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Article snippet: INDIANAPOLIS — Takuma Sato, a journeyman driver, became the first Japanese winner of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday when he held off the three-time champion Helio Castroneves in a 230-mile-per-hour wheel-rubbing duel to the finish. “Unbelievable!” Sato shouted in victory lane after holding off Castroneves by three car lengths. Ed Jones was just behind them in third, followed by Max Chilton and the former champion Tony Kanaan. “I really thought we had it,” said Castroneves, who was trying to join A. J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears as one of the race’s four-time winners. “I think I bent the throttle, I pressed it so hard. I know I bumped Sato’s car a few times. That thing must be indestructible.” Castroneves was lucky to be alive, much less battling for victory at the end. He actually drove under the airborne car of Scott Dixon, whose race ended in a crash that is likely to live forever in Indy lore, if not on YouTube. It was the most spectacular of several collisions, which all but transformed the competition into a wheel-to-wheel destruction derby — ruining millions of dollars’ worth of cars, without serious injury to anyone. Sato, 40, a failed Formula One driver who had just one previous victory in 123 IndyCar starts, is perhaps best remembered for spinning out of the 2012 Indy 500 on the final lap while challenging the eventual winner Dario Franchitti for the lead. Sato ended up leading for 17 of the 200 laps in this race, the 101st edition; Chilton led for th... Link to the full article to read more