The IndyCar Series heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday for the 2022 Indianapolis 500. The green flag for the 106th race is set to drop at approximately 12:45 p.m. ET (NBC). Below we analyze the 2022 Indianapolis 500 odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions.
Sunday’s race is scheduled for 200 laps and 500 miles at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” follows F1’s Monaco Grand Prix in a full day of 3 major motor races on Sunday. NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte caps off the evening.
Brazil’s Helio Castroneves of Meyer Shank Racing, won his fourth Borg-Warner Trophy in 2021, the prize for winning the Indy 500. He starts 27th in Row 9 after a 4-lap average speed of 229.630 mph.
NASCAR fans will tune in to see how 7-time NASCAR series champ Jimmie Johnson fares as a rookie in his first Indianapolis 500. He will start on the outside of Row 4 alongside former champions Takuma Sato (2017, 2020) and Will Power (2018).
2022 Indianapolis 500: What you need to know
- Scott Dixon is on the pole after posting a 4-lap average of 234.046 mph, the only driver to exceed 233.5 mph in qualifying. He will start alongside Alex Palou and Rinus VeeKay on Row 1.
- In the past 105 Indy 500’s, the winner has come from Row 1 a total of 45 times, or 42.9 percent of the time (21 winners from the pole, 11 from the 2nd position and 13 from No. 3).
- Castroneves started from the 8th spot to win his 4th title in 2021. He was just the 3rd winner from that spot in the history of the race, and the 1st winner from Row 3 since 1999.
- The 47-year-old Castroneves is trying to become the first 5-time winner and the first driver to win consecutive Indy 500s since he accomplished the feat in 2001-02.
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Indianapolis 500 – Expert picks
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:56 a.m. ET.
SCOTT DIXON (+550) is on the pole, and a good bet. The 2008 winner from New Zealand, a 6-time IndyCar series champion, would be the second driver to go 14 or more years between Indy 500 wins. Juan Pablo Montoya is the record holder, taking checkers in 2000 and 2015 at Indy.
JIMMIE JOHNSON (+1500) is the feel-good story, but he is also a legitimate contender. The Target Chip Ganassi Racing driver finished 22nd in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the road course May 14, and he has finished 20th or lower in 4 of his first 5 races. He was an impressive 6th at the Grand Prix of Texas, a track he is familiar with from his NASCAR days.
Indianapolis 500 picks – Long shot
TONY KANAAN (+2000) will make his first IndyCar start of the season. While many might think he could be rusty, he certainly didn’t look like it in qualifying at 232.372 mph. The 2013 winner will start on the outside of Row 2 in the 6th position in the starting grid.
Indianapolis 500 prop picks
RINUS VEEKAY GROUP A WINNER (+250)
In the group winner area, you’ll find VEEKAY (+250) as the favorite over 2-time winner Takuma Sato (+270), Colton Herta (+260) and Scott McLaughlin (+260).
Sato is obviously the biggest threat here, as Herta could be a little spooked after going airborne in a highlight-reel wreck during Carb Day practice at IMS.
We touched on the benefits of starting on Row 1, so give VeeKay the nod here.
TONY KANAAN GROUP C WINNER (+240)
KANAAN (+240) is the co-favorite in this group along with Alexander Rossi (+240), who won this race as a rookie in 2016 with Andretti Herta Autosport. Simon Pagenaud (+280), the 2019 winner of the Indy 500, is also in this group, along with Romain Grosjean (+300).
It won’t be easy, but again, look to the starting spot for guidance here. Kanaan goes off 6th, while Rossi starts 20th, and Pagenaud starts 16th. Grosjean could be the biggest threat to TK’s chance, starting 9th.
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