Ericsson cashes in on Indy 500 victory
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis 500 winner Marcus Ericsson cashed in on the race's record purse, earning an unprecedented $3.1 million check for Sunday's victory.
Prize totals were announced Monday, the same day the annual victory celebration was held in downtown Indianapolis.
The 31-year-old Ericsson became the second 500 champion from Sweden, joining 1999 winner Kenny Brack, who helped mentor Ericsson early in his career. Ericsson drives for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Indy's total purse of slightly less than $16.1 million smashed the previous mark of $14.4 million that was set in 2008.
Runner-up Pato O'ward of Mexico, who drives for Arrow Mclaren SP, collected $1 million — the largest check a second-place finisher has earned in nearly a decade.
Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson received a $50,000 bonus for being named the race's rookie of the year despite crashing late in the race. Johnson's winnings totaled nearly $208,000.
The average payday for each driver was $485,000. “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 statement. “This year's record-setting purse is reflective of their tireless pursuit of history and the world-class talent they display on every lap.”
Race organizers said the estimated crowd topped 325,000, which they believe makes it the largest attended single-day sporting event in the world since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The Indycar Series returns to action next weekend in Detroit.
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — The Coca-cola 600 was many things — excruciatingly long, wildly unpredictable and perhaps above all else, immensely entertaining.
It was, as William Byron described after getting caught up in a 12-car crash, “chaos out there.”
In race that took five hours, 13 minutes to complete and included 18 cautions and 17 cars finishing in the garage in various states of disrepair, the first Next Gen race at Charlotte Motor Speedway left many shaking their heads over the events of the night. Denny Hamlin ultimately won the longest race in NASCAR history (619.5 miles) by beating Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch to the finish line by 0.014 seconds in double overtime.
Things were so insane at one point that Fox Sports racing analyst and longtime Cup Series driver Clint Bowyer exclaimed, “This is the wildest and craziest 600 that has ever happened!”
And he was right.
Few cars escaped the race unscathed, with Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace among the many who simply got sideways while racing alone and spun out, often times ending up harmlessly in the infield turf and drawing a yellow flag.
Others weren't as fortunate.
Chris Buescher was involved in a scary wreck that saw his No. 17 Ford flip five times before landing on its hood. Safety crews had to carefully to flip his car over before Buescher could climb out of the vehicle. He walked away sore but relatively unscathed.