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Message: [QUOTE="Sakura, post: 13199502, member: 276722"] [Spoiler=Ishibashi Post Race] Sakura Ishibashi comes back to Champ Car victory lane for the second time in 2020, this time as a winner of a 500 mile race. The Pepsi 500 at Pocono Raceway featured a staggering amount of lead changes, 102 between 21 drivers, with Ishibashi keeping herself in contention the entire race to be able to make a pass on the last lap over rookie Anastasius von Sonnen to claim her second win of the season after winning in St. Petersburg. B.K. Glover made an assist on the last lap pass, holding von Sonnen in dirty air long enough for Ishibashi to make a pass out of turn 1. For Ishibashi, the win is a vindicating one, after developing what she called a phobia of the 500 mile races, something that developed back in 2016 in the now infamous Indianapolis 500 that claimed the life of Henna Venalainen. Speaking after collecting her Pepsi 500 trophy and USD$500,000 winner's purse, Ishibashi shared her thoughts; "This one was a long one to work for. I've been living in America for five years now, and I was terrified of these [500 mile] races until we had about 10 laps left in it. I lost my friend in my first ever race, and I've seen others lose their lives in these marquee races in that time frame. It's dangerous, but something clicked as we got close to the finish that made me want to push harder than I have here before. I now understand why the risk is worth it. I now understand why the Indianapolis 500 is the most sought after race in the world. I wouldn't trade my Le Mans win for anything in the world. But I think I now have a stronger need for an Indy 500 win than I did Le Mans." With her win in Pocono, she becomes a three time Champ Car race winner, with both Lucien Lachapelle and Anastasius von Sonnen taking their maiden Champ Car podiums in their abbreviated seasons. The race moves Ishibashi to third in the World Championship hunt, 57 points behind 2017 World Champion, Andrew Draco, but only 8 points behind 2016 World Champion, Stephanie Porter-Kelley, with Watkins Glen in two weeks time.[/Spoiler] [/QUOTE]

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