The Latest: Sato triggers dangerous accident early at Pocono

The Latest on the IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway (all times local):

3:10 p.m.

Takuma Sato trigged a dangerous wreck on the first lap of the IndyCar race at Pocono Raceway, collecting five drivers, sending cars into the fence and bringing the race to a halt.

Drivers led by Simon Pagenaud (22) enter Turn 1 after taking the green flag to start the IndyCar Series auto race at Pocono Raceway, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019, in Long Pond, Pa. (AP PhotoMatt Slocum)

Sato tried to dart through an opening on a three-wide start to the race, an eerily similar look to an accident early in last year's Pocono race that paralyzed driver Robert Wickens. Sato's move took out Ryan Hunter-Reay, James Hinchcliffe, Felix Rosenqvist and Alexander Rossi. Hunter-Reay was involved in last year's wreck.

"I can't even begin to understand how after last year Takuma thinks that's acceptable," Rossi said. "It's disgraceful."

Rossi, who won Pocono last year, saw his IndyCar championship hopes take a serious blow. He entered just 16 points behind leader Josef Newgarden.

Wickens said on Twitter that IndyCar should no longer race at the 2½-mile track. IndyCar and Pocono do not have a deal for a 2020 race.

"It's just a toxic relationship and maybe it's time to consider a divorce," he wrote. "I'm very relieved (to my knowledge) that everyone is okay from that scary crash."

The race was stopped as the catchfence was repaired.

2:45 p.m.

IndyCar points leader Josef Newgarden starts on the pole at Pocono Raceway.

Newgarden holds a 16-point lead over Alexander Rossi, who also starts Sunday's race on the front row. With four races left in the season, Indianapolis 500 champion Simon Pagenaud is 47 points back while reigning series champion Scott Dixon trails the leader by 62 points. Rossi won last year in a race marred by the wreck that paralyzed Robert Wickens from the waist down.

Newgarden has two runner-up finishes at Pocono and has scored five top-fives overall since IndyCar returned to the track in 2013.

Pocono could be on the way out of IndyCar after the 2019 season, with the two sides yet to reach a deal on a return.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A race car veered off the track during a competition in Sri Lanka on Sunday and rammed into a crowd of spectators and race officials, killing seven people and injuring 20 others, officials said.

Thousands of spectators looked on as the mishap took place during a race in the town of Diyatalawa in the tea-growing central hills, about 180 kilometers (110 miles) east of the capital Colombo.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the mishap.

Police spokesman Nihal Thalduwa said one of the cars veered off the track and crashed into spectators and officials of the event. Seven people, including four officials, were killed and another 20 were being treated at a hospital, said Thalduwa. He said three of the injured were in critical condition.

Thalduwa said police have launched an investigation into the accident, which was the 17th out of 24 events scheduled. The race was suspended after the accident.

About 45,000 spectators had gathered at the race circuit at a Sri Lankan military academy. The event was organized by the Sri Lankan army and Sri Lanka Automobile Sports.

People attend to the injured after a racing car crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)

People gather around a car that had crashed into the spectators during the Fox Hill Supercross, a motor racing event organized by the Sri Lanka's army, in Diyatalawa, Sri Lanka, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/STR)