It was an unlikely pairing that no one was certain would work when A.J. Foyt hired Takuma Sato to drive for him this year. Foyt, the hot-tempered Texan with little patience for errors, had just hired a talented Japanese driver with a penchant of letting his aggression take him out of many races. Sato's most spectacular gaffe came on the last lap of last year's Indianapolis 500, when he wrecked while racing for the win. Foyt made it clear early he wanted his new driver to bring a 10th-place car home in 10th, to never push past the limit and settle for what the car would give him. On Sunday, the car gave both owner and driver a victory. Sato became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race, taking the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach in just his third race with his new team. The win came in Sato's 52nd career start, but was the first for A.J. Foyt Racing since Airton Dare won Kansas in 2002. Even more impressive? It was the first on a road or street course since 1978 when Foyt was behind the wheel for a win at Silverstone. "We've had a lot of drivers, but none of them wanted to win," Foyt said, "this boy wants to win." Read more http://espn.go.com/racing/indycar/s...a-sato-first-japanese-driver-win-indycar-race
