Long Beach, CA (Sunday, April 10, 2022) – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR driver Takuma Sato was having a strong run around the streets of Long Beach, having made his way to 13th from his 22nd spot on the starting grid but another top 10 finish fell out of his sight following contact with the tire barrier in Turn 8 with two laps to go.
Started: 22nd
Finished: 17th
• Throughout the race, Sato was making his way up the field with every lap from his 22nd place on the starting grid.
• By lap 15, he was running 15th and was ninth by the time he entered pit lane on Lap 29.
• Following his stop, the #51 Nurtec ODT driver was running 19th and once again continued to move up.
• He then ran 14th for the majority of his second stint.
• Sato entered pit lane on Lap 56 to make his final stop for fuel and a set of primary Firestone tires.
• He then climbed to 13th and remained in that position until he ended up in the tire barrier when trying to defend his position from Rinus Veekay going into Turn 8.
• With Veekay on fresher tires, both drivers went wide into the turn, but Sato ended up in the marbles and that sent him into the tire barrier.
• While he was able to get back on track, the incident put him a lap down.
Takuma Sato #51 Nurtec ODT Honda – Dale Coyne Racing with RWR
“It’s always nice to come back to Long Beach. We had a tough weekend, and in qualifying we didn’t find the right balance, so we had to start from the back. However, we had a strong race, and I was able to make up some positions and pass some cars on track. That was really fun. Unfortunately, with 2 laps to go I was running P13, that was encouraging. However, with the timing of the yellows it allowed some drivers to dive into the pits and get a fresh set of red tires whereas I had 25 lap old tires. Rinus Veekay was behind me and very strong and I was trying to defend my position into turn 8. He came into the inside and both cars went wide, and I got into the marbles and I went into the tire barrier. I was able to get back on track, but it was a shame. At least we fought really strong until the end like in St. Pete. I look forward to the next race in Barber for my first road course with Dale Coyne Racing with RWR.”
dalecoyneracing.com 