Oldies but goodies storm Gateway podium!

©IndyCar

Saturday night's Bommarito Automotive Group 500 at World Wide Technology Raceway separated the men from the boys, literally, with a podium of oldies but goodies averaging 41-years-old!

But that was just the final oddity of an evening of insane racing that began with a multi-car opening lap contact that sent future winner Takuma Sato, who had qualified fifth, down to dead last.

The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing driver - unfairly singled out last week at Pocono as the culprit of the race's massive opening lap crash - restored his aura in Louisiana with an incredible last-to-first 248-lap run at Gateway's 1.25-mile.

Sato duked it out with Ed Carpenter in the final two laps, edging the 38-year-old oval specialist at the checkered flag by just 0.039s!

A.J. Foyt Enterprises' Tony Kanaan completed the veteran trio on the podium, charging all the way back from P20.

The mad dash to the flag between the front-runners wasn't the only drama that took place on the final lap.

Championship leader Josef Newgarden looked set for a fourth-place finish and reasonably good points haul but a brush with Dale Coyne Racing's always entertaining Santino Ferruci forced the Penske driver into a spin from which he salvaged a lowly P7 behind teammate and fellow championship contender Simon Pagenaud.

Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.