Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden left Indianapolis with the largest winning purse in motorsports history. The Team Penske driver took home $4.288 million for his back-to-back win Sunday.
The total purse for the 108th running of the Indy 500 was a record-setting $18,456,000.
Newgarden was not the only driver to see a bimp in pay. The average payout for NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers was $543,000, up from last year’s $500,600.
Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren, the second place finisher, earned $1,050,500.
“The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world, and this record-breaking purse is reflective of just how monumental competing in and winning at Indy is for these drivers,” Penske Entertainment Corp. President and CEO Mark Miles said. “Despite weather challenges, the Month of May featured packed grandstands and intense on-track action. Presenting this purse is the ideal end cap to an epic month.”
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion, earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year driving for Arrow McLaren/Rick Hendrick. Larson earned a $50,000 bonus for the Rookie of the Year award, bringing his total to $178,000.
The awards were preseason at the Victory Celebration in Indianapolis on Monday night.
Newgarden’s purse included a $440,000 roll-over bonus from BorgWarner for earning back-to-back Indy 500 wins.
The bonus increased by $20,000 each year but had only been awarded one other time. Helio Castroneves was awarded the bonus after winning the Indy 500 in 2001 and 2002.
1. (3) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, Team Penske, $4,288,00
2. (8) Pato O’Ward, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, $1,050,500
3. (21) Scott Dixon, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, $835,000
4. (4) Alexander Rossi, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, $688,000
5. (14) Alex Palou, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, $614,000
6. (1) Scott McLaughlin, Chevrolet, Team Penske, $781,500
7. (11) Kyle Kirkwood, Honda, Andretti Global, $568,000
8. (6) Santino Ferrucci, Chevrolet, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, $568,500
9. (7) Rinus VeeKay, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, $563,500
10. (29) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, $159,000
11. (15) Callum Ilott, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren, $538,500
12. (24) Christian Rasmussen, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, $128,000
13. (28) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $537,000
14. (10) Takuma Sato, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $119,500
15. (33) Graham Rahal, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $537,000
16. (23) Sting Ray Robb, Chevrolet, A.J. Foyt Enterprises, $228,300
17. (17) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, Ed Carpenter Racing, $510,500
18. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Arrow McLaren/Rick Hendrick, $178,00
19. (26) Romain Grosjean, Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger Racing, $517,500
20. (20) Helio Castroneves, Honda, Meyer Shank Racing w/ Curb-Agajanian, $102,000
21. (18) Kyffin Simpson, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, $158,300
22. (22) Agustin Canapino, Chevrolet, Juncos Hollinger Racing, $511,000
23. (13) Colton Herta, Honda, Andretti Global w/ Curb-Agajanian, $513,000
24. (2) Will Power, Chevrolet, Team Penske, $543,000
25. (19) Marco Andretti, Honda, Andretti Herta w/ Marco & Curb-Agajanian, $102,000
26. (12) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Chevrolet, Dreyer and Reinbold Racing-Cusick Motorsports, $102,000
27. (9) Felix Rosenqvist, Honda, Meyer Shank Racing, $514,000
28. (27) Linus Lundqvist, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, $508,500
29. (31) Katherine Legge, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing with RWR, $158,800
30. (16) Marcus Armstrong, Honda, Chip Ganassi Racing, $156,300
31. (25) Tom Blomqvist, Honda, Meyer Shank Racing, $156,300
32. (30) Pietro Fittipaldi, Honda, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $507,500
33. (32) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, Andretti Global, $507,500
DNQ. Nolan Siegel, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD, $505,500
