Sato wins Indy 500

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The Andretti family has struggled for decades to win the Indianapolis 500.

As a car owner, though, Michael Andretti certainly knows the way to victory lane.

Takuma Sato won the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday to give Andretti a second consecutive victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” An Andretti driver has now won the 500 three times in the last four years.

Last year, it was with rookie Alexander Rossi. This time it is with Sato, who joined the team just this season and had largely been overlooked at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the Andretti camp expanded to six cars for the 500 with the addition of Formula One driver Fernando Alonso.

Sato had to hold off Helio Castroneves, who was trying to win for a record-tying fourth time, in the closing laps. Castroneves, in a Chevrolet for Team Penske, briefly took the lead but couldn’t make it stick as Sato grabbed it back.

The margin of victory was 0.2011 seconds — and it was redemption for Sato, who crashed while trying to beat Dario Franchitti on the final lap of the 2012 race.