Indy 500 start times 2022 for the May 29 race at Indianapolis

The 2022 start times for the 106th Indy 500 are here — and with the Greatest Spectacle in Racing returning in full force for the first time in years.

The 106th Indianapolis 500 will be held Sunday, May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and will be broadcast live on NBC starting at 11 a.m. ET (green flag is 12:45 p.m. ET).

A near-capacity crowd (and possibly the first sellout since the race’s 100th running in 2016) of more than 300,000 will be in attendance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which has 233,000 grandstand seats.

INDY 500 PRIMER: Important details and facts for watching on NBC

STARTING LINEUP: Where the 33 drivers will take the green flag

The grandstand crowd was limited to 135,000 last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which precluded any fans from attending the 2020 race (which was held in late August for the first and hopefully only time ever).

Carb Day final practice is Friday, May 27 at 11 a.m. ET on Peacock Premium. The annual Ruoff Mortgage Pit Stop Challenge (held for the first time since 2019) is May 27 at 2:30 p.m. ET and also on Peacock Premium.

Here are the details and start times for the 106th Indy 500 (all times are ET):

TV info, Indy 500 start times, schedule

5 a.m.: Garage opens

6 a.m.: Gates open

7 a.m.: Tech inspection

9 a.m.: Cars pushed to pit lane

10:30 a.m.: Cars on the starting grid

11:47 a.m.: Driver introductions

12:18 p.m.: Indy 500 Pre-Race Ceremonies

12:29 p.m.: “Drivers to Your Cars”

12:38 p.m.: Command to start engines

12:45 p.m.: Green flag for the 106th Indy 500 (200 laps/500 miles, NBC, Telemundo Deportes on Universo, IndyCar Radio Network).

How can I watch the Indy 500 on TV?

The 106th Indy 500 is on NBC, Peacock and Universo (subject to local blackout restrictions). Prerace coverage is at 11 a.m., and the broadcast runs through 4 p.m.

A postrace show is on Peacock Premium.

Mike Tirico will be the host for NBC’s telecast alongside Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Leigh Diffey will be the play-by-play announcer alongside analysts Townsend Bell and James Hinchcliffe. The pit reporters are Marty Snider, Kevin Lee, Dave Burns and Dillon Welch. Rutledge Wood also will be the roaming reporter in the prerace show.

Telemundo Deportes on Universo will provide a Spanish-language telecast with Omar Amador and Sergio Rodriguez providing commentary on Universo and streaming on TelemundoDeportes.com and the Telemundo Deportes app. Milka Duno will serve as a studio guest.

The race also is streamed via the NBC Sports App and NBCSports.com.

Race information

RADIO BROADCAST: Will begin at 11 a.m. Sunday. Mark Jaynes is the chief announcer alongside analyst Davey Hamilton. Nick Yeoman (Turn 1), Michael Young (Turn 2) Jake Query (Turn 3) and Chris Denari (Turn 4) are the turn announcers with Ryan Myrehn, Alex Wollf, Rob Blackman and Scott Sander on pit road.

DISTANCE: The race is 200 laps (500 miles) around Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval.

FORECAST: According to Wunderground.com, it’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 0% chance of rain at the green flag.

DEFENDING RACE WINNER: Helio Castroneves

TIRE ALLOTMENT: There are 34 sets of Firestones for use throughout the event.

QUALIFYING: The 33-car field was set May 21-22. Scott Dixon won the Indy 500 pole position for the second consecutive year and the fifth time in his career.

Click here for the starting lineup in the 106th Indy 500.

NBCSPORTS.COM COVERAGE

Links to IndyCar stories this week on Motorsports Talk:

Chip Ganassi says it’s time for his team to end Indy 500 drought

Scott Dixon hoping to make a run for the Borg-Warner

Jimmie Johnson recharges with family trips to Charlotte

Dutch Rules: Rinus VeeKay joins Arie Luyendyk in Indy 500 history

Assessing Will Power’s place in IndyCar history

Indy 500 legends remember Danny Ongais, “The Flyin’ Hawaiaan”

Marco Andretti “good without the grind” and enjoying peace with new life

‘Roger Penske Perfect:’ Brickyard set for first full house under command of ‘The Captain’

Jimmie Johnson goes deep on Indy 500: ‘We’ve really got a shot to win this thing’

Roger Penske addresses IndyCar’s big issues: A new car, line of succession, field of 33

Colton Herta cleared to drive after terrifying airborne practice crash

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘nervous’ about watching former teammate Jimmie Johnson at Indy

McLaren’s Zak Brown choosing Indy over Monaco: ‘No place I’d rather be’

HELIO CASTRONEVES’ DRIVE FOR FIVE

A man in full at the Brickyard, Castroneves eyeing team ownership later in career

Recalling the 2001 victory : ‘I’ve never seen Roger more nervous’

Recalling the 2002 victory: Twice as nice and a very lengthy legacy

Recalling the 2009 victory: ‘Happiest day of his life’

Recalling the 2021 victory: Helio helps reopen America

The science of how Helio Castroneves’ Indy 500 victories evolved over the years

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