Fort Worth, TX (Sunday, March 20, 2022) – Takuma Sato saw his strong start to the XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway come to an early end after contact from another driver pushed him towards the wall.
Started: 3rd
Finished: 20th
- Sato remained in the top 3 for the majority of his first stint and pit from the lead on Lap 63 for his first stop.
- Unfortunately for Sato, his teammate stalled exiting his pit box when he was about to enter his, which ended up costing him positions on track.
- Following the mishap in the pits Sato returned to the track in 17th but would later be taken out by Devlin DeFrancesco who had a ‘moment’ and clipped Sato’s front tire.
- The contact sent the #51 Nurtec ODT driver towards the wall and despite just making slight contact, the crew had to make repairs to his car’s suspension.
- Sato managed to head back on track but the damage was done and he choose to retire with an ill driving car on lap 153, after moving into 20th place.
Takuma Sato #51 Nurtec ODT Honda – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
“We had mixed feelings today. Obviously disappointed to not finish the race but David (Malukas) had an exciting race which was good for the team. We had a very fast car today. At the start, we weren’t very good, but I was able to regain my position moving up from fifth to third. I was able to stretch out our first stint. I think our tire management was better so I led the race in the perfect first stint. Unfortunately, we had a little issue with our teammate in pit lane and I couldn’t get into my box because I was blocked so I lost significant positions. In my second stint, as I was trying to get back to the front I was side by side with DeFrancesco and he had a moment and came up the track and made contact and I ended up damaging my suspension. It’s very unfortunate but the team did a fantastic job this weekend. I’m excited for the next race in Long Beach, we’ll be refreshed, and we’ll try our best again.”
dalecoyneracing.com 