Indy experience pays as 40-somethings rule

Age and experience was a deciding factor in who won and lost the 101st Indy 500.

In what was an odd but important precedent set on Sunday, the winner of the race, 40-year-old Takuma Sato, 42-year-old runner-up Helio Castroneves and two more over-40 drivers dominated the top six at the checkered flag. Ask some of them if it was a coincidence, and the responses just as bold as their performances last weekend.

"One hundred percent it was not a coincidence. You had four drivers in the top six that were over 40, including first and second, fifth and the sixth place," 42-year-old Tony Kanaan told RACER after taking that fifth-place spot ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. "That tells you that 40-plus is really just a number, but experience counts a lot. That's what happened there."

With Sato's win added to the 40-plus mix, Castroneves (three), Kanaan (one) and Montoya (two) made for seven Indy 500 victories inside the top six. As hunger and focus waned in some of IndyCar's aging legends in the 1980s and 1990s, their speed and consistency began to suffer. But with driver fitness at an all-time high, Sato believes the keys to success for the current elder statesman is between the ears.

"The mental strength is the one – you have to keep on [concentrating]," he said. "I think even still age 40, it was proof that we were competitive as young people, and I think it's good motivation."

"It's crazy, if you look at it," Montoya added. "Out of the top six, four guys are over 40 years old. That's a bit of an indication of what it takes to win the Indy 500."

Kanaan (pictured at right, with Castroneves) hopes Indy's results slow some of the growing conversations about when the older drivers will hand the keys to the younger generation.

"When people say we need new blood, that's great, but if you want to win Indy, you want to have a better finish there, you want a guy with experience," he said. "Age is just a number. Of course, like [Alexander] Rossi, you can win it as a rookie [in 2016], but it is a lot harder, and how many times does that really happen? It's the veteran guys, the ones who've been there a lot who get the job done."

Although he's clearly protective of his position in the Verizon IndyCar Series and will do all he can to stay in a full-time ride for years to come, Kanaan wasn't afraid to praise the young driver who stood out on his Indy 500 debut.

"Alonso wasn't a rookie," he said. "You can't take him as an example. He was a rookie there, but come on; he's a two-time [F1] world champion. He's not Ed Jones. Ed just was there for the first time as a real rookie."

With their strong performances at the Speedway, Castroneves leads the championship, Sato is third and Kanaan is sixth. The case for being retained in IndyCar for 2018 and beyond, as TK says, has already been made.

"We've still got it and that's why we should still be around," he continued. "If you're still winning, it doesn't matter how old you are. Teams and sponsors want drivers who can win the biggest races in the world, and the older drivers are the ones who do that."