Indy 500 2022: Latest Race Odds and Sleeper Contenders

0 of 4

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

This Sunday, 33 drivers will race for 200 laps over 500 miles for the chance to taste that sweet cold milk at the 2022 Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Led by Scott Dixon, who earned his fifth career Indy 500 pole with the fastest four-lap average speed for a pole sitter and is the favorite to win outright, “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” should be one for the books.

Miles Teller, star of the summer blockbuster “Top Gun Maverick,” will serve as honorary starter and wave the green flag to start the race.

From there, odds-on favorite Dixon, Alex Palou and the other INDYCAR SERIES drivers will once again speed around the “Brickyard” for the 106th Running of the Indianapolis 500 and give fans of racing’s marquee event a show they won’t soon forget.

Here’s a quick look at the latest Indianapolis 500 odds, followed by three sleepers bettors should keep an eye for Sunday.

1 of 4

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Scott Dixon: +550 (bet $100 to win $550)

Alex Palou: +600

Pato O’Ward: +900

Rinus Veekay: +1100

Josef Newgarden: +1200

Will Power: +1400

Colton Herta: +1500

Scott McLaughlin: +1600

Jimmie Johnson: +1600

Takuma Sato: +1800

Marcus Ericsson: +1800

Ed Carpenter: +1800

Tony Kanaan: +2000

Felix Rosenqvist: +2000

Alexander Rossi: +2500

Simon Pagenaud: +2500

Complete odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook.

2 of 4

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Every driver in the Indy 500 wants to cross the checkered flag first to drink that ice cold celebratory milk in Victory Lane and Will Power has done it before (2018) and is looking to get his second win this Sunday.

The 41-year old Australian may only have one win at the Indianapolis 500, but he’s put some serious numbers on the board in the sport.

To date, he’s amassed 40 career wins, 64 poles and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship back in 2014.

As for pre-race odds, he’s predicted to come in sixth, but with his experience and racing pedigree, he’s always a threat to separate himself from the field and claim the victory.

Power will have his second-worst starting position of the year, but he’s been one of the most consistent drivers in IndyCar and is No.1 in the championship points standings this year with 170.

“Ideally you want to be in the top five for the second half of the race and then cycle through to be in the top two in the last 10 laps,” Power told David Malsher-Lopez of MotorSport.com. “If you’re not there, you’re in a bit of trouble. But you never know how things play out in this game. It could be a fuel race, it could be anything, so you’ve just got to be prepped for it all.”

3 of 4

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

They say that “three time’s a charm” and for two-time Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato, that’s the goal this Sunday.

Japan’s first and only Indy 500 winner had some trouble during the qualifying run, interfering with Marco Andretti’s attempt and made contact with the wall in turn 2 during his second qualifying attempt.

Complications notwithstanding, Sato still made the cut.

Sato’s four-lap average of 231.670 mph wasn’t enough to get into the Fast 6, so he’ll be starting 10th on the inside of Row 4.

The driver of the No. 51 Honda-powered car for Dale Coyne Racing will be running his 13th Indianapolis 500 and will try to use his experience to overcome the odds to get that third drink of cold milk.

“Me participating in the 500 for [so] long now, my respect and the happiness grows bigger and bigger,.” Sato told Michelle R. Martinelli of USA Today. “Even if you [don’t] win the race, it’s just appreciation of participating in the 500 because of the history, because of the scale, because you know how many people are working for this in terms of organization, as well as the teams in preparation, the car, just everything.

“And then just one mistake, you can’t win. It has to be perfect to win the race. It’s kind of a miracle to all come together. Luck too.”

4 of 4

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

One never forgets their first time and this will be Jimmie Johnson’s inaugural run at the Indy 500.

That said, Johnson is no rookie to the track. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is in the throes of his first season as a full-time Indy Car driver with Chip Ganassi Racing.

Despite the fact that the veteran driver is tied for the eighth-shortest odds to win on Sunday, there have been 10 drivers who have gone on to win the Indianapolis 500 at the first attempt, so there’s a chance that Johnson can find himself on Victory Lane in just his second time racing on an oval in the Indycar series.

“I certainly feel like qualifying, having the opportunity to qualify on the oval this weekend, in the equipment I’ll be in, I should be able to have a career-best starting position, then look forward from there, try to understand traffic, race my way into the top 10, top five, if possible,” Johnson told IndyCar.com.

Johnson finished sixth at the Texas Grand Prix oval back in March and hopes to find similar success at Indy on Sunday.