Memorial Day Weekend means something to everyone. For car racing enthusiasts it means the Indianapolis 500. Annually run at the end of May, the premiere event of the IndyCar series is a test of endurance for drivers and a thrill ride for spectators. For the third straight year Scott Dixon is the Indy 500 betting favorite, though that that hasn’t helped him previously.
He was runner-up in 2020 to Takuma Sato despite leading for 111 laps. Last year Dixon was a distant 17th as Helio Castroneves won his record tying fourth Indy 500 in what was a surprise. One of the best drivers with six IndyCar championships, Dixon is hoping the third time’s the charm as he looks to become a multiple Indy 500 winner adding to his 2008 triumph.
The 106th running of the Indy 500 gets underway from Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 12:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 29. The race will be televised live on NBC with betting options available at BookMaker.eu.
Odds to win 2022 Indianapolis 500
Scott Dixon +527
Alex Palou +752
Patricio O’Ward +902
Josef NewGarden +1004
Rinus Veekay +1004
Marcus Ericsson +1306
Colton Herta +1406
Scott McLaughlin +1406
Will Power +1406
Takuma Sato +1406
Jimmie Johnson +1506
Felix Rosenqvist +1810
Tony Kanaan +1810
Alexander Rossi +1810
Ed Carpenter +2214
Simon Pagenaud +2214
Romain Grosjean +2518
Helio Castroneves +2518
Graham Rahal +3026
Conor Daly +5000
David Malukas +5000
Marco Andretti +5000
Santino Ferrucci +6000
Juan Pablo Montoya +6000
JR Hildebrand +6923
Sage Karam +8000
Callum Ilott +10000
Kyle Kirkwood +10000
Jack Harvey +12000
Christian Lundgaard +15000
Devlin Defrancesco +15000
Dalton Kellett +15000
Dixon sits alone at the top of the odds list because he’s been one of the best drivers on the IndyCar Series for some time. He’s won at least one race in 17 straight seasons and has 50 career series wins. However, he hasn’t had much luck at the Brickyard with his lone triumph coming over a decade ago. Still, he has four other podium finishes and just missed savoring the milk in 2020 when he came in second after leading for 111 of the 200 laps.
And once again Dixon earned the pole position with the fastest qualifying on the books. And that’s actually a big deal since format changes were made a few years ago to make passing more difficult. Three of the previous four winners of this race all started from the front row with Castroneves last year being the exception.
Dixon, Alex Palou and Patricio O’Ward are the top three on the odds board as the only drivers with shorter than 10/1 odds. Despite Dixon’s outstanding career he has just one win in his last 26 series starts and has been unable to take advantage of the pole three previous times at the Brickyard. Palou and O’Ward are intriguing picks, but it might be wise to look beyond the top three for better value.
A few drivers on the next betting tier stand out for different reasons. Will Power has been probably the most consistent driver this season with five top-5s in five starts to lead the standings race. He’s also a past winner here taking the checkered flag in 2018. He’ll start from the 11th spot, which traditionally isn’t good, but he started one race this season at 19th and placed fourth, so there’s a chance. And the way he’s driving Power is a nice value pick.
The only two-time winner this season, Josef NewGarden is offered at a decent price. He has just two top-5 finishes at the Indy 500 and starts from the 13th slot, so there are some things going against him. But two wins is quite an accomplishment. Rinus Veekay starts outside in Row 1 and that’s something to consider. He improved on his two Indy 500 starts going from 20th in 2020 to eighth last year. Veekay’s only series win came in Indianapolis when he took the checkered flag at the 2021 GMR Grand Prix.
We haven’t had a repeat winner since Castroneves in 2001 and 2002. And the defending champ can make history this weekend. He joined an elite group that includes A.J. Foyt, Al Unser Sr. and Rick Mears by winning his fourth Indy 500 and can take over as the race’s king with another checkered flag on Sunday. The odds say no, but they did last year as well.
