Takuma Sato wins 101st running of the Indianapolis 500

Takuma Sato has won the 2017 Indy 500.

Takuma Sato won the 101st running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday afternoon.

It is the first time the 40-year-old Japanese driver has won the race. He started in the fourth position. Helio Castroneves finished the Indy 500 in second and Ed Jones came in third. 

New Zealander Scott Dixon clocked the fastest qualifying time in 21 years to win the pole position. He was knocked out of the race after a scary crash with Jay Howard in the 53rd lap of the race. Dixon's car was torn in two but both drivers were able to walk away from the incident.

Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso decided to skip this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix and made his Indianapolis 500 debut. Alonso started fifth and led for stretches of the race, but exited with 21 laps to go when his engine gave out. He finished 24th. 

Engine failure also took 2014 Indy 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay out of the race with 64 laps to go, and he finished 27th. 

Alexander Rossi, who won the 100th running of the race a year ago, finished in seventh after starting the race in the third position.