/DRIVE returns for fifth season on NBCSN starting this Sunday - MotorSportsTalk

NBC Sports media release

/DRIVE – NBCSN’S ORIGINAL PROGRAM THAT CELEBRATES THE CULTURE OF CARS – RETURNS FOR A FIFTH SEASON THIS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 21 AT 8 P.M. ET

Automotive Journalists Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli, Alex Roy, Kristen Lee and Zack Klapman Host Six-Episode Series

STAMFORD, Conn. – October 16, 2018 – /DRIVE, NBC Sports’ dynamic motorsports show for car-enthusiasts, returns for a fifth season this Sunday, October 21 at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN, immediately following the debut of NBC Sports Groups’ new motorsports program Proving Grounds.

The six-episode series goes beyond the boundaries of traditional car shows and investigates the cultural crossroads in automotive history. Topics include an overland drive through the historic Oregon Trail in three different off-road vehicles, an examination of the French car renaissance, and an exploration of grassroots racing which features the famous Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

This season of /DRIVE also includes a special investigative episode that looks into the car culture of Los Angeles. Through interviews with the LAPD and street racers, /DRIVE examines how social media has led to a rise in underground racing and sideshows.

“This season we’ve pushed ourselves to go beyond the typical car show,” said /DRIVE Executive Producer J.F. Musial. “Not only are our hosts driving fast cars and going on adventures, as you’d expect, but they’re also experiencing and reporting on the culture of cars in a way others have been afraid to in the past.”

/DRIVE is hosted by automotive journalists Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli, Alex Roy, and newcomers Kristen Lee and Zack Klapman. New episodes will air Sunday nights on NBCSN. /DRIVE complements NBC Sports Group’s robust catalogue of motorsports properties that exceeds 1,930 programming hours in 2018, including NASCAR, IndyCar, Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, and Mecum Auctions.

A preview of /DRIVE is available here.

/DRIVE TELECAST SCHEDULE ON NBCSN

Date	Episode	Time (ET)
Sunday, October 21	A Car of the Year	8 p.m.
Sunday, October 28	L.A. Car Culture	8:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 4	How Far We’ve Come	9 p.m.
	Grassroots Racing	9:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 11	Oregon Trail Road Trip	8 p.m.
	French Cars	8:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 18	Le Mans Pilgrimage	8:30 p.m.

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