Bommarito Automotive Group 500: Takuma Sato victorious in chaotic race

Takuma Sato fought back from the controversy he created in Pocono in the best way possible, edging out Ed Carpenter to win just a week after causing a multi-car crash.

Sato won the race by just four hundredths of a second, and this was just one unexpected event in what was a truly unpredictable race.

Tony Kanaan fought his way to third place, but had a chance at second before he was passed by Carpenter with a handful of laps remaining. This is a season-best result for Kanaan in his #14 Chevrolet, who scored his first podium finish in two years.

Josef Newgarden was the leader in the early stages of the race, but was closely followed by Will Power and rookie Santino Ferrucci. Ferrucci lost his seat in Formula 2 due to dangerous driving, and he was accused of this again by Newgarden after a battle in the closing stages of the race.

Ferrucci was unable to overtake Kanaan on the final corner of the final lap, but tried to position his car on the racing line regardless. This led to Newgarden spinning out, but fortunately for the championship leader he coasted towards the finish line and finished seventh.

Newgarden was passed by both his teammate Simon Pagenaud and Carlin's Conor Daly, who finished in fifth and sixth respectively. Pagenaud is now the leading rival to Newgarden in the championship battle, with the pair only separated by 38 points.

Rounding out the top ten was the #28 of Ryan Hunter-Reay, followed by Colton Herta and Marco Andretti.

Notable absences from the classified finishers were Sebastien Bourdais, Scott Dixon, Spencer Pigot and Will Power. Power lost his chance at the victory after coming out of the pits on cold tyres and sliding into the wall, with Bourdais also retiring in a very similar incident.

Dixon retired due to an engine problem, which dealt another hefty blow to his chances of retaining the title he won last year.