Indy 500: 3 takeaways from IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500

What did IndyCar fans learn from Takuma Sato’s historic Indy 500 victory? Here are our takeaways from the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500.

The 2017 Indy 500 saw Takuma Sato make history as the first Asian-born IndyCar driver to win the league’s most prestigious race. It was also the second consecutive year that an Andretti Autosport driver was the Indianapolis 500 champion and another year in which Michael Andretti’s team looked impressive at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Yet who won the race was only one portion of the story. Once again Indianapolis proved to be the site of unforgettable moments, for both great and terrible reasons as some of the sport’s best drivers saw their fortunes change in an instant. (Helio Castroneves, we’re looking at you.) So what can we take away from all of this?

Here’s what we learned from the 2017 Indy 500:

1) Anyone can win the Indy 500

It’s the most prestigious race in American motorsports, but the Indy 500 really is anyone’s game and the 2017 edition of the event bore that out. Sunday was only Takuma Sato’s second IndyCar win of his entire career. He hadn’t seen a victory since 2013 and hadn’t been on a podium since 2015.

Finishing third was IndyCar rookie Ed Jones, and behind him was Max Chilton, neither of whom have ever won (yet because they both will if they keep driving like this). And Fernando Alonso was in contention to steal his Indianapolis 500 debut until his engine failed. Everyone comes to play at the Brickyard.

2) Ryan Hunter-Reay is mechanically cursed

IndyCar fans have to feel for Ryan Hunter-Reay, who’s just been cursed since he won the 2014 Indy 500. Last year he had the car to beat in the Indianapolis 500, was run over on pit lane, and watched one of his teammates win the race instead. This year he had the car to beat in the Indianapolis 500, saw his engine die, and watched one of his teammates win the race instead.

It gets even more frustrating when you realize that this isn’t even the first time this season that RHR’s engine has gone out on him. He needs to start sacrificing things to Jobu from Major League or something. By the way, you know who finished second the year that Hunter-Reay won the Indianapolis 500? That would be Castroneves.

3) Denis Leary should always do the driver introductions

There’s always a celebrity component to the Indy 500, but this year got particularly interesting when ABC revealed they’d asked actor-comedian Denis Leary to introduce the field.

As usual, Leary was deadpan, hilarious and cutting, especially when he was talking about Tony Kanaan and Josef Newgarden. Meanwhile, Oriol Servia got in a joke of his own and Simon Pagenaud showed off his dog Norman. It was the best starting lineup in a long time. Watch Leary’s driver introductions below and enjoy:

Next: Watch full video highlights from the 2017 Indy 500

What was your biggest takeaway from the Indy 500? Let us know in the comments or on social media.