Honda Beats Chevrolet at the Brickyard. Record Purse Claimed

Posted on 31 May 2022 by Ken Zino
Ken Zino of AutoInformed.com on Honda Beats Chevrolet at the Brickyard. Record Purse Claimed

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The Indianapolis 500 purse record was set after a chaotic and red-flagged 106th race with winner Marcus Ericsson taking home $3.1 million from a total purse of $16,000,200.

The Chip Ganassi Racing Swedish driver’s prize in the No. 8 Huski (sic) Chocolate Chip Ganassi Racing Honda is also the largest winner’s payout ever for the claimed largest single-day sporting event. Ericsson has competed in 3 500s with a best finish of 11th in 2021. Before 2022, he had $709,934 in career 500 earnings. (AutoInformed: The Brickyard – Honda vs Chevy at Indy 500 Sunday)

Second-place finisher Pato O’Ward, in a Chevy-powered Arrow McLaren SP, took home $1 million, marking the largest take-home prize for the second-place finisher in nearly a decade. Prior to 2022, the biggest Indy 500 purse was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500. This year’s average payout for drivers was $485,000.

Pato O’Ward battled to the very end in search of his first 500 win. The driver of the No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet has finished sixth, fourth and now second in his three races on the famed 2.5-mile oval. O’Ward dueled during last 25-laps with winner Marcus Ericsson, veteran Tony Kanaan in a Honda, as well as teammate Felix Rosenqvist (Chevy) when the red flag flew for a crash scattering debris across the track from contact with the wall by Sage Karum (Chevy). When the track returned to yellow, O’Ward lined up behind the leader battling for the lead. It became a five-car shuffle with O’Ward scoring a strong runner-up finish, with Kanaan in third and Rosenqvist in fourth (Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren SP).

More than 325,000 race fans attended Sunday’s race, making it the largest-attended single-day sporting event in the world since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the promoter claimed. Roger Penske owns the track and the event.

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About Ken Zino

Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
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One Response to Honda Beats Chevrolet at the Brickyard. Record Purse Claimed

  1. Pingback: Caution-Free IMSA Belle Isle – Cadillac Wins DPi, Lexus GT3 | AutoInformed

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