Takuma Sato talks about being the first Japanese Indy 500 winner

Japanese racing driver Takuma Sato won the Indianapolis 500 Sunday, May 29.

Billed as “The Greatest Spectacle in racing,” the Indy 500 is the best -known and most popular race in America.

Takuma Sato’s win was suitably spectacular.

He was third with nine laps to go. He took second with six to go. He took the lead from three-time-winner Helio Castroneves on the next lap.

He fought off Castroneves for the next five laps and came home two-tenths of a second ahead.

The 40-year-old Tokyo native had a lot to say—about more than racing.

“It’s a fantastic feeling—not only my personal feeling but the whole team Andretti Autosport did a fantastic job,” Sato said. “It means a lot to the sponsor, it means a lot to the fans, it means a lot to Japan too. Japan has been suffering from the earthquake and tsunami. There are still 250,000 people living in temporary housing so this is definitely a great acceleration to support them.”

Sato has been campaigning for quake and tsunami victims since 2011.

With the Indy win, Sato is tied for second in the IndyCar championship.

“Well, now we achieved the big dream and achievement so now we are concentrating on the rest of the season try to get as many points as possible to challenge for the championship,” he said.

Takuma and the rest of the IndyCar field will race on the streets of Detroit next. The Detroit Grand Prix is run in two heats, on June 3 and 4.