AUGUST 26, 2020

(Photo by Chris Owens/INDYCAR)
Takuma Sato (No. 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Panasonic PeopleReady Honda Turbo V6/Dallara), who ran strong in the top five all day, caught and passed race leader Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Honda Turbo V6/Dallara) with almost 30 laps to go and held on to win his second Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon. With five laps to go, it was looking questionable whether Dixon would be able to catch Sato when Sato's teammate, Spencer Pigot (No. 45 RLL with Citrone/Buhl Autosport Hy-Vee Honda Turbo V6/Dallara) lost it in Turn 4, which sent him careening into the pit wall barrier at the beginning of the pit lane. It was a vicious crash and heavy impact, and Pigot was stunned, having to lay on the track surface after being helped out of his car while the medical staff attended to him. He was eventually transferred to the hospital but the 104th running of the race was not stopped, instead finishing under caution. “I think we had the best car,” Sato said immediately after the finish. “Only we were a lap short from Dixie in terms of the fuel strategy, and it was a little tight. I couldn’t use max power to switch back and forth. And Dixon kept coming through T4 and I was just able to hold him off. This is unbelievable. Everyone did a hell of a job.” For Dixon, the race was bitterly disappointing. In his post-race TV interview, Dixon questioned whether Sato had enough fuel to finish, and why the red flag wasn't displayed. “Definitely a hard one to swallow,” he commented. “We had such a great day with fuel mileage… I don’t see how they were going to make it. First time I’ve seen them (race control) let it run out like that (under yellows); I thought they were going to throw a red flag and it would have made an interesting last five laps. But massive congrats to Sato. Nice to gather some points, but it’s hard when it slips away like that. We had the mindset and I think the fuel, to get to the end. But you hesitate, and that’s what happens.”

(Photo by James Black/INDYCAR)
Would Takuma Sato have won if the race didn't get a caution at the end, given his fuel situation? We'll never know and it doesn't matter, because he is the winner of the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500.

(Photo by James Black/INDYCAR)
It was a bitter end to the Indianapolis 500 for Scott Dixon. "This was a hard one to swallow," Dixon said. "On fuel mileage, I can't really see how they were going to make it. We pitted a lap later, and the numbers they had to get, it was going to be very difficult."

(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
Graham Rahal (No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing United Rentals Honda Turbo V6/Dallara) drove a smart and calculated race to finish a very racy third in the "500." Honda power dominated the race as the Chevrolet-powered cars just couldn't match the speed of the Hondas.

(Photo by Chris Jones/INDYCAR)
It was The Best Day for Takuma Sato and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

(yahoo sports image)
What. A. Race. In a dramatic red-flagged BMW M Grand Prix of Styria, Miguel Oliveira (No. 88 Red Bull KTM Tech 3) got the better of Jack Miller (No. 43 Pramac Racing Ducati) and Pol Espargaro (No. 44 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) at the famous final corner, on the final lap, to win his first MotoGP™ race in the 900th premier class contest. It was a stunning victory for Oliveira, who hands Portugal and Tech 3 their first premier class wins, in his 150th Grand Prix. Needless to say, the final laps were sensational. Pol took the lead from Miller at Turn 9 but he wasn’t able to make it stick. Mir then went wide at Turn 4, allowing Andrea Dovizioso (No. 04 Ducati Team) to grab fourth as Miller and Oliveira tagged onto the back of Pol’s RC16. The top five were close, however Joan Mir (No. 36 Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Dovizioso were about to drop off the pace slightly with Dovi running wide again at Turn 9. Heading onto the last lap, this was going to be Espargaro vs. Miller vs. Oliveira. Two riders chasing their first win, and one chasing his first dry race win. Pol led going into the last lap and got a good run out of the first corner, but coming into the braking zone, Pol went very defensive, which compromised his exit and Miller was using all the power his Ducati had left to reel in the KTM. On the brakes, Miller was alongside Pol and made the move stick into the tricky, downhill right-hander. Miller held firm through the left-handers but Pol got the run up the hill and swerved to the inside and got underneath Miller. And it all came down to the final corner, on the final lap. Getting a better run down into Turn 10, Miller broke late and dived underneath Pol. The duo went wide though and guess who was waiting in the wings to pick up the pieces? Yes, Oliveira. Staying on his normal line, Oliveira blasted past Miller and Pol to seal a historic victory for himself, Portugal and Tech 3. Miller held onto second to pick up his second Red Bull Ring rostrum of 2020, with Pol claiming P3 to pocket his first dry podium in MotoGP™ - 0.540 splitting the podium finishers. Watch the five best moments from the race here. (Thank you to MotoGP.)

(Photo by AE Special Contributor Whit Bazemore)
Miguel Oliveira at Barcelona in 2019.

(Corvette Racing)
Antonio Garcia carefully directed his rattling, wounded No. 3 Corvette Racing C8.R to the finish line Saturday for an unexpected victory in the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway. It was the third win of the 2020 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season for Garcia and co-driver Jordan Taylor. The issue was a broken rear diffuser, and at first Garcia didn’t know what was causing the vibration that was buzzing through his car. He knew only that he had to make the car reach the finish line before the competitors bearing down on him. “It took me a little bit (to know what was wrong), but the whole car was shaking a lot,” he said. “About 200 kph, the whole car was shaking a lot. It was coming from the rear.” Garcia took the lead unexpectedly when Nick Tandy (No. 911 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19) was forced to pit with a cut left rear tire with 18 minutes left in the two-hour, 40-minute race, then held off a charging Bruno Spengler (No. 25 BMW Team RLL BMW M8 GTE) and Tandy to score Corvette Racing’s fourth consecutive victory in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class. Even after taking the lead, Garcia didn’t think he’d be able to maintain it. “I thought it was terminal because it was vibrating really bad,” Garcia said. “But once I got used to it and knew it wasn’t interfering with the performance, I knew I could handle it. With the gap I could manage to the BMW. It was stressful not knowing what would happen if the rear diffuser would have fallen off, but the C8.R held on.” Spengler, who teamed with Connor De Phillippi in the No. 25 BMW, held on for second, 3.521 seconds behind Garcia. The victory allowed Taylor and Garcia to extend their WeatherTech Championship GTLM points lead to 19 – 165-146 – over the defending GTLM champions Earl Bamber and Laurens Vanthoor, who finished fifth in class today in the No. 912 Porsche GT Team Porsche 911 RSR-19. The WeatherTech Championship season resumes Sept. 4-6 with the Michelin Endurance Challenge Weekend at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia. The six-hour TireRack.com Grand Prix headlines the weekend on Saturday, Sept. 5. (Thank you to Jeff Olson/IMSA WIre Service.)

(Michelin Motorsport)

Bill Auberlen put the crowning touch on a legendary career Saturday, taking sole possession of the all-time lead in IMSA race wins. Finishing off the effort that teammate Robby Foley started in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3, Auberlen took the checkered flag in the GT Daytona (GTD) class at the Michelin GT Challenge at VIR. The IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship win in the GT-only race at VIRginia International Raceway gave the 51-year-old Auberlen his 61st IMSA victory in a career that spans more than three decades. Auberlen had been tied with Scott Pruett at 60 wins. “It’s amazing,” Auberlen said. “I said my best career win was Petit Le Mans last year (win No. 60); I think this one has to top it. … It is probably the best win of my career. To do it with Robby, Turner, BMW, everybody, I’m super happy.” Foley put the No. 96 in position to win as the opening driver in the two-hour, 40-minute race. Starting second in class, he gunned past GTD Motul Pole Award winner Corey Fergus in the No. 76 Compass Racing McLaren 720S GT3 on the first lap and led the first hour. Foley remained near the front through varying pit strategies and was leading again when he turned over the No. 96 BMW to Auberlen with just under an hour remaining. Once final pit stops cycled through, Auberlen led the final 53 minutes. He faced a strong challenge from the charging No. 86 Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian Acura NSX GT3, until driver Mario Farnbacher made an ambitious dive for the lead heading into Turn 1 with 43 minutes remaining. Farnbacher locked his brakes and slid into the grass, as Auberlen scooted away unscathed. Win No. 61 came 27 years after Auberlen’s first, earned at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, in July 1993. And while the closing minutes in Saturday’s record-setter weren’t pressure-packed from the outside, he admitted to big-time jitters as the laps wound down. “This was the most nerve-racking hour of my life,” Auberlen said. “When I got to about 35 minutes, every little calculated mistake or whatever I was making, I would talk to myself: ‘Don’t blow this!’ This time it was all in my head, trying not to screw up, get this monkey off my back. Now we can put our head down for the season and try to win this championship.” After his ill-fated attempt to take the lead, Farnbacher dropped to fourth place before making a frantic comeback to finish second with co-driver Matt McMurry. Farnbacher overtook Lawson Aschenbach in the No. 74 Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3 for third place with 11 minutes left on the clock. Then, on the last lap while tangling with a pair of GT Le Mans (GTLM) class cars, Farnbacher was able to slip past Bryan Sellers in the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Lamborghini Huracán GT3 to salvage second place. The No. 48, meanwhile, crossed the finish line third but was later moved to the rear of the field when post-race technical inspection revealed a fuel-capacity infraction. That elevated the No. 74 Mercedes to the final spot on the GTD podium. (Thank you to Mark Robinson/IMSA Wire Service.)

(Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) dominated the Drydene 311 at Dover International Speedway, delivering an old-fashioned butt-kicking in the back end of a Saturday/Sunday NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader. After winning the first stage at the high-banked concrete Monster Mile, Harvick had already clinched the regular-season Cup championship and the 15-playoff-point bonus that goes with it, with next Saturday’s race at Daytona International Speedway still to be run. Harvick went on to sweep the second stage and the race, crossing the finish line 3.525 seconds ahead of runner-up Martin Truex Jr. (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) who finished second in both legs of the doubleheader after running third in each of the previous five races. The victory was Harvick’s series-leading seventh of the season, his third at Dover and the 56th of his career, tying him with Kyle Busch for ninth all-time. The win was the 700th Cup win for Ford. Harvick once again took the upper hand in his battle with Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota), who won his sixth race of the season on Saturday. (Thanks to Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service)