Eight ‘500’ Winners To Compete in ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ May 29
INDIANAPOLIS (Monday, May 16, 2022) – Eight winners are among the field of 33 drivers assigned to cars for the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 29 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with Helio Castroneves’ quest to become the first five-time winner of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” taking center stage during the Month of May.
Four-time winner Helio Castroneves (2001, 2002, 2009, 2021), two-time winners Juan Pablo Montoya (2000, 2015) and Takuma Sato (2017, 2020), plus single winners Scott Dixon (2008), Tony Kanaan (2013), Alexander Rossi (2016), Will Power (2018) and Simon Pagenaud (2019) are the past winners aiming for another victory this year. The record for winners in one field is 10, set in 1992.
Castroneves joined A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Rick Mears in the most prestigious club in motorsports – four-time winners of the Indianapolis 500 – with his emotional victory May 30, 2021 in the No. 06 AutoNation/Sirius XM Honda fielded by Meyer Shank Racing. Castroneves, 47, remains with Meyer Shank this season for his drive for five and would become the third-oldest winner in Indianapolis 500 history – behind Al Unser and Bobby Unser – with a victory this year.
Brazilian native Castroneves also is trying to become the first repeat winner since he achieved the feat with his first two victories, in 2001 and 2002. BorgWarner is offering a $400,000 bonus this year to Castroneves if he can achieve back-to-back victories.
The field includes seven past INDYCAR SERIES champions: Dixon, Kanaan, Montoya, Josef Newgarden, reigning NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou, Pagenaud and Power.
Seven drivers also will compete for Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge Rookie of the Year honors, the biggest rookie crop since 2014, when there also were seven first-time starters. This year’s group includes the high-profile debuts of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson and Formula One veteran Romain Grosjean and also includes Devlin DeFrancesco, Callum Ilott, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard and David Malukas.
Andretti Autosport and Chip Ganassi Racing each have entered five cars, the most of any team.
Practice opens Tuesday, May 17 and runs through Friday, May 20. PPG Presents Armed Forces Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday, May 21 and Sunday, May 22, followed by a two-hour practice Monday, May 23. The traditional final practice, two hours again this year on Miller Lite Carb Day, will be held Friday, May 27.
Live Race Day coverage begins on NBC, Telemundo Deportes on Universo and the INDYCAR Radio Network at 11 a.m. (ET), with the green flag set for 12:45 p.m.
2022 ENTRY BREAKDOWN:
Winners (8): Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon, Tony Kanaan, Juan Pablo Montoya, Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Takuma Sato
Rookies (7): Devlin DeFrancesco, Romain Grosjean, Callum Ilott, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Lundgaard, David Malukas
U.S. drivers (13): Marco Andretti, Ed Carpenter, Conor Daly, Santino Ferrucci, Colton Herta, JR Hildebrand, Jimmie Johnson, Sage Karam, Kyle Kirkwood, David Malukas, Josef Newgarden, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi
International drivers (20, from 14 countries): Helio Castroneves, Devlin DeFrancesco, Scott Dixon, Marcus Ericsson, Romain Grosjean, Jack Harvey, Callum Ilott, Tony Kanaan, Dalton Kellett, Christian Lundgaard, Scott McLaughlin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Pato O’Ward, Simon Pagenaud, Alex Palou, Will Power, Felix Rosenqvist, Takuma Sato, Rinus VeeKay, Stefan Wilson
Engines (33): Honda 17, Chevrolet 16 (all cars use Dallara chassis and Firestone tires)
