JUNE 1, 2022

(Photo by Joe Skibinski/Penske Entertainment)
Marcus Ericsson (No. 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Huski Chocolate Honda) won the 106th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. Ericsson earned his first career victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in a wild scramble after a late race red flag. Ericsson, from Kumla, Sweden, won under caution after Sage Karam crashed in Turn 2 on the final lap. Before the race-ending incident, Ericsson and Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet) were locked in a fantastic duel for the lead after the restart with two laps to go after the red flag, snaking around the 2.5-mile oval in one of the most breathtaking finishes in the century-plus history of the race. O’Ward ended up second in his best career “500” finish in three starts. “I knew the Huski Chocolate car was fast enough, but it was still hard,” Ericsson said. “I had to do everything there at the end to keep him behind. I can’t believe it. I’m so happy.” The former Formula One driver became the second Swede to triumph in the “500,” joining 1999 winner Kenny Brack. Ericsson and Brack spoke via videoconference during the winner’s press conference Sunday afternoon. Ericsson’s best finish in three previous Indy 500 starts was 11th last year. This was the first victory in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” for team owner Chip Ganassi since 2012 and his fifth as a solo owner and sixth overall. Ericsson took the lead in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES standings with his third career victory, boosted by the double points awarded in this event. 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan finished third in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing The American Legion Honda, as the Ganassi team finished a dominant Month of May by putting two cars in the top three finishing positions. Kanaan recorded the fifth top-three finish of his illustrious “500” career. Felix Rosenqvist placed fourth in the No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Vuse Chevrolet, as Arrow McLaren SP placed two cars in the top four. Alexander Rossi, winner of the 100th Indianapolis 500 in 2016, rounded out the top five in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport NAPA AUTO PARTS/AutoNation Honda after starting 20th. NTT P1 Award winner and six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon appeared to be the driver to beat, as he led a race-high 95 laps and became the all-time lap leader in Indianapolis 500 history with 665, surpassing the record of 644 by legendary four-time winner Al Unser. But Dixon was assessed a speeding penalty entering pit lane as he stopped from the lead on Lap 175 in the No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Honda. The subsequent drive-through penalty dropped 2008 Indy 500 winner Dixon through the field, and he ended up a disappointing 21st. “It’s heartbreaking, to be honest,” Dixon said. “I came into the pit and had to lock the rears and kind of locked all four. I knew it was going to be close; I think it was a mile an hour over or something. Just frustrating. I just messed up.” The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, June 5, at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park in Detroit. The race will be broadcast live on USA Network and the INDYCAR Radio Network starting at 3 p.m. (ET). Watch the race highlights from NBC here. (Thank you to INDYCAR Media) And see more Indy 500 coverage in Fumes. -WG
(Photo by Karl Zemlin/Penske Entertainment)
In a wonderful touch, Marcus Ericsson wore a special helmet in a tribute to the late Swedish F1 star, Ronnie Peterson.
(Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
(Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)

(Karl Zemlin/Penske Entertainment)
Pato O’Ward (No. 5 Arrow McLaren SP Chevrolet) and Marcus Ericsson (No. 8 Chip Gamassi Racing Huski Chocolate Honda) were locked in a fantastic duel for the lead after the restart with two laps to go after the red flag. Ericsson, snaking around the 2.5-mile oval to keep O'Ward from picking up his draft, prevailed for the win. O’Ward ended up second in his best career “500” finish in three starts.

(Photo by Doug Matthews/Penske Entertainment)
In what might be his last appearance in the race, 2013 Indy 500 winner Tony Kanaan finished third in the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing The American Legion Honda. The Ganassi team finished a dominant Month of May by putting two cars in the top three finishing positions. Kanaan recorded the fifth top-three finish of his illustrious “500” career. 

(Photo by James Black/Penske Entertainment)
NTT P1 Award winner and six-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon (No. 9 Chip Ganassi Racing PNC Bank Honda) leads Felix Rosenqvist (No. 7 Arrow McLaren SP Vuse Chevrolet) during the race. Dixon appeared to be the driver to beat, as he led a race-high 95 laps and became the all-time lap leader in Indianapolis 500 history with 665, surpassing the record of 644 by legendary four-time winner Al Unser. But Dixon was assessed a speeding penalty entering pit lane as he stopped from the lead on Lap 175. The subsequent drive-through penalty dropped 2008 Indy 500 winner Dixon through the field, and he ended up a bitterly disappointing 21st. 

(Photo by Walt Kuhn/Penske Entertainment)
The pagoda at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the most famous race track in the world.

The 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge featured a record payout. Race winner Marcus Ericsson took home $3.1 million from a total purse of $16,000,200. It’s the largest purse ever in the century-plus history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s prize is also the largest winner’s payout ever for the world’s largest single-day sporting event. Prior to 2022, the biggest Indy 500 purse was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500. This year’s average payout for drivers was $485,000. Second-place finisher Pato O’Ward, of Arrow McLaren SP, took home $1 million, marking the largest take-home prize for the second-place finisher in nearly a decade. In what most observers termed an unfortunate decision (me included -PMD), seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver earned a $50,000 bonus for being named Rookie of the Year, adding to a total take home prize of $207,900. David Malukas, who finished sixteenth, should have been the Rookie of the Year, but it wouldn't be the first time that Speedway officials blew the Rookie of the Year call. The next NTT INDYCAR SERIES race is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix presented by Lear on Sunday, June 5, at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park in Detroit. It will be the last race at Belle Isle Park, as next year the race will be conducted on a new circuit on the streets of downtown Detroit. The race will be broadcast live on USA Network and the INDYCAR Radio Network starting at 3 p.m. (ET). See the Official Results from the 2022 Indianapolis 500 here: Official Box Score

(Formula1.com)
Sergio Perez (No. 11 Red Bull Racing) won his first race of 2022 by 1.1 seconds after a nail-biting end to the Monaco Grand Prix, with Carlos Sainz (No. 55 Scuderia Ferrari) finishing second and Max Verstappen (No. 1 Rec Bull Racing) third after both were unable to make it past the Mexican. Charles Leclerc (No. 16 Scuderia Ferrari) dropped from his pole position to finish P4. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to Formula1.com)

(Trans Am Series)
Chris Dyson (No. 20 CDR ALTWELL Ford Mustang) had another successful weekend in the Trans Am Series presented by Pirelli, winning the Lime Rock Park Memorial Day Classic in the TA class for the third year in a row. Dyson captured his fifth Motul Pole Award of the season and led from green flag to checkers at his home track, earning his fourth-consecutive win and fifth race victory of the season. With his teammate Matthew Brabham (No. 21 CDR allgram Mustang) finishing close behind, Dyson’s CD Racing team earned a 1-2 finish, while Dyson’s father, Rob Dyson, presided over the race as Grand Marshal. Starting from the top spot, Dyson, who won in Trans Am’s last two visits to Lime Rock in 2019 and 2021, jumped ahead of the field when the green flag waved, which is where he remained for the entirety of the caution-free race. After the start, Dyson was closely followed by the No. 23 McNichols Co. Chevrolet Corvette of Amy Ruman, who battled hard against Dyson’s CD Racing teammate Matthew Brabham’s No. 21 CDR allgram Mustang. Brabham made the pass on Ruman after eight laps, and held the second spot for the remainder of the race. Ruman fought hard to maintain the third position, racing skillfully against the No. 7 Franklin Road Apparel Camaro of Ken Thwaits, but Thwaits made the pass on lap 22, claiming the final step of the podium with a third-place finish and leaving Ruman to finish fourth. “This place just means so much to me, it’s overwhelming,” said Dyson as he emerged from his car. “This place meant the world to me growing up, coming out here with my family and watching my dad race. It really planted the seed of my love for this sport. Now, to come back here and have success, a 20-year career, I’m very fortunate. I have a sense of perspective that I obviously didn’t have as a kid, but I have the same sense of love for this place. Winning on Memorial Day never gets old. And it being Memorial Day, we’ve got to be mindful of why we’re celebrating today and honor those who have given their lives so we can come out here and enjoy our freedoms.”

(France24.com/Filippo Montefort AFP)
Francesco Bagnaia (No. 63 Ducati Lenovo Team) scored his first victory in his home MotoGP™ race, the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley. Despite falling deep into the top ten in the opening corners at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello, he hit the front before the halfway mark and banked an important 25 points to get his title bid back on track. World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (No. 20 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) was second, while Aleix Espargaro (No. 41 Aprilia Racing) finished third for the fourth race in a row. Watch the race highlights here. (Thank you to MotoGP Media)

Balls. Of. Steel.

By Whit Bazemore

Bend. Monaco. The Indianapolis 500. Daytona. The U.S. Nationals. Every major form of motorsport has its crown jewel - the one race that means more than all the others, the one that can make a career - or break one.

In the MotoGP World Championship, that one race is the Italian GP in Mugello. A fan favorite, the serpentine circuit is tucked away in the Tuscany hillsides not far from Florence. It’s an old school track with fast, sweeping turns, several of which are downhill and slightly off-camber, and a long front straight with a slight right/left kink and a rise near the end that crests just when the MotoGP bikes are hitting the fastest speeds of the season - and as they start to transition to one of the hardest braking zones. Add a wall just to the riders left, and you have not only the fastest piece of track on the MotoGP schedule, but also the most dangerous. It takes balls of steel to ride a MotoGP bike anyway, but racing one at Mugello, at over 225MPH, redefines the term. Balls. Of. Steel. Even watching the bikes in person on this piece of track leaves even the most hardened spectator breathless. It is that insane. 

This year’s Italian GP was always going to be different due to Italian great Valentino Rossi’s retirement last year. Rossi won many times in Mugello, and in recent years the race became more like a pilgrimage for the Tifosi to pay homage to their idol and his sport. For the past ten or fifteen years, the Mugello atmosphere has been a mix of the old 1970’s U.S. GP at Watkins Glen, the infamous Snake Pit at Indy, and the golden years of the NHRA U.S. Nationals, back when spectators could not get enough nitro fumes and hero autographs. Mugello has been all of that and more. All-night parties surrounding the track, high-revving two stroke motors revving themselves to the moon all night long, and who knows how many Italian children conceived at Mugello, born nine months later and named “Valentino.” My guess is thousands... 

But would this year’s race be the same without Rossi? 

By all accounts, the Mugello atmosphere this year was different. It was more subdued, for sure, and it seemed not quite as packed as it traditionally is. It’s a shame because the on-track action doesn’t suffer from Rossi’s absence, and the off-track drama that surrounds the sport reached a new high during the Italian race weekend. And, to be sure, the young blood Italian racers are kicking ass this year. Sophomore racer Enea Bastianini came to Mugello as the season’s only multiple race (3) winner and was third in the championship standings. Plus, both Italian manufacturers, Ducati and Aprilia are having stellar seasons, so what’s not to love? Valentino Rossi, apparently. 

If Rossi wasn’t personally on a race bike, his VR-46 team sure was. Rossi’s two racers, Luca Marini and rookie Marco Bezzecchi, put the team’s Ducatis on the front row in a drama-filled qualifying session, and raced well enough to make all the Rossi fans rejoice on Sunday. Bezz was a career best 5th, and Marini finished just behind in 6th.  

At the front, another Rossi protege won. Pecco Bagnaia overcame his demons (a crash here last year, and a crash out of the lead at the last race in France) to win his greatest race yet. Pecco was faultless on his factory Ducati, showing the mental resolve of a World Champion during what had to be a pressure-packed weekend. 

Fabio Quartararo cemented his reputation as the best racer at the moment in MotoGP with an excellent second-place on the not-so-excellent Yamaha. The defending World Champion is racing with a maturity beyond his 23 years. He consistently extracts more than 100% from himself and his bike without making mistakes and is now the quickest racer in the sport. How good is Fabio? The next best Yamaha rider was rookie Darryn Binder, back in 16th...

Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia finished third - on the podium for the fifth time this year! After returning to MotoGP in 2015, the Italian brand suffered immense bouts of non-competitiveness before finally taking a first podium last year at Silverstone. This year, the team and rider have come of age with a first win, and now consistent podiums, which is clearly the way to win championships. And clearly, Espargaro and Aprilia are capable of winning the championship, although Ducati with Bagnaia and Yamaha’s Quartararo are the favorites. But anything can and will happen.

Marc Marquez announced on Saturday afternoon that he is taking a leave from MotoGP in an attempt to further repair his right arm, which was injured in Jerez two years ago. He’s had three surgeries thus far and is visibly struggling to return to his past form (which was spectacular to watch and commanded spectacular results). He flew to the U.S. this week for a fourth surgery on the arm - this time at the Mayo Clinic scheduled for Thursday. We at AE wish the Champ the best, and the sport will be the worse without him for the remainder of the year. 

Marquez took a risk by racing on Sunday (what if he had further injured the arm?) but rode a great race on the difficult 2022 Honda to finish 10th.  

Even now, without its two biggest stars (Rossi and now Marquez), MotoGP is still the best racing in the world, and the daily drama rivals a Starbucks full of teenage girl baristas... 

Editor's Note: You can access previous issues of AE by clicking on "Next 1 Entries" below. - WG