2012 Indy 500: Dario Franchitti Wins As Takuma Sato Crashes Late

I don’t understand a word the Japanese commentators were saying as they called the end of the Indy 500, but it doesn’t much matter. From the tone of their voices, it’s pretty easy to figure out the swings in emotion they felt as Takuma Sato barely slid into second place, then nearly took the lead of the first turn of the final lap before crashing.

Pretty cool to hear the end of the race, which was incredibly wild, from a different viewpoint. Video after the jump.

Or $2,474,280 richer, to be exact.

The three-time winner earned 19 percent of the overall race purse with the win. The prize money was announced Monday night at the Victory Awards Celebration at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Rubens Barrichello came in 11th place at the 2012 Indianapolis 500, good enough to earn him the title of Chase Rookie of the Year. The 40-year-old performed well in his first time around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Barrichello is a veteran of Formula One racing, but was competing in IndyCar for just the first time in his career. With a win, he would have become the first driver ever to win the U.S. Grand Prix Formula One race and the Indy 500 in his career. Barrichello was in the Top 10 by Lap 148 of the race before ultimately being edged by Helio Castroneves.

When NASCAR started making mass changes at the height of its popularity midway through last decade, I was in favor of almost everything officials were doing.

New points system to create a playoff? Great idea!

This was taken before Sunday’s Indy 500, but it might be the most poignant photo of the day. It was the calm before the storm, two drivers awaiting the race. It also happened to include the winner, Dario Franchitti, and the third-place finisher, Tony Kanaan.

There are the personalities -- Franchitti leaned back in a chair, cool as can be; Kanaan happily seated on the floor, sipping from a water bottle.

So, Sunday’s Indy 500 was won by Dario Franchitti. But who really cares about that? Not the roughly 200,000 people who attended the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

People took photos of people at Sunday’s race, and, well, they’re pretty fantastic:

The worst news ever for racecar drivers is that everything they say is being broadcast to someone somewhere. Some racers probably keep this in mind. I probably wouldn’t if I was going 200 miles per hour. Luckily, neither does Marco Andretti. His quotes from the Indy Star:

Way to be, Marco. Way to be.

Dario Franchitti earned his third Indy 500 victory after a late crash by Takuma Sato on the final lap cost the relatively unknown Japanese driver the race. SB Nation’s Jeff Gluck was at the Brickyard, and here’s his instant analysis:

Gluck talks about the exciting finish to the race and Franchitti’s relationship with the late Dan Wheldon, who was celebrated today at the track. It’s still unclear whether or not Franchitti was responsible for Sato’s wreck -- Franchitti obviously says he wasn’t, Sato disagrees -- but regardless, he was the one drinking the milk at the end of the day when all was said and done.

Dario Franchitti won the 2012 Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon and will head home with both his third Indy 500 trophy and a clear conscience.

Franchitti insisted he did not squeeze down on Takuma Sato in their last-lap incident, though the Japanese racer felt differently.

The Andretti family may be racing royalty, but the Indianapolis 500 doesn’t care. Not since 1969 when Mario Andretti won has the family tasted victory at the Brickyard, with the family going 0-for-66 in combined attempts from Mario’s sons Michael and Jeff, nephew John and grandson Marco Andretti.

In fact, Marco, in his seventh Indy 500 start, couldn’t even finish this year’s race, wrecking with just 12 laps to go when he was eighth place. Marco led early in the race and was among the leaders all day before his frustrating crash, which you can see below the jump.

There was Indy 500 2012 winner Dario Franchitti donning white sunglasses in the winner’s circle on Sunday. The look was an homage to his close friend Dan Wheldon, last year’s Indianapolis 500 winner, who was killed in an October crash at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Wheldon was on everyone’s mind on Sunday, and Franchitti couldn’t leave him out of his post-race interview.

Takuma Sato walked out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield medical center wearing a sponsor’s hat that seemed to have an appropriate slogan written on the bill: “No attack, no chance.”

But after the Japanese driver made a gutsy attempt to pass Dario Franchitti on the last lap of Sunday’s Indy 500, Sato didn’t believe the message rang true.

After more than three hours of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dario Franchitti is your winner of the 96th Indianapolis 500. Franchitti overtook teammate Scott Dixon in a wild final five laps. He held off Takuma Sato to cross the line for his third Indy 500 win.

The Andretti drought continued on Sunday when Marco Andretti crashed with just 11 laps remaining. Andretti went across the track and crashed into the wall after losing control The Andretti family has not won the Indy 500 since 1969, when Mario clinched it. Marco’s crash forced the seventh caution of the race which lasted until there were seven laps to go.

Dario Franchitti won his third Indianapolis 500 under caution on Sunday. The 2012 Indy 500 finish provided wild video with Takuma Sato — running right with Franchitti — wrecking at the end in an attempt to pass for the lead. It was a terrific end to a wild day of racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

How crazy was this race? With 20 laps left, the field had already broken the record for most lead changes in 96 years of Indianapolis 500 history.

An unlikely and surprising story is developing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway today, where Japan’s Takuma Sato is leading the Indy 500 with just 55 laps remaining.

Three-quarters of the way through the 500-mile race, Sato is stunning the field by running up front for lap after lap. Three-time defending IZOD IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti is second, followed by Scott Dixon.

Airborne cars are something no one ever wants to see, but it was especially scary to see the replay of Mike Conway getting launched by Will Power in a lap 82 crash at the 2012 Indy 500 today.

Conway had spun around and hit the wall, which then collected Power. But Power’s car catapulted Conway into the air, and the No. 14 car rode the wall – with the driver’s head dangerously close to the fence – until it eventually dropped back onto the track.

Marco Andretti, who agreed with the IZOD IndyCar Series drivers who said he was the 2012 Indianapolis 500 favorite, is leading at Indy after the first 55 laps.

The first quarter of the 96th Indy 500 had just one caution flag – a spin for Bryan Clauson, who kept it off the wall and did not damage his car – but the biggest story so far was the black flag for the two Lotus-powered cars.

I’m going to try and post a photo about once every hour this morning from Indianapolis Motor Speedway so you can get an idea of what it’s like to see the grandstands go from zero to 250,000 before lunchtime.

Keep checking back here and I’ll keep updating this when I can up until the start of the Indy 500.

If you don’t pay close attention to the motorsports world, you may not have heard that Danica Patrick is no longer an IZOD IndyCar Series driver and thus will not be racing in today’s Indianapolis 500.

And the IndyCar drivers that the Go Daddy Girl left behind aren’t exactly bummed she’s gone.

The 2012 Indy 500 lineup is set for Sunday’s race. Ryan Briscoe, who won the pole during last week’s qualifying, is the odds-on favorite to win at 15-4, edging out Team Penske teammates Helio Castroneves (11-2) and Will Power (6-1).

Andretti Autosports owns three of the next five spots on the odds list with James Hinchcliffe (17-2), Marco Andretti (10-1) and Ryan Hunter-Reay (12-1). Hinchcliffe and Hunter-Reay will both start with Briscoe in the first row of drivers. Andretti, Power and Castroneves make up the second row.

While hundreds of thousands will watch the 2012 Indianapolis 500 live from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, you don’t have to be at the track in order to watch the race. In fact, you won’t even need a television to watch. The 2012 Indy 500 will be available via a live stream.

The race, which begins at noon ET, can be watched thanks to additional coverage via ESPN 3, which will feature onboard cameras for 12 drivers.

Just being here, in the field at the Indy 500, is an accomplishment for Bryan Clauson. The rookie driver is soaking it all in, happy to be in the field, despite starting on the inside of the final row. For a rookie making his first start in an IndyCar, it doesn’t get much better than Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The story of how Clauson got here, though, is far from ordinary. Eight days ago, things were looking good for the young driver. His car was running well, turning in laps over 223 miles per hour on Pole Day. His first lap was among the fastest of the day to that point, and there wasn’t much of a drop-off as he ticked off his second and third laps.

With the traditional boom of a cannon, the public gates opened here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway about one hour ago, and the sun is now coming up over the track.

I came across a very detailed copy of the Indy 500 Race Day schedule and start time for today, so I thought I’d share it in case any of you were interested.

Record-setting heat is in store for the Indianapolis 500 today.

The hottest Indianapolis 500 was back on May 31, 1937, with a temperature of 92 degrees. The daily record for today in Indianapolis is 94 set back in 1911. It’s very likely we will tie or break one – if not both – of these records.

With Sunday’s Indy 500 race time quickly approaching, it is time to take a closer look at how the drivers will begin the race. Nine of the the first 10 cars in the starting grid are using Chevrolet engines, including all six cars in the first two rows.

Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe won the pole during last week’s qualifying and he will be joined on the front row by a pair of Andretti Autosport teammates, James Hinchcliffe and Ryan Hunter-Reay. A third Andretti Autosport team member, Marco Andretti, will start on the inside of row two. Andretti will be joined by Will Power and Helio Castroneves, both Team Penske drivers.