Ericsson earns $3.1 million in record 2022 Indy 500 purse

INDIANAPOLIS — Marcus Ericsson earned $3.1 million for his victory in the 2022 Indy 500, which featured a record purse of $16 million that nearly doubled last year’s prize-winning total.

Ericsson earned the largest winner’s payout in the race’s history. The 106th Indianapolis 500 drew a crowd estimated by the track at more than 325,000 as Indianapolis Motor Speedway returned to full capacity for the first time in three years. The purse was an increase of more than 80 percent over the prize money from the previous year.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Indy 500 was limited to 135,000 fans and offered a purse of $8,854,565. That was up slightly from the $7,502,500 purse ($1.37 million to winner Takuma Sato) for the 2020 Indy 500, which was held without fans in attendance for the first time. Before the pandemic moved the race to August and decimated revenue streams for the NTT IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the 2020 Indy 500 purse originally was slated to be a record $15 million with at least $2 million to the winner

OFFICIAL BOXSCORE: Final rundown of the 106th Indy 500 with purse payouts

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.

The average payout to the 33 drivers in the 2022 Indy 500 was $485,000. Every driver in the 2022 Indy 500 earned at least six figures (with 26th-place finisher Stefan Wilson at $102,000 as the lowest earner).

“The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world, and these drivers lay it all on the line for a chance to drink the winner’s milk and kiss the famous Yard of Bricks,” Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske said in a release. “This year’s record-setting purse is reflective of their tireless pursuit of history and the world-class talent they display on every lap.”

Pato O’Ward took home $1 million as the 2022 runner-up to Ericsson — the largest winnings for the second-place finisher in nearly a decade.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, who finished 28th in his Indy 500 debut, earned a $50,000 bonus as the 2022 Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year, bringing his total to $207,900. Johnson qualified 12th for the race and consistently was fast in practice on the 2.5-mile oval.

Though the Indy 500 finish factors heavily into choosing the rookie of the year, performance during the month (including qualifying) and positive contributions to promoting the event also can factor in heavily. The award is selected by a panel voting on “the driver who has performed with the most distinction among first-year drivers in the Indianapolis 500. Criteria include on-track performance in practice, qualifying and the race, media and fan interaction, sportsmanship and positive influence on the Indy 500.”

The purse awards were presented Monday night in a ceremony at the J.W. Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

Click here for the boxscore with earnings from the 106th Indy 500.

The payouts for the 2022 Indy 500:

1. Marcus Ericsson, $3,100,000
2. Pato O’Ward, $1,000,000
3. Tony Kanaan, $400,000
4. Felix Rosenqvist, $570,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $548,000
6. Conor Daly, $527,100
7. Helio Castroneves, $205,300
8. Simon Pagenaud, $507,000
9. Alex Palou, $569,600
10. Santino Ferrucci, $134,500
11. Juan Pablo Montoya, $127,000
12. JR Hildebrand, $175,300
13. Josef Newgarden, $530,000
14. Graham Rahal, $483,000
15. Will Power, $474,500
16. David Malukas, $463,000
17. Kyle Kirkwood, $463,000
18. Christian Lundgaard, $463,000
19. Ed Carpenter, $117,000
20. Devlin DeFrancesco, $463,000
21. Scott Dixon, $707,000
22. Marco Andretti, $114,400
23. Sage Karam, $104,500
24. Jack Harvey, $158,800
25. Takuma Sato, $462,000
26. Stefan Wilson, $102,000
27. Dalton Kellett, $462,000
28. Jimmie Johnson, $207,900
29. Scott McLaughlin, $462,000
30. Colton Herta, $469,500
31. Romain Grosjean, $478,500
32. Callum Ilott, $463,000
33. Rinus VeeKay, $487,800

Another crash while leading at Seattle dropped Chase Sexton from the top of the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings while solid performances by Cooper Webb and Eli Tomac allow them to climb the chart and threaten to make this a two-rider battle with six rounds remaining in the 2023 Monster Energy Supercross season.

SuperMotocross Power Rankings Seattle — *Cooper Webb wags his finger at Chase Sexton after winning his heat in Seattle. – Feld Motor Sports*

During the race, Webb knew he had ground to make up. Riding behind both Tomac and Sexton early in the Main, he was as far back as fifth on Lap 7 at Seattle. That position would cost him the red plate and give away the advantage he began to build with his first win of the season in Tampa. Sexton is often at his best as he battles from the back and he methodically worked his way through the field. At the end of the feature, he was nearly five seconds off Tomac’s pace, but during the past 45 days, he holds the advantage. A resurgent Tomac that could erase that advantage quickly though.

Tomac struggled in Indianapolis with a neck strain. That contributed to his worst performance of 2023 and his second result outside the top five. He finished third in Detroit two weeks ago, but it was a distant third after finishing off the podium in his heat during that round. In Seattle, it appeared the same thing might happen when Tomac finished third in the prelim behind his two principal competitors Webb and Sexton. The Main was a different story.

Tomac dropped to fourth in the opening laps behind both of his rivals early in the race, but he got around Webb on Lap 2 and kept charging. When Sexton fell to the ground on Lap 11 and dropped to fourth, Tomac was in position to strike. He scored his sixth win of the season to tie James Stewart for second on the all-time wins list. He now shares the red plate with Webb as the rounds wind down.

MORE: Eli Tomac gets rebound win in Seattle

Sexton has the speed, but he lacks the seasoning of Webb and Tomac. He’s pressing hard on every lap and that has bitten him several times this year. Sexton’s mistakes are costing him with a 10th-place finish at Indy, the loss of seven points at Detroit and a fifth in Seattle as the riders he’s battling stood on the podium. No one seriously questions Sexton’s talent or speed, but ultimately the results are what counts.

Justin Barcia is hitting his stride. He advances two positions this week after scoring his fourth consecutive top-five and second podium in that span of races. Barcia finished between sixth and eighth in five consecutive rounds from Anaheim 2 through Arlington, but he’s mostly avoided controversy and that puts him fourth in this week’s SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Seattle.

Jason Anderson had a solid performance in Seattle, but with a fifth-place finish in his heat and fourth in the Main he just keeps losing a little ground to the leaders. The biggest impact to his standing in the NBC Power Rankings is a 10th-place finish in Indianapolis that will take a while to age out of the 45-day formula. He’s tied for fourth in the championship points with Ken Roczen, who sits sixth in the rankings below. It’s important to be the rider “best in class” with Webb, Tomac and Sexton stealing the show.

450 Rankings

This Week	Rider	Power Avg.	Last Week	Diff.
1.	Cooper Webb	87.77	2	1
2.	Eli Tomac	86.23	3	1
3.	Chase Sexton	85.77	1	-2
4.	Justin Barcia	80.71	6	2
5.	Jason Anderson	80.69	4	-1
6.	Ken Roczen	80.46	5	-1
7.	Aaron Plessinger	75.86	7	0
8.	Adam Cianciarulo	71.13	8	0
9.	Christian Craig	69.86	9	0
10.	Justin Cooper	62.88	10	0
11.	Justin Hill	59.86	11	0
12.	Dean Wilson	52.86	12	0
13.	Josh Hill	49.00	15	2
14.	Colt Nichols	48.67	13	-1
15.	Shane McElrath	45.62	14	-1
16.	Benny Bloss	43.00	16	0
17.	Grant Harlan	38.08	20	3
18.	Max Miller	37.67	24	6
19.	Lane Shaw	36.67	21	2
20.	Cade Clason	34.67	19	-1

Supercross 450 Points

Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb will both run the red plates in Glendale as they sit tied with 248 points 🔴#SupercrossLIVE #SuperMotocross pic.twitter.com/iE2PP6jivB

— Supercross LIVE! (@SupercrossLIVE) March 28, 2023

The 250 West riders were back in action in Seattle and that gave Jett Lawrence the opportunity to break out of a tie with his brother Hunter Lawrence on the all-time wins list. It also provided Jett the opportunity to take back the top spot in the NBC SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Seattle.

Jett has stood on the podium in every race this year with the exception of the second Triple Crown race at Anaheim 2 and that level of perfection gives him bragging rights. Rest assured that while the two brothers have a bond that is unapparelled in motorsports, there is no one they would rather beat. Neither has been particularly successful in Triple Crown rounds this year, however, and Jett could lose his advantage in two weeks in Glendale, Arizona under that format.

Lawrence is now two wins away from capturing the fourth-most wins at this level.

A rivalry is developing between Lawrence and Cameron McAdoo. Tired of losing to the affable Australian, McAdoo pushed the envelope last week in Seattle. He crowded Lawrence in the whoops during their heat race and sent both to the ground. That frustration could bubble over with four rounds remaining. One thing is certain, when these two riders are in proximity on the track, the cameras will be aimed in their direction.

Supercross 250 Points

A little means a lot this season. Finishing second to Lawrence in four of five rounds, RJ Hampshire would be losing ground to the leader no matter what, but an 11th-place finish in the overall at Anaheim 2 places him eighth on the chart below behind two of the 250 West riders and five 250 East competitors.

In the mains, Levi Kitchen has been all over the board with a win, one more top-five, two results on the high side of the single digits and a crash-induced 21st at San Diego. He’s really shown his speed in the heats, however, with a perfect record of top-fives and a win.

Mitchell Oldenburg makes the top five list among West riders with a perfect record of top-10 finishes. He’s heading in the wrong direction, however, falling from ninth overall to 11th after finishing outside the top five in both his heat and the Main last week.

250 Rankings

This Week	Rider	Power Avg.	Last Week	Diff,
1.	Jett Lawrence – W	90.75	2	1
2.	Hunter Lawrence – E	90.43	1	-1
3.	Nate Thrasher – E	84.00	3	0
4.	Cameron McAdoo – W	80.50	4	0
5.	Haiden Deegan – E	78.21	5	0
6.	Jeremy Martin – E	78.00	6	0
7.	Jordon Smith – E	76.77	7	0
8.	RJ Hampshire – W	76.75	10	2
9.	Levi Kitchen – W	76.67	8	-1
10.	Max Anstie – E	74.43	11	1
11.	Mitchell Oldenburg – W	73.67	9	-2
12.	Max Vohland – W	72.55	13	1
13.	Tom Vialle – E	72.07	12	-1
14.	Pierce Brown – W	68.64	19	5
15.	Enzo Lopes – W	67.83	17	2
16.	Chris Blose – E	67.43	15	-1
17.	Chance Hymas – E	67.10	16	-1
18.	Michael Mosiman – E	65.80	18	0
19.	Stilez Robertson – W	64.45	14	-5
20.	Phil Nicoletti – W	59.25	20	0

* The NBC Power Rankings assign 100 points to a Main event winner and 90 points for each Heat and Triple Crown win, (Triple Crown wins are included with heat wins below the rider’s name). The points decrement by a percentage equal to the number of riders in the field until the last place rider in each event receives five points. The Power Ranking is the average of these percentage points over the past 45 days for the 450 class and last 90 days for 250s (because of the split nature of their season).

POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 10 AT SEATTLE: Chase Sexton narrowly leads Cooper Webb
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 8 AT DAYTONA: Sexton unseats Eli Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 7 AT ARLINGTON: Jason Anderson narrowly trails Tomac
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 6 AT OAKLAND: Perfect night keeps Tomac first
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 5 AT TAMPA: Sexton, Webb close in
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 4 AT HOUSTON: Tomac rebounds from A2 crash, retakes lead
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 3 AT ANAHEIM 2: Consistency makes Ken Roczen king
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 2 AT SAN DIEGO: Roczen moves up, Sexton falls
POWER RANKINGS AFTER WEEK 1 AT ANAHEIM 1: Tomac, Jett Lawrence gain an early advantage

Indy 500 winner Marcus Ericsson earns $3.1 million from a record purse of $16 million

2023 SuperMotocross Power Rankings after Seattle: Cooper Webb, Eli Tomac overtake Chase Sexton

Read more about SuperMotocross