Rahal returning Takuma Sato for fourth IndyCar season

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato will be returning to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing next year for a fourth season.

“Clearly it has been a successful partnership over the last several years, culminating in this year’s Indy 500 victory and I look forward to further success with Takuma throughout 2021,” team co-owner Bobby Rahal said Saturday.

Sato has four of his six career IndyCar victories with RLL, including the Indy 500 in August. He ranked seventh in the series standings heading into Sunday’s season finale, and Sato has never finished higher than eighth in points.

“The 2020 season was an unforgettable one for many reasons. Needless to say, it was an extremely challenging situation worldwide, but the team continued to work very hard to be competitive under the difficult circumstances,” Sato said.

“Our Indy 500 win was a truly special moment and I want to thank everyone at the team again. We are already focused on the future and I am really looking forward to 2021.”

The Japanese driver has 181 career IndyCar starts dating to his 2010 rookie season. He won his first Indy 500 in 2017.

Sato, a native of Tokyo, Japan, also has victories in the 2013 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, 2018 Portland Grand Prix, 2019 Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama and Bommarito 500 at WWT Raceway, with four of the six coming with RLL.

Of his 14 podium finishes to date, 10 have come with RLL and he has earned 10 Indy car poles, three of which are with RLL.

Prior to IndyCar, he competed in 90 Formula One races between 2002-2008 with his highest finish of third at the 2004 United States Grand Prix.

“It has been a pleasure working with Takuma for many years and sharing with him all of the successes he has had,” said Mike Lanigan, co-owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing with Bobby Rahal and David Letterman. “Winning the Indy 500 together exceeded my own dreams and we at RLL look forward to more success in the new season. Having Takuma back with our team in 2021 provides continuity and will allow us to build upon the competitiveness we have shown this season.”

A late race caution set up a 14-lap shootout at Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, Illinois with Kyle Larson winning his second consecutive High Limit Sprint Car Series race over Rico Abreu.

Starting eight on the grid after a disappointing pole dash, Larson missed several major incidents as he worked his way to the front. On Lap 1 of 35, a five-car accident claimed Tyler Courtney and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid, who both took a tumble and before collecting three other cars. Once that red flag was lifted, it didn’t take long for drivers to get tangled again as the leader Danny Dietrich experienced engine trouble on Lap 8. When he slowed rapidly, second-place Brent Marks collided with his back tire, ending the day for both.

Larson moved up to fourth with this incident.

Another red flag on Lap 21 for a flip involving Parker Price-Miller set up the dash for the win.

“My car felt really good and then we got that red,” Larson said from victory lane. “I was kind of running through the crumbs before that in 3 and 4; I could tell the top was getting really sketchy. Parker was making mistakes up there.

“When the red came out, I could see there was a clean lane of grip – not just marbles. It’s hard to see when you’re at speed. I figured Rico was going to run the top and he did. I got to his inside a couple of times and I was like ‘please don’t go to the bottom,’ and I threw a slider on him. Then he went to the bottom and I thought I was screwed until he spun his tires really bad off the corner and I was able to hit the top okay and get another run and slide him. I got good grip off the cushion.”

The victory makes Larson the first repeat winner in the series’ five-race history. He beat Justin Sanders earlier this month at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio.

With 10 laps remaining, Larson caught and pressured Abreu. The two threw a series of sliders at one another until Abreu bobbled on the cushion and lost momentum.

“Anytime you race Rico and he’s on the wall like that, you have to get aggressive,” Larson said. “He’s pushing so hard that just to stay in the striking zone if he makes a mistake, you have to push hard too.”

For Abreu, it was his second near-miss this season. He was leading at Lakeside in the 2023 opener until a tire went flat in the closing laps.

“I felt like I made a lot of mistakes at the end,” Abreu said. “It’s just hard to judge race pace. You’ve got Kyle behind you and [Anthony] Macri and these guys that have had speed all year long. I was racing as hard as I could and the mistake factor is more and more critical.”

Cory Eliason earned his career-best High Limit finish of third after starting deep in the field in 13th.

Macri lost one position during the race to finish fourth with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. rounding out the top five.

Visiting from the NASCAR Cup series, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 19th in the 25-car field after advancing from the B-Main.

2023 High Limit Sprint Car Series

Race 1: Giovanni Scelzi wins at Lakeside Speedway
Race2: Anthony Macri wins at 34 Raceway
Race 3: Kyle Larson wins at Wayne County Speedway

Hitting the road. 👋🏼

Safe travels to all the racers this weekend — we’ve got teams heading for Iowa, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and all over.

The High Limit Sprint Car Series will be back in 6️⃣ days for a $28,023/Win, $1,500/Start show at Nebraska’s @EagleRaceway on Tues, June 6. pic.twitter.com/YhBa3vGoMD

— High Limit Racing (@HighLimitRacing) June 1, 2023

Two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato will return to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Kyle Larson wins High Limit Sprint race at Tri-City Speedway ahead of Rico Abreu

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