Indy 500 winners Ericsson, Ganassi receive “Baby Borgs”

Ericsson, who scored Chip Ganassi Racing’s fifth victory in the event and its first for 10 years, won the 106^th running of the Indy 500 after a breathtaking finish in which he held off Pato O’Ward’s Arrow McLaren in the charge for the twin checkers. Ericsson averaged 175.428mph over the 200-lap race and took home a record $3.1m in winnings.

Ericsson’s sterling silver image, as created by William Behrends on the Borg-Warner Trophy, was officially unveiled during a ceremony in downtown Indianapolis last October, while today at Thermal Club, near Palm Springs, CA., Ericsson and Ganassi received their miniature versions of the iconic trophy.

Originally designed in 1935, the sterling silver Borg-Warner Trophy measures over 5 feet, 4-3/4 inches tall and weighs more than 110 pounds, as it carries the sculpted face of every victor since 1911. The trophy that the driver is allowed to keep, nicknamed the “Baby Borg”, is a 19-inch miniature version of the famous trophy and sits on a wooden base. It carries a plate inscribed with the winner’s name, team name, average speed for 500 miles and year of his win.

The Baby Borg was first created in 1988, with the Championship Team Owner’s Trophy established 10 years later.

As a bonus, Parnelli Jones – now the oldest living Indy 500 winner – sent a special message of congratulations to Ericsson and Ganassi, as part of a framed poster devised by BorgWarner PR guru Steve Shunck, showing images of Jones’ famous victory at the Brickyard.

The 89-year-old wrote: “Congratulations to Marcus Ericsson and my good friend Chip Ganassi on winning the 2022 Indianapolis 500. There’s no greater race in the whole world and winning it in 1963 was by far the biggest thrill of my racing career.”

BorgWarner Inc.’s Michelle Collins said: “I’m honored to be here today. This is one of the best days for me, being here on behalf of the company, putting an end to the season as we look ahead to the next one.

“We’re at this beautiful venue and of course we have the Trophy and on behalf of BorgWarner I’m just honored to be here.”

On being presented the Championship Team Owner’s Trophy by Collins, Ganassi said: “I was five years old when I watched the [1963] Indy 500, on an 8mm film that my father took, and I must have watched that 1000 times!

“Indy 500 has been a big part of my life, so thanks to everybody involved, thanks to everybody on the team, thanks to Marcus for a great drive obviously. And I want to thank my buddy Roger Penske, thank him for the stewardship of Indianapolis Motor Speedway for all of us. It’s been said millions of times it’s about tradition, it’s about history, and for me it’s about the people.

“I want to thank all the people who have made this such a big part of my life.”

Collins then presented the “Baby Borg” to Ericsson, pointing out how special it was to have conquered the Indy 500 in only his fourth attempt. She recalled that the trip with Ericsson and the Borg-Warner Trophy to his hometown of Kumla, Sweden, last November was a real hit.

“I think you knew there was going to be a turnout, but there were people further than the eye could see!” she said. “That was really neat, I was honored to be a part of that, and I was so happy for you.”

Ericsson thanked BorgWarner, Collins and Shunck, “first of all for this fantastic Baby Borg but also for all the experiences since winning the 500.

“You talked about the Sweden trip, and it was extremely special for me. To everyone involved, I’m very thankful for that, because that memory is going to be with me for the rest of my life. Bringing the Borg-Warner Trophy to my hometown, seeing all the people there in the city square on a dark day in the middle of November!

“And of course, to Chip, Mike [Hull, managing director], Chip Ganassi Racing – I’m very, very proud and honored to be part of the team and to win an Indy 500 together. It doesn’t get much bigger than that, so thank you very much.”

The modest 32-year-old went on to thank primary sponsor Huski Chocolate, Honda, his girlfriend Iris, his trainer Alex, and IMS and its owners Penske Entertainment.