The Five Worst IndyCar Collapses Since 2006
By Asher Fair
No. 5: Takuma Sato, Indianapolis, 2012
While Takuma Sato was not the leader of the 2012 Indianapolis 500 after crossing the start/finish line with one lap to go, he was in a position to win the race.
Sitting in 2nd place behind eventual winner Dario Franchitti, Sato showed no patience with an inside move of Franchitti going into turn one. While there was clearly not enough room between Franchitti’s car and the grass for Sato to slide through, Sato decided to attempt to execute the move anyway.
It did not end well for him. He spun out and crashed into the turn one barrier, allowing Franchitti to win his third Indianapolis 500 under caution.
Had Sato waited until turn three to make the move, maybe things would have turned out differently. But we will never know for sure what would have happened.