(“Recognizing Takuma” is a three-part series for IndyCar.com that records the changes the 41-year-old Japanese driver has experienced since winning the 101st Indianapolis 500 a year ago. This is the final installment. In case you missed them, you can read Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.)
If you’re wondering how life changes for drivers after they win the Indianapolis 500, consider this: Scott Dixon receives free lamb for life. As part of a promotion from a sheep breeders’ association in his native New Zealand, Dixon can order up free lamb whenever he wants. That isn’t the only perk he received for winning the race in 2008. He’s also on a postage stamp in New Zealand, where he was named Sportsman of the Year and met the prime minister.
When he first heard about the offer of free lamb, Dixon misheard it. “I actually thought it was ‘land’ for life with a ‘D,’” Dixon said in 2009 after returning from a long visit to New Zealand to celebrate the win at home. “I was pretty proud of that until they told me it was ‘lamb.’”
Like former teammate Tony Kanaan, Dixon lives in Indianapolis. Both can go about daily business – shopping and errands and dinners and such – without much intrusion. They get noticed, of course, but it’s not terribly invasive. Same goes for Takuma Sato, who spends a great deal of time in Indianapolis.
But when they go back home – Dixon to New Zealand, Kanaan to Brazil and Sato to Japan – it’s another story. In their native countries, they are famous with a capital “F,” all because of an auto race that transcends borders and languages and cultures.
“When I’m in Brazil, Christmas shopping is an adventure,” said Kanaan, who won the race in 2013. “It’s hard to get done what you want to get done. It takes one person to ask for a picture or an autograph and then everyone else comes along. It becomes an autograph session and a photo op at the mall instead of Christmas shopping. It’s happened to all foreign drivers – me, Dixon, Dario (Franchitti), Helio (Castroneves), Sato. We became heroes at home.”
The sports story of the moment in Japan is also a major sports story in the United States. Shohei Ohtani, a 23-year-old from Ōshū in northern Japan, is a rare baseball talent. A rookie with the Los Angeles Angels, Ohtani is a pitcher who hits with power. Sato met him last month before throwing out the first pitch at an Angels game, where they exchanged gifts and posed for photos. They are two of the hottest sports stars in Japan today, but Sato doesn’t see himself on the same level of popularity.
“He’s much more famous than me, for sure,” Sato says, smiling at the thought. “Baseball in Japan is much like it is in the States. It’s a very popular sport that every single person in Japan knows. Compared to motor racing, it’s night and day. However, motor racing is getting a lot of attention because of what we are doing. Last year’s 500 is spreading the word all over Japan.”
The spreading of the word means Sato will forever be linked to one race, to six laps of a hair-raising duel a year ago with Castroneves. If anyone knows what winning the race means to perceptions and notoriety, it’s Castroneves, who has won it three times and will try for a record-tying fourth on Sunday.
“It changes your name, basically,” Castroneves said. “Everybody introduces you with an addition to your name. He isn’t just Takuma Sato anymore. Now he’s Takuma Sato, 2017 Indy 500 champion. It’s respectful and amazing. In terms of yourself, it doesn’t change much. You know what you can do and now you want to do it again. That’s the toughest part. It changes, for sure, the way people see you, which is great. It makes you feel proud. It makes you feel strong.”
And sometimes, it gives you free food.
“I do get recognized more often since 2008, but other than that, not much has changed for me,” Dixon said. “You get introduced as an Indy 500 winner, which is nice. But I got to meet the prime minister of New Zealand at the time, and I’ll always have that free lamb.”
While Sato didn’t receive free chops, he did meet Shinzō Abe, the prime minister of Japan. He also met President Trump. He was greeted as a hero when he returned home after the Indy 500, and he continues to be a hero each time he returns.
“He’s the king of Japan, isn’t he?” Kanaan says with a laugh. “Once you win it, you get the responsibility forever that you’re an Indy 500 champion. You have a responsibility to represent INDYCAR and the title that you’ve earned for the rest of your life. Your life is a lot busier. It’s a good problem to have, but it takes some time to adjust to it. You think twice when you go to the mall. You think about how much you can accomplish once you get there.”
Sato isn't alone in his hero status. Hideki Matsuyama is the best Japanese golfer yet to hit the world stage. At 26, he has five victories on the PGA Tour, and has finished among the top six in all four majors in the past six years. But when asked if he’s the greatest Japanese golfer, though, Matsuyama points to his predecessors – guys like Jumbo Osaki, Tommy Nakajima, Shigeki Maruyama and Isao Aoki.
Sato is the Matsuyama of motorsports in Japan. He sees the drivers who came before him as the leaders and advocates of racing in his country, guys like Aguri Suzuki, Satoru Nakajima and Ukyo Katayama. Truth is, just as an untold number of young golfers has been inspired by Matsuyama, an untold number of young racers has been inspired by Sato.
“This is special for Sato,” Castroneves said. “He’s been breaking a lot of records in his career as a Japanese driver. Winning the Indy 500 just sealed the deal for the next generation of Japanese drivers. I feel like in the next 20 years, you’re going to see a lot of people referring to Takuma Sato as a phenomenal driver and a pioneer.”
A pioneer who hasn’t changed. The circumstances and accomplishments have changed, certainly, but the man himself hasn’t.
“I don’t feel I’ve changed a lot,” Sato said. “What I do is exactly the same. It’s basically drive the car fast, make the car fast, try to win, right? There’s nothing about that – before winning Indy and after winning Indy – that has changed. We do it exactly the same. The environment is the same. I changed teams (to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing this season), but all I want to do is remain competitive. The racing environment hasn’t changed at all.”
He pauses briefly, as if to catch up to it all. He has an addition to his name. He’s not just Takuma Sato anymore. He’s Takuma Sato, 2017 Indy 500 champion.
“What I do hasn’t changed, but the reactions to me have changed,” he says. “How people see me now is different, and that’s all from winning the Indy 500.”
