Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Motorsport

Nick DeGroot

Ed Carpenter explains why he was so angry with Takuma Sato

Ed Carpenter Takuma Sato Christian Rasmussen Indy 500 ECR Fox IndyCar

Ed Carpenter, 45, finished 31st in his 23rd appearance at the Indianapolis 500, and and the 3x Indy 500 pole-sitter didn't make it very far into the event. That result matches his worst ever at the speedway.

So, what went wrong? On the first restart of the race, Carpenter found himself three-wide with Will Power to his inside and Takuma Sato to his outside. He likely thought he was in a safe position between two Indy 500 champions, but that's not how things unfolded.

As the field raced down into Turn 1, Sato came down and pinched Carpenter, leading to contact between the two cars. Sato escaped unscathed, but Carpenter spun sideways, and his No. 33 ECR Chevy slammed backwards into the outside wall.

His race was over after just 27 laps, and the veteran was fuming. He pointed to Sato as the field paced by under caution, sharing some unpleasant words if you can read lips.

Outside the infield care enter, Carpenter explained why he was so frustrated with the situation, telling a scrum of reporters: "Takuma tried to make it three-wide into Turn 1 on the restart, which was unwise. Not only did he do that, he squeezed me down like I was not going to be there.

Ed Carpenter into the wall and he's NOT happy. #Indy500 pic.twitter.com/YOY79HURuB
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 24, 2026

Ed Carpenter is ANGRY. His #Indy500 is over. pic.twitter.com/nOr9b8wrlP
— INDYCAR on FOX (@IndyCarOnFOX) May 24, 2026

"Really disappointed, so early in the race. For two veterans like that, a 2x champion, I expect way more out of him."

To make matters worse, his day didn't get any better as a team owner. Both Alexander Rossi and Christian Rasmussen fell out of the race, making it a triple DNF for ECR after what looked like a promising Month of May for the team.

During Monday's Indy 500 Victory Celebration banquet, Carpenter revealed that while still upset about the early incident, he and Sato have since had a good talk about what transpired on the track, and even 'pseudo-hugged' it out.

When Sato took the stage, he explained that he actually had no idea what happened, nor that Carpenter was angry with him until post-race media interviews. He also wasn't aware that they were three-wide entering that corner.

Felix Rosenqvist went on to win the 110th edition of the Indianapolis 500, beating David Malukas in the closest-ever photo finish at the speedway.