By the numbers: The 2013 Chasers at Texas - MotorSportsTalk

This weekend, the Chase for the Sprint Cup is going to the Circus – “Wild Asphalt Circus,” that is.

The intensity surrounding the championship is sure to build even further at Texas Motor Speedway, as Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson enter the AAA Texas 500 tied for the lead – although Kenseth does hold the tie-breaker, as his seven victories this season trumps Johnson’s five.

Four of Kenseth’s seven wins in 2013 have come on 1.5-mile ovals such as Texas but based on past performance at this track, both himself and Johnson appear evenly matched going in – which could make Kenseth’s runner-up effort this past weekend at Martinsville all the more critical in the end.

However, both Kenseth and Johnson’s greatest challenge this weekend may not be each other.

Kyle Busch’s title hopes are now in serious danger after late-race handling problems at Martinsville caused him to finish 15th. But in the Sprint Cup Series’ first visit this year to Texas back in April, Busch was able to take the lead coming out of the final pit stops and go on to win. Expect him to leave nothing on the table as he tries to erase a 36 point deficit over the final three races.

Ahead of Busch at third and fourth in the championship respectively are Jeff Gordon (-27 points), your winner at Martinsville, and Kevin Harvick (-28 points). They too must position themselves to capitalize on any misfortunes Kenseth and Johnson may have.

As provided weekly by NASCAR, here’s a glimpse at what the 13 Chase contenders have done in their Cup careers at TMS:

Matt Kenseth (Leader – 2,294 points; holds tie-breaker over Jimmie Johnson with 7 wins this year)
· Two wins, 12 Top-5s, 15 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 8.5 in 22 races
· Series-best Average Running Position of 9.3
*Series-best Driver Rating of 106.5
*Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 173.225 mph
*Series-high 4,497 Laps in the Top 15 (79.0%)

Jimmie Johnson (Second – 2,294 points; 5 wins this year)
· Two wins, nine Top-5s, 15 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 9.1 in 20 races
· Average Running Position: 10.9, third-best

Jeff Gordon (Third, -27 points)
· One win, eight Top-5s, 11 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 17.0 in 25 races
· Average Running Position: 13.3, 10th-best

Kevin Harvick (Fourth, -28 points)
· Three Top-5s, 10 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 12.5 in 21 races
· Average Running Position: 15.2, 15th-best
*Series-high 1,360 Green Flag Passes

Kyle Busch (Fifth, -36 points)
· One win, six Top-5s, seven Top-10s
· Average Finish: 14.1 in 16 races
· Average Running Position: 11.2, fourth-best

Clint Bowyer (Sixth, -55 points)
· Three Top-5s, eight Top-10s
· Average Finish: 12.9 in 15 races
· Average Running Position: 12.8, ninth-best

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Seventh, -56 points)
· One win, three Top-5s, 12 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 14.3 in 22 races
· Average Running Position: 11.9, sixth-best
*Series-high 707 Quality Passes (passes within Top 15)

Greg Biffle (Eighth, -58 points)
· Two wins, eight Top-5s, 12 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 15.3 in 19 races
· Average Running Position: 12.3, seventh-best
*Series-high 458 Fastest Laps Run

Kurt Busch (Ninth, -75 points)
· One win, three Top-5s, 12 Top-10s
· Average Finish: 15.2 in 21 races
· Average Running Position: 14.7, 14th-best

Carl Edwards (10th, -76 points)
· Three wins, six Top-5s, eight Top-10s
· Average Finish: 14.4 in 17 races
· Average Running Position: 11.9, fifth-best

Joey Logano (11th, -85 points)
· Two Top-5s, two Top-10s
· Average Finish: 21.7 in 10 races
· Average Running Position: 22.2, 28th-best

Ryan Newman (12th, -106 points)
· One win, three Top-5s, four Top-10s
· Average Finish: 19.8 in 20 races
· Average Running Position: 20.8, 22nd-best

Kasey Kahne (13th, -124 points)
· One win, four Top-5s, five Top-10s
· Average Finish: 18.7 in 18 races
· Average Running Position: 15.4, 16th-best

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INDIANAPOLIS — The first Indy 500 victory for Josef Newgarden also was the richest in race history from a record 2023 purse of just more than $17 million.

The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, who continued his celebration Monday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earned $3.666 million for winning the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The purse and winner’s share both are the largest in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Indy 500 purse set a record after the 2022 Indy 500 became the first to crack the $16 million mark (nearly doubling the 2021 purse that offered a purse of $8,854,565 after a crowd limited to 135,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The average payout for IndyCar drivers was $500,600 (exceeding last year’s average of $485,000).

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, whose team also fields Newgarden’s No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet, had made raising purses a priority since buying the track in 2020. But Penske but was unable to post big money purses until the race returned to full capacity grandstands last year.

The largest Indy 500 purse before this year was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500 won by Scott Dixon (whose share was $2,988,065). Ericsson’s haul made him the second Indy 500 winner to top $3 million (2009 winner Helio Castroneves won $3,048,005.

Runner-up Marcus Ericsson won $1.043 million after falling short by 0.0974 seconds in the fourth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

The 107th Indy 500 drew a crowd of at least 330,000 that was the largest since the sellout for the 100th running in 2016, and the second-largest in more than two decades, according to track officials.

“This is the greatest race in the world, and it was an especially monumental Month of May featuring packed grandstands and intense on-track action,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “Now, we have the best end card possible for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500: a record-breaking purse for the history books.”

Benjamin Pedersen was named the Indy 500 rookie of the year, earning a $50,000 bonus.

The race’s purse is determined through contingency and special awards from IMS and IndyCar. The awards were presented Monday night in the annual Indy 500 Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

The payouts for the 107th Indy 500:

1. Josef Newgarden, $3,666,000
2. Marcus Ericsson, $1,043,000
3. Santino Ferrucci, $481,800
4. Alex Palou, $801,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $574,000
6. Scott Dixon, $582,000
7. Takuma Sato, $217,300
8. Conor Daly, $512,000
9. Colton Herta, $506,500
10. Rinus VeeKay, $556,500
11. Ryan Hunter‐Reay, $145,500
12. Callum Ilott, $495,500
13. Devlin DeFrancesco, $482,000
14. Scott McLaughlin, $485,000
15. Helio Castroneves, $481,500
16. Tony Kanaan, $105,000
17. Marco Andretti, $102,000
18. Jack Harvey, $472,000
19. Christian Lundgaard, $467,500
20. Ed Carpenter, $102,000
21. Benjamin Pedersen (R), $215,300
22. Graham Rahal, $565,500*
23. Will Power, $488,000
24. Pato O’Ward, $516,500
25. Simon Pagenaud, $465,500
26. Agustín Canapino (R), $156,300
27. Felix Rosenqvist, $278,300
28. Kyle Kirkwood, $465,500
29. David Malukas, $462,000
30. Romain Grosjean, $462,000
31. Sting Ray Robb (R), $463,000
32. RC Enerson (R), $103,000
33. Katherine Legge, $102,000

*–Broken down between two teams, $460,000 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $105,500 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports