Indy 500: Sato puts Coyne on top on Day 1, Jimmie Johnson third

Sato ran only four laps in the morning’s two hour session, unhappy with the aero balance of his car, but come the afternoon, he shone. On his 63^rd of 64 laps, the 2017 and 2020 Indy winner got a strong tow from several cars and lapped the 2.5-mile oval in 39.3118sec, an average speed of 228.939mph.

Despite his best effort receiving tow assists, he actually made up most of his speed on the opposition in the Turns, since his trap speeds were ‘only’ between 4^th and 5^th fastest.