2022 Indianapolis 500

The 2022 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge for sponsorship reasons) was a 500-mile (804.7 km, 200 lap) race in the 2022 IndyCar Series, held on Sunday, May 29, 2022, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The month of May activities formally began on May 14 with the GMR Grand Prix on the combined road course. Practice on the oval opened on May 17, and time trials took place on May 21–22. Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice, along with the Pit Stop Challenge, took place on May 27.
Six-time IndyCar champion, and 2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon won the pole position, his fifth career Indy 500 pole. It was also Chip Ganassi Racing's seventh Indy pole. Dixon's qualifying speed of 234.046 mph (376.661 km/h) was the fastest Indy 500 pole speed until Scott McLaughlin broke the record in 2024 at 234.220 mph (376.941 km/h), and was the third-fastest Indy 500 qualifying attempt in history. Dixon moved into second on the all-time list for poles at Indy, behind only Rick Mears, who had six. The top twelve starting positions saw a near even split with seven Hondas and five Chevrolets. During the race, Dixon became the all-time lap leader in the history of the Indy 500.
Dixon led the most laps (95), and dominated much of the race along with teammate Álex Palou. With 25 laps to go, however, during his final pit stop, Dixon was penalized for speeding entering the pit lane. Dixon was issued a drive-through penalty, which took him out of contention and handed the lead to his teammate, Marcus Ericsson. Ericsson held off a furious charge from Pato O'Ward on a restart with two laps to go to win the race. Ericsson became the second Swedish winner in the race's history, after Kenny Bräck in 1999.
On January 31, 2019, it was announced that the online financial services company Gainbridge would become the new presenting sponsor of the 500 under a four-year deal. This will be the fourth year under the current deal.
The Two-day format that began in 2019 has been expanded, based on the popularity of the three-round system used for most of the IndyCar road and street courses events. The system will continue to use the two day system (Saturday May 21 & Sunday May 22), and cars will continue to utilize the traditional four-lap qualifying attempts. The top twelve cars from the first day will advance to a new second round that will take place on the second day. The top six cars in the second round advance to the final round to determine the pole position as well as starting positions two through six. If more than 33 entries take part in the event, the Last Chance Qualifying session will be used once again to set starting positions 31–32–33.
On Saturday, the procedure will be as follows:
On Sunday, time trials will conclude as follows:
The 2022 Indianapolis 500 was the sixth race of the 2022 NTT IndyCar Series season. Four different drivers won the first five races of the season, including one first-time winner. Scott McLaughlin won the season opener at St. Petersburg, his first career IndyCar win. At Texas, Josef Newgarden won, passing McLaughlin coming off the last turn of the last lap. Newgarden followed up with another win at Long Beach and Pato O'Ward won at Alabama in a time-shortened race (two hours) due to rain. The GMR Grand Prix was won by Colton Herta. Despite zero wins thus far on the season, Will Power entered the 500 as the series points leader.
The 2022 IndyCar Series schedule was announced on September 19, 2021. The Indianapolis 500 was for Sunday, May 29. Practice, time trials, and other ancillary events are scheduled for the two weeks leading up to the race. The GMR Grand Prix, including the Road to Indy races, will again serve as the opening weekend of track activity, on May 14. The Freedom 100 for the Indy Lights was left off the schedule for the third year in a row, with Roger Penske citing safety as an issue. The 2022 Indy Lights season will only include a race on the road course during GMR Grand Prix weekend.
Source: 2022 Indianapolis 500 Event Schedule
All entries utilized the Dallara DW12 chassis with the Universal Aero Kit 18, with Firestone tires. A total of 32 car/driver combinations were made official in time for the Open test on April 20. Paretta Autosport (in technical alliance with Ed Carpenter Racing) announced on April 19 that they would not enter, electing instead to focus on road/street course races during the summer months. The 33rd and final entry was announced on May 5, with DragonSpeed and Cusick Motorsports joining to field a car. The official entry list was published on May 16, 2022.
A private offseason Firestone tire test was scheduled for October 8. Hélio Castroneves (Meyer Shank Racing) and Pato O'Ward (Arrow McLaren SP) were scheduled to participate. Jimmie Johnson (Ganassi) and Romain Grosjean (Andretti) were scheduled to complete the Rookie Orientation Program during a separate session on October 6.
Rookie Orientation consists of three phases. Phase 1 was ten laps between 205 and 210 mph (330 and 338 km/h), Phase 2 was fifteen laps between 210 and 215 mph (338 and 346 km/h), and Phase 3 was fifteen laps over 215 mph (346 km/h). Lingering rain hampered track activity, but the track was dried and Johnson and Grosjean both completed Phase 1 and Phase 2. Both drivers completed about half of Phase 3 before a downpour closed the track for the day at 4:15 p.m.. Series officials announced that both drivers had completed a satisfactory amount of laps, and would be eligible to participate in the full-field Open Test scheduled for April.
On Friday October 8, Castroneves and O'Ward conducted baseline testing, as well as preliminary KERS testing. No incidents were reported, and no speeds were announced.
At 12:00 p.m., the track was opened for three hours for rookie and refresher testing. As nearly all drivers had participated in the April test session, Stefan Wilson was the lone participant in the session. Wilson passed his refresher test without incident. He turned a top lap of 218.477 mph (351.605 km/h).
All 33 drivers took to the track during the session, turning a combined 3,229 laps. Takuma Sato set the fastest lap late in the day, running at 228.939 mph (368.442 km/h). Rinus VeeKay was fastest in the no-tow rankings, running a lap at 221.551 mph (356.552 km/h) with no aid from aerodynamic drafting. No major incidents were reported, but the session was briefly disrupted by a fox entering the race course. Honda-powered machines took eight of the top ten spots for the session.
In anticipation of forecast afternoon rain storms, IndyCar officials moved the start of qualifications up one hour to 11:00 a.m. During morning practice, Ed Carpenter set the pace with a blistering lap of 234.410 mph (377.246 km/h), the fastest lap thus far of the month. Several minor incidents dotted the day. Juan Pablo Montoya's car failed pre-qualifying inspection, causing him to lose his guaranteed attempt and was only permitted to run after all others completed their guaranteed attempt. Stefan Wilson also saw pre-qualifying drama, as the engine in his car failed during the morning practice session. Wilson did not make a qualifying attempt, relegating him to starting 33rd for the race.
During qualification runs, Takuma Sato had his first attempt disallowed after he neglected to use the turn three warmup lane on his cool down lap, resulting in him interfering with Marco Andretti's run. Andretti had further issues on his run with engine problems causing him to lose significant time on his third lap. Sato and Andretti would later requalify and improve their times. Sato advanced to the Fast 12 session on Sunday, despite brushing the wall in turn two on his third lap. Andretti's teammate Colton Herta suffered an engine failure on his first attempt and was forced to change engines before making a second run later in the day.
Rain began to fall on the track just before 2:30 p.m. After roughly one hour, the track was dried and two more runs were completed, but more rain began to fall just before 4:00 p.m., with IndyCar calling an end to Saturday qualifications at roughly 4:50 p.m. Rinus VeeKay was the fastest driver of the day, qualifying with a four-lap average of 233.655 mph (376.031 km/h). VeeKay's attempt was the third fastest qualifying run in Indianapolis 500 history.
The Top 12 session commenced at 4:00 p.m., with each driver permitted one attempt. Drivers took to the track in reverse order of the results from Saturday qualifying. Scott Dixon was the fastest in the Top 12 round, completing a 4-lap average at 233.510 mph (375.798 km/h). Rinus VeeKay, Álex Palou, Marcus Ericsson, Ed Carpenter, and Tony Kanaan also advanced to the Fast Six round. There were no incidents, though Jimmie Johnson nearly lost control of his car on his run, resulting in him being last of the top 12. After the conclusion of the session, those that qualified for the Fast Six shootout were given a five-minute period behind the pace car to cool their engines down for the next run.
The 43rd annual Pit Stop Challenge was held on Friday May 27. The event returned to the Carb Day schedule for the first time since 2019. The event was scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m., after Carb Day practice had concluded, but was delayed to 3:30 due to early weather holds. A total of 14 teams were invited to participate. Colton Herta's team was entered, but withdrew after Herta's crash during the earlier practice session. Team Penske won the pit stop challenge with Josef Newgarden's car, winning the best-of-three final against Chip Ganassi Racing with Scott Dixon's car. It was Penske's 18th win in the competition and the third for chief mechanic Travis Law. One incident occurred during the challenge when Sage Karam spun and nearly collided with Felix Rosenqvist in the first round when his Dreyer & Reinbold Racing team failed to secure a tire on his car.
At the start, Álex Palou took the early lead of the race, with Rinus VeeKay and Scott Dixon behind. Dixon eventually passed VeeKay for second, allowing him and his teammate Palou to exchange positions regularly to drive to conserve fuel. These three remained at the front through to the first pit stops, which came around lap 31. After pit stops, VeeKay emerged ahead of Dixon for second. On lap 39, VeeKay caused the race's first caution period after losing control of his car in turn two and impacting the outside wall. VeeKay was uninjured, but was relegated to finishing 33rd and last. After the accident, Chip Ganassi Racing cars ran 1–2–3, with Palou leading Dixon and Marcus Ericsson.
Racing resumed on lap 47, with Palou and Dixon resuming their attempt at fuel conservation. This continued to the second round of pit stops, which began at roughly lap 67. Just as the first stops began happening, Callum Ilott lost control of his car in turn two and impacted the outside wall before skidding back across the track and making light contact with the inside wall on the backstraight. Ilott suffered broken bones in his right hand, but was able to climb from the car unassisted. The injuries would force Ilott to miss the next race of the IndyCar season. The incident brought out the race's second caution period. Race leader Álex Palou was worst effected by the timing of the caution. Palou entered pit lane just after it closed for the caution, forcing him to drive through without taking service. Two laps later, with the pits still closed, Palou was forced to take emergency service to prevent running out of fuel, with the penalty being starting at the end of the field for the restart. The sequence took Palou out of contention for the win for the remainder of the race. Everyone else who had not pitted before the caution came in once the pits opened. Scott Dixon assumed the lead of the race, having stopped just before Ilott's crash, while Conor Daly vaulted up the order to second.
Racing resumed at lap 78, with Dixon maintaining his lead over Daly. At lap 80, Daly overtook Dixon for the lead, but only led for a few laps before Dixon returned to the front. The running order remained largely the same to halfway. At the halfway mark, Scott Dixon held the lead over Daly, Pato O'Ward, Marcus Ericsson, and Tony Kanaan.
The third caution period of the race came out on lap 106, when Romain Grosjean lost control of his car in turn two and impacted the outside wall. Grosjean was uninjured in the accident. During the caution, the majority of the field pitted again, with Scott Dixon being first out of the pits. Dixon would line up second for the restart behind Conor Daly, who had pitted just before the caution.
Racing got under way once again on lap 112. On the restart, Pato O'Ward passed both Daly and Dixon to take the lead of the race, while Santino Ferrucci moved into the top-five positions after passing several cars. Dixon quickly took the lead from O'Ward, with O'Ward settling in behind in a bid to conserve fuel. Daly ran third, Ferrucci fourth, and Felix Rosenqvist fifth. At lap 141, the penultimate round of pit stops began. O'Ward emerged from the pits with the lead over Dixon, while O'Ward's teammate Rosenqvist moved to third.
The fourth caution period of the day came at lap 151, when Scott McLaughlin lost control of his car in turn three. McLaughlin impacted the outside wall, then continued to slide into turn four before impacting the wall again and nearly collecting Ed Carpenter in the incident. McLaughlin emerged uninjured in the wreck and later indicated that he had been caught out by the wind, which had increased since the start of the race.
Racing resumed at lap 158, with Dixon immediately passing O'Ward to take over the lead again, with Felix Rosenqvist third, Conor Daly fourth, and Marcus Ericsson fifth. This order remained the same until the final round of pit stops, which began at roughly lap 173. Dixon pitted from the lead on lap 175, but locked the rear tires entering the lane, causing him to be over the pit lane speed limit at the pit entry line. Dixon received a drive-through penalty for the mistake, removing him from contention to win despite leading nearly half of the race. With Dixon removed from the lead battle, the front pack now consisted of O'Ward, Felix Rosenqvist, and Dixon's teammate Marcus Ericsson, who had gained substantially on the Arrow McLaren SP cars during the pit sequence. Ericsson moved around O'Ward and Rosenqvist and began to pull away while dealing with slower lapped traffic. Marco Andretti and Jimmie Johnson briefly lead ahead of this group, but were on an alternate pit strategy and both pitted by lap 190, handing the lead to Ericsson.
The fifth caution period of the day came at lap 194, when Jimmie Johnson lost control of his car in turn two after entering too low, causing him to impact the outside wall. Johnson was uninjured in the accident. In an effort to ensure the race did not finish under a caution period, IndyCar officials stopped the race to clean up the wreckage, setting up a two-lap shootout to the end. At the red flag, Ericsson led O'Ward, Tony Kanaan, Rosenqvist, and Alexander Rossi.
Racing resumed on lap 199, with Rosenqvist diving to the inside of Kanaan on the restart, allowing Ericsson and O'Ward to gap the duo down the backstretch. Ericsson started weaving across the track in an effort to break the draft that O'Ward would get. On the final lap, O'Ward drew even with Ericsson entering turn one, but was unable to execute a pass. As the leaders reached turn three for the final time, the sixth and final caution period came as Sage Karam impacted the wall in turn two and skidded to a halt on the backstraight grass. Karam was sent to a local hospital after complaining of musculoskeletal soreness, but was released shortly thereafter with no injuries. The caution period effectively ended the race, with Marcus Ericsson taking his first Indianapolis 500 victory.
Ericsson's victory was the second for a driver from Sweden, after Kenny Bräck's win in 1999. It was the fifth Indianapolis 500 victory for the Chip Ganassi Racing team, but its first since 2012. For winning, Ericsson earned $3.1 million from a record purse of $16,000,200. Despite his late race accident, Jimmie Johnson was elected Rookie of the Year. The decision to award Johnson Rookie of the Year honors was divisive, with several motor racing journalists as well as some competitors suggesting that David Malukas – the highest finishing rookie in 16th – was more deserving of the award.
During the course of the race, Scott Dixon set a new record for Most career laps led in the Indianapolis 500. By leading 95 laps during the race, Dixon reached 665 total career laps led, surpassing the previous mark set by Al Unser of 644 laps led.
W Former Indianapolis 500 winner
R Indianapolis 500 Rookie
All entrants utilized Firestone tires.
Points include qualification points from time trials, 1 point for leading a lap, and 2 points for most laps led.
The race was televised on NBC and Peacock Premium in the United States. The terrestrial television broadcast was subject to blackout in Central Indiana. The streaming broadcast on Peacock was not subject to blackout, as the platform does not currently have the ability to enforce such restrictions at a local level. NBC received special consent from IMS to stream the race within the blackout region for 2022 only, under the presumption that the required capabilities would be implemented prior to the 2023 race. This was only the sixth time in race history that the race was available to be seen live in the Central Indiana market.
Former driver James Hinchcliffe joined the NBC broadcast team for 2022 as a color commentator, replacing Paul Tracy, who had been in the role for the previous three years for the race.
On May 4, NBC announced their full crew for the race broadcast. Mike Tirico and Danica Patrick returned as the hosts for pre-race and post-race coverage, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rutledge Wood returned for pre-race coverage. Tirico, Patrick, and Earnhardt were also announced as part of the "Peacock Pit Box" crew for mid-race coverage. Dillon Welch joined the crew as a pit reporter, replacing Kelli Stavast, who had been part of NBC's coverage since 2019.
The race was carried by the IndyCar Radio Network. The chief announcer or "Voice of the 500" for the seventh consecutive year was Mark Jaynes with Davey Hamilton as driver analyst.