Takagi slammed for causing crash

With nine laps to go, Takagi tried to pass Scott Sharp on the inside, who was himself side-by-side with Felipe Giaffone in a battle for third. Takagi's car dipped below the white line and onto the apron, then rebounded into Sharp's, taking him and Giaffone out of the race. Takagi continued to finish third.

The move left Sharp fuming. He suggested that the IRL should reprimand Takagi, and wasn't alone in this opinion. "I fully expect the IRL will do something about it," said Sharp. "It's pretty obvious. Anytime your car gets on the apron, it just throws you up. The white line is the start of the apron. If you start to go down there, it will push your car back up."

Helio Castroneves, who saw the accident from behind, said: "Tora just went inside too low. There was no way he could fit his car in there without crashing. It was just a shame that something like that happened. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. Next time, it could be the real deal. They need to look into that."

Kenny Brack, another driver who narrowly avoided the incident on his way to fourth, was critical of the general standard of driving in the race, but especially of Takagi. "There was some pretty dangerous stuff going on out there," said Brack. "I don't know what Takagi was thinking. He tried to go from the banking to the apron and inside of Sharp. That was stupid."

For his part, Takagi claimed he was forced onto the apron. He said: "I have to avoid the crash. I have to go down."