IndyCar Winner Spotlight: Takuma Sato surprises at Portland

By Benjamin Kuhl | Sep 4, 2018

FORT WORTH, TX - JUNE 08: Takuma Sato, driver of the #30 ABeam Consulting Honda (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images) /

Takuma Sato was one of the last IndyCar drivers you would have believed had a shot to win the 2018 Grand Prix of Portland. But after a chaotic race, he came out on top.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s Takuma Sato started the 2018 Portland Grand Prix from a distant 20th place in a field of 25 driver after a poor qualifying session. He was determined to bring his #30 Honda to the front while navigating the high-speed, 12-turn, 1.967-mile (3.166-kilometer) Portland International Raceway road course in Portland, Oregon.

The strategy from the start was split between teams opting for a two-stop and save strategy or a three-stop and push strategy. Sato was the biggest mover of the entire race, picking up a total of 19 positions. This was made possible by the multiple caution flags that came out towards the later stages of the race and essentially reset the field order, which played to his benefit.

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This win marks the first for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing since the 2017 IndyCar season when Graham Rahal won both of the doubleheader races on the streets of Belle Isle in Detroit, Michigan.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s best result in 2018 had also come from Rahal and came in the way of a second place finish in the opening race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. This win is the fifth win for the team since becoming Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in 2011, as they were previously known as Rahal Letterman Racing.

As impressive as Sato’s win was, it did very little to boost his championship aspirations, as the veteran driver is still buried in the championship standings. He currently has 341 points to his name, which is 257 points behind the point total of current championship leader Scott Dixon, who has 598 points after a remarkable fifth place finish after receiving lap one contact.

Sato’s closest rival is fellow Honda driver James Hinchcliffe who currently has 361 championship points, which is 20 points ahead of Sato’s point total. This recent race win made Sato the eighth driver to win a race this year.

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The next and final race of the 2018 IndyCar season will take place for the last time at Sonoma Raceway. This race, the IndyCar Grand Prix of Sonoma, is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 16. Tune in for the live broadcast of the race on NBC Sports Network beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET.