Takuma Sato won the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500 Sunday. Sato returned to victory lane after winning the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing” in 2017.

The 43-year-old Japanese driver held off New Zealand IndyCar veteran Scott Dixon in the last few laps just before a yellow flag with five laps to go due to Spencer Pigot crashing coming out of turn four. The caution was not lifted before Sato cruised across the bricks, taking the checkered flag.

This year’s Indy 500 made its mark with a few firsts: Roger Penske as the owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first time the race was run outside of Memorial Day weekend, and the first time the race was conducted without fans in the stands.

Penske finalized his purchase of the track earlier this year, taking the reins from the Hulman-George family who owned and operated IMS for 75 years.

“Welcome race fans from around the world. Thank you for joining us for the 104th running of the Indianapolis 500,” Penske said in his remarks before telling drivers to start their engines. “This is a special day for me and the Penske family as we begin the stewardship of this iconic Speedway.”

He thanked the Hulman-George family for all their years of leadership and said he wished he could share Sunday’s race with the fans in person, “but we’ll be back home in Indiana in 2021.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Penske and other race officials decided to not have fans attend this year’s race after earlier attempts to allow a reduced number of spectators.

Contact reporter Samantha at shorton@wfyi.org or follow her on Twitter at @SamHorton5.