Racing Roundup: Ericsson collects $3.1M from record Indianapolis 500 purse

Published 5:45 pm Monday, May 30, 2022

INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson cashed in on the race’s record purse, earning an unprecedented $3.1 million check for Sunday’s victory.

Prize totals were announced Monday, the same day the annual victory celebration was held in downtown Indianapolis.

The 31-year-old Ericsson became the second 500 champion from Sweden, joining 1999 winner Kenny Brack, who helped mentor Ericsson early in his career. Ericsson drives for Chip Ganassi Racing.

Indy’s total purse of slightly less than $16.1 million smashed the previous mark of $14.4 million that was set in 2008.

Runner-up Pato O’Ward of Mexico, who drives for Arrow McLaren SP, collected $1 million — the largest check a second-place finisher has earned in nearly a decade.

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson received a $50,000 bonus for being named the race’s rookie of the year despite crashing late in the race. Johnson’s winnings totaled nearly $208,000.

The average payday for each driver was $485,000.

“The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world, and these drivers lay it all on the line for a chance to drink the winner’s milk and kiss the famous Yard of Bricks,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske said in a statement. “This year’s record-setting purse is reflective of their tireless pursuit of history and the world-class talent they display on every lap.”

Race organizers said the estimated crowd topped 325,000, which they believe makes it the largest attended single-day sporting event in the world since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The IndyCar Series returns to action next weekend in Detroit.

NASCAR CUP SERIES

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — The Coca-Cola 600 was many things — excruciatingly long, wildly unpredictable and perhaps above all else, immensely entertaining.

It was, as William Byron described after getting caught up in a 12-car crash, “chaos out there.”

In race that took five hours, 13 minutes to complete and included 18 cautions and 17 cars finishing in the garage in various states of disrepair, the first Next Gen race at Charlotte Motor Speedway left many shaking their heads over the events of the night. Denny Hamlin ultimately won the longest race in NASCAR history (619.5 miles) by beating Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch to the finish line by 0.014 seconds in double overtime.

Things were so insane at one point that Fox Sports racing analyst and longtime Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer exclaimed, “This is the wildest and craziest 600 that has ever happened!”

And he was right.

Few cars escaped the race unscathed, with Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace among the many who simply got sideways while racing alone and spun out, often times ending up harmlessly in the infield turf and drawing a yellow flag.

Others weren’t as fortunate.

Chris Buescher was involved in a scary wreck that saw his No. 17 Ford flip five times before landing on its hood. Safety crews had to carefully to flip his car over before Buescher could climb out of the vehicle. He walked away sore but relatively unscathed.

And that wasn’t even the craziest wreck of the night.

Last weekend’s All-Star Race winner, Ryan Blaney, got too low on the apron at the bottom of the track on lap 192 and spun to the right, heading up the track where he collected 11 other cars in the melee and ended the night for Brad Keselowski, Wallace, Kurt Busch and Chase Elliott, whose mangled cars were taken behind the pit wall.

The most costly wreck, at least for defending race champion Kyle Larson, came when Chase Briscoe crashed with two laps to go while trying to take the lead from him, setting up overtime and adding to the madness.

Larson, who appeared on the verge of becoming the first driver to repeat as champion of the Coca-Cola 600 since Jimmie Johnson in 2005, then got caught up in a wreck a few minutes later when Austin Dillon raced up from behind and went four wide for the lead. Larson nipped Dillon, causing another multicar collision and extending the race even further.

Hamlin somehow made it through the carnage without a nick and held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch on the second restart for the win.

FORMULA 1

MONACO (AP) — Red Bull denied Sergio Perez a chance to race for the win in Spain with team orders that left the Mexican star unsettled.

Assured that he’d be allowed to race for wins this season, Perez moved on to the Monaco Grand Prix with Red Bull’s disappointing decision in his rearview mirror. Then he scored his first Formula One victory of the season.

Perez rebounded from the Red Bull team orders one week ago to pick up the win Sunday in the rain-marred Monaco Grand Prix.

The third win of Perez’s career came after a questionable strategy call by Ferrari that cost pole-sitter Charles Leclerc a win on his home circuit. Although Leclerc finished the race for the first time in four tries, he finished fourth and allowed reigning world champion Max Verstappen to extend his lead in the standings.

Carlos Sainz Jr. finished second for Ferrari and Verstappen was third for Red Bull. But Ferrari protested both Perez’s win and Verstappen’s finish, alleging the Red Bull drivers failed to stay to the right of the yellow line at pit exit following their stops.

“We made the protest because we believe it was right to seek clarification,” Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto said.

The FIA race stewards later dismissed both Ferrari protests.

Verstappen has a nine-point lead over Leclerc in the standings; Leclerc has two wins this season, Verstappen and Perez have combined for five victories as Red Bull and Ferrari have claimed all seven races.