Takuma Sato, the first Japanese Indy 500 winner, and other IndyCar drivers responded Thursday to a racist tweet from a Denver Post sports writer.<\/b>
\nBefore Takuma Sato moves around the 14-turn temporary street course on Belle Isle for this week’s Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 winner will try to move past a tweet that cost Denver Post sports writer Terry Frei his job.
Sato on Sunday became the first Japanese driver to win the Indy 500.
Frei tweeted: \u201cNothing specifically personal, but I am very uncomfortable with a Japanese driver winning the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day weekend.\u201d
Frei later tweeted a lengthy apology that began: \u201cI fouled up. I\u2019 m sorry. I shouldn\u2019 t have said what I said when I said it. I should have known better and I regret it.\u201d
The Post apologized for the tweet sent by Frei and announced Monday that Frei no longer was an employee.
\u201cObviously unfortunate for him to lost a job, \u201d Sato said. \u201cIt\u2019s sad. Obviously, I have to respect the Denver Post\u2019s decision and certainly I\u2019 m very appreciative of the public response.\u00a0\u00bb
Sato said the support he received from people in light of the tweet made it \u201ca positive, \u201d and he called the Indy 500 victory \u00ab\u00a0a significant moment in my life.\u00a0\u00bb
He hopes the win inspires people in Japan and gives them hope.
\u201cJapan has been suffering from the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. This kind of news is definitely in support of all of them, \u201d said Sato, who said it wasn’t easy to drive after the disasters.
\u201cI was questioning myself, \u2018Why am I racing in here?\u2019 There\u2019s still 250,000 people living in temporary housing today. I\u2019 m certainly happy to deliver great news to Japan.\u201d
Indy drivers in Detroit praised Sato and were upset when they heard about the tweet. Helio Castroneves, a three-time Indy 500 winner who finished second to Sato on Sunday, called the tweet \u00ab\u00a0an immature, dumb moment.\u00a0\u00bb
\u201cTrying to make a big splash, which cost him his job, \u00a0\u00bb Castroneves said. \u00ab\u00a0Indianapolis \u2013 it\u2019s not about (being) political. It\u2019s about bringing the best drivers in the world.\u00a0\u00bb
Castroneves echoed the sentiment of other Penske drivers about how much respect Sato has in the garage area. Simon Pagenaud, the 2016 IndyCar champion, called him \u00ab\u00a0a tremendous racer\u00a0\u00bb who has supported \u00ab\u00a0the sport forever.\u00a0\u00bb
\u201cSome people are more evolved than others, \u00a0\u00bb Pagenaud said. \u00ab\u00a0Obviously, I was shocked by the reaction, especially coming from a journalist. You would expect a journalist to be more open minded than most and step back on what he writers. It\u2019s a real shame. Whatever the past is, you have to move on and society has to improve and it did.\u201d
Pagenaud, a Frenchman, said he’s never had a similar experience while racing in the U. S., and Tony Kanaan, who is from Brazil, said there are \u201cenough problems in the world\u201d that it isn\u2019 t worth acknowledging Frei\u2019s views.
\u201cApparently he deleted it, \u201d Kanaan said. \u201cIt\u2019s small-minded people, man. The world doesn\u2019 t need people like that.\u201d
Detroit Grand Prix chairman Bud Denker called the tweet \u00ab\u00a0unfortunate, \u00a0\u00bb but noted how Sato’s Indy 500 victory could help the series.
\u00ab\u00a0You’re going to see a lot more journalists over here this weekend at Belle Isle than you had in the past from Japan, \u00a0\u00bb Denker said. \u00ab\u00a0A lot more.\u00a0\u00bb
Castroneves added: \u201cImagine for the companies in Japan. We have a sponsor, Hitachi. I think this is fantastic. They\u2019 re now going to be more excited to be in America, funding with teams or giving America jobs. As I said, it\u2019s great for everyone. Obviously, it would be better for us to be winning.
\u00ab\u00a0But what Takuma Sato did, it\u2019s going to actually go and benefit a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n

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