Throughout its 100 year history the Indianapolis 500 has been defined by the speed and bravery of the men and women who choose to contest the event each year, with each driver pushing their luck and driving ability to the limit at the Brickyard knowing that the reward that comes with success will be more then justification for their work and effort. Over the years many drivers have taken extreme chances in their failed attempts to win the Memorial Day Classic, and recent years there has been no more high profile an example of this then Takuma Sato in 2012.

Heading into the 2012 500, Indycar racing found itself under something of an uncertain cloud; the passing of reigning Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon in an accident at Las Vegas in 2011 had placed the series under scrutiny from those both inside and outside of the sport, with some media critics even going as far to question the viability open wheel oval racing in a modern climate. With the sport under the most focus for many years, it was an incentive for the 500 to deliver an exciting and ultimately safe race in what was the first oval event since Wheldon’s passing seven months previously.

The poignancy surrounding that year’s event struck a chord in particular with Dario Franchitti. The reigning series champion had been one of Wheldon’s closest friends during his Indycar career, with his passing at the season finale in Vegas affecting Franchitti more then any other driver in the Indycar field at the time, and leading many to believe that the accident had made an effect on Franchitti’s motivation heading into the 2012 season. This, added with his struggles to adapt to the series’ new DW12 chassis left the Scotsman mired in the championship points heading into the month of May. Motivated by a need to honour his close friend Wheldon, along with a proven track record at the speedway in recent seasons, Franchitti remained confident of being a contender come race day, and in the process going a long proving his increasing number of doubters wrong come race day.

Another man with a point to prove that afternoon was Takuma Sato; the Japanese driver had first entered Indycar racing in 2010 following a seven year spell in Formula One, where he quickly earned a reputation for himself as a fast and determined driver whose aggressive driving style often saw him involved in accidents while contending for strong finishing positions. Following a two year spell with KV Racing in which he picked up three top three top five finishes, Sato moved to Rahal Letterman racing for the 2012 season, and following his first podium finish at the previous round in Brazil the Japanese driver was confident of a positive showing as he started his third Indy 500 I 19th place, three slots behind Franchitti on the grid.

After running anonymously during the early stages of the race Franchitti’s day took a turn for the worse on lap 31, when Bryan Clauson spun on the entry to turn one bringing out the first caution period of the day. As Franchitti entered the pits to make a stop under the yellow flag, his Ganassi machine made contact with EJ Viso, causing the Scotsman to spin in his pit-stop and lose ground on the field as his team attempted to right his machine. Although Franchitti’s machine was undamaged, the accident left him mired to the back of the field and with much work to do if he wished to get himself back into contention for a third 500 win. The accident however only helped to fire up Franchitti even more, and by the time the green flag came out to restart the race on lap 33 the Scotsman began to carve his way through the field, trading fastest laps with team-mate Scott Dixon as the two Ganassi drivers moved their way toward the front of the field, taking the lead for the first time as the race entered it’s half way point, followed closely by Ryan Hunter-Reay, Graham Rahal, Justin Wilson and Takuma Sato rounding out the top six.

By the time the race reached the 450 mile mark, the Ganassi drivers continued to remain the dominance force up front, with Franchitti and Dixon both taking turns to lead as the race entered its later stages. Despite this however both drivers expressed concerns over their security at the front of the pack; although the two Target machines had a competitive edge over their peers the aerodynamics qualities of the DW12 meant that they were unable to break away from the rest of the field, and in the process keeping a chasing pack of drivers, headed by Takuma Sato, in contention to steal the win from the Ganassi pair. Entering the 199th lap Franchitti moved to the inside of Dixon to take the lead again on the start/finish straight, but as Dixon attempted to slide in behind his veteran team-mate Sato followed Franchitti through, bravely diving up the inside of Dixon going into turn 1, causing the New Zealander to lose momentum on the lead duo and turn the race into a two car battle with just over a lap remaining.

As the two drivers entered the final lap of the race Franchitti took a defensive on the inside of the circuit in an attempt to cover off any attack from Sato entering turn 1. The Japanese driver however was unfazed, and despite having little room on the inside of the corner attempted to squeeze past Franchitti on the inside of the corner. The two cars made contact, forcing Sato into a spin that sent him crashing into the outside of turn 1, barely avoiding Franchitti in the process. The yellow flag was immediately thrown, freezing the field and declaring Franchitti the victor with Dixon second and close friend Tony Kanaan in third place, whilst Sato was officially classified in 17th place one lap down. Arriving in victory lane Franchitti was noticeably emotional in victory lane, pointing to the skies as he drank the celebratory milk before dedicating the win to his close friend Dan Wheldon.

The victory was Franchitti’s third 500 win in six years, a statistic that made him the tenth and most recent man ever to win the race on that many occasions. Sadly however, the win would also be the last for the Scotsman in Indycar racing, as just over a year later the 39 year old was involved in an accident, ironically with Sato, that saw his car vault into the catch fencing and leave the Scotsman with a spinal fracture, right ankle fracture as well a concussion, leading to the former champion announcing his retirement from the sport on medical grounds. Sato meanwhile would move to drive for AJ Foyt for the 2013 season, but has yet to capture the save level of competitiveness at the Speedway that saw him come so close to an upset win in 2012.

For today’s video we have the final stages of the 2012 500, albeit this time with Japanese commentary. Note the excitement as Sato goes for the pass and the despair when it ultimately fails.

http://www.liveleak.com/ll_embed?f=281a272612d9