
It was the fifth-fastest opening day in Indianapolis 500 history. Sato’s fast lap of 229.439 miles per hour in the No. 11 Chip Ganassi Racing Honda was the best of the day followed by teammate Dixon, who ran a fast lap of 229.174 mph in the PNC Bank Honda.
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Sato is attempting to win the Indianapolis 500 for the third time in his career. His previous victories came in 2017 with Andretti Autosport and 2020 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
So far in 2023, Sato has competed in only the other oval race held so far, the PPG 375 at Texas Motor Speedway in April for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Before the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, team owner Chip Ganassi had indicated there is nothing in place for Sato to remain with the team beyond the Indianapolis 500.
“Not yet,” Ganassi said earlier this year at St. Pete. “Texas is before Indy. After that, TBD. We’re trying to get it all together.
“I don’t have the sponsorship right now. I don’t really want to but potentially, yeah. In other words, there’s no Leader’s Circle program with that car.”
That is the entry that was previously the No. 48 Honda driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in the full IndyCar Series season last year.
Sato’s agent, Steve Fuseck, told SPEED SPORT on Wednesday that his driver, Sato, has a contract for three more races, all on the ovals including the Iowa doubleheader in July and the last oval race of the season at Gateway in August.
Sato even admitted that the future is unclear beyond the Indianapolis 500.
“I think my future is wide open, and really there’s nothing guaranteed in the world,” Sato said in response to a question from SPEED SPORT. “It’s been a privilege to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing for the Indy 500, but just entirely focusing for this race first, and of course I’m representing on the No. 11 car for the rest of the season and hopefully two ovals more, too.
“But first things come first, the Indy 500 is a team score too, so yeah, that is very clear.”
Back in 2020 when he defeated Dixon in an Indy 500 that ended under caution, the two drivers were on rival teams. This year at Indy, they are teammates.
Ganassi’s entries featured four drivers in the top eight including Dixon in second.
“The car was fast right out of the gate, which was great to see,” Dixon said. “It was also great to see all four Ganassi cars running right near the top throughout the day. We’ll work through our list and keep working at it.”
The other Ganassi drivers included Alex Palou, fourth fastest at 228.729 mph in the No. 10 Honda and defending Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson, seventh at 227.701 mph in the No. 8 Huski Chocolate Honda.
“It’s just fantastic,” Sato said of fitting in with CGR. “Every teammate I’ve been really fortunate working together, to be honest, but of course my teammates are either Indy 500 winner or championship winner. It’s the quality of the four of us or five of us gathering together is always helping to push the team forward, and certainly Dixon and I of course have been together for a long time in the competition in a different team. Now I can talk to him whatever I want to, and vice versa.
“It certainly helps, and to be honest, today is my first run in a Chip Ganassi group run. That was really helping that Marcus was there, and of course Alex was trying to beat us all the time, which is really nice that we can share lots of things, I can trust the teammates all the time. Definitely a great environment.”
Santino Ferrucci of A.J. Foyt Racing was third at 228.977 mph followed by Palou. Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin rounded out the top five at 228.473 mph in the No. 3 Pennzoil Chevrolet.
The driver with the fastest non-tow speed was Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing. He ran a lap without the aid of a draft from another car in front of him at 223.212 mph in the No. 21 Chevrolet. Second on the non-tow list was his team owner and teammate Ed Carpenter at 222.341 mph in the No. 33 Chevrolet followed by Team Penske’s Will Power at 221.803 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Chevrolet.
“One thing is for certain, ECR has fast cars on the Speedway,” VeeKay said. “That makes me excited, but also, it’s just nice to really only have to fine tune the car, not the little details, because we’re already right at the top.
“It feels really good, but it’s Indy; we keep working on the car, and one day is good, the other might be worse, and it’s a roller coaster always. Don’t be too relaxed; tomorrow is another day, and only on Saturday and Sunday it counts this week.”
Practice continues Thursday from 12 noon to 6 p.m. Eastern Time. Each car gets to turn up the boost with additional turbocharger boost for “Fast Friday” from 12 noon to 6 p.m.
First day of qualifications is Saturday, while the starting lineup and the run for the pole will be determined on Sunday.