
Indy 500 payout reaches an all-time high again
Alex Palou won the Indianapolis 500 a couple of days ago. He pocketed $US3.8 million from a purse of $20,283,000. It's the largest total of all time and the biggest for the fourth consecutive year.
This year's average payout for IndyCar drivers was $US596,500, which also exceeded last year's mean of $543,000.
Palou's payout wasn't the biggest ever though. Josef Newgarden last year picked up $US4.3m for the win, of which $440,000 was a bonus from Borg Warner for earning back-to-back wins.
The year before he took home $US3.7m. In 2022, winner Marcus Ericsson earned $3.1 million.
'The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world, and winning this race makes history in more ways than one,' according to IndyCar and IMS president J. Douglas Boles.
Pole-winner Robert Shwartzman of Prema Racing earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year. For that he earned a $50,000 bonus, adding to a total take-home prize of $327,300.
The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and INDYCAR awards, amongst others. Purse awards are presented annually at the Victory Celebration. That is being held this year at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.
The next race in the 2025 IndyCar season is the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, June 1st.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


NZ Autocar
6 days ago
- NZ Autocar
Dixon in late charge as McLaughlin retires in latest IndyCar race
The Gateway Motorsports Park in Illinois was the scene of high drama in the latest IndyCar outing. Andretti's Kyle Kirkwood celebrated his first career oval victory, while experienced Kiwi Scott Dixon once again proved his worth with a late surge to P4. Fellow Kiwis Marcus Armstrong and Scott McLaughlin were both contenders through the day, Armstrong battling inside the top ten and McLaughlin leading early before misfortune struck. From the outset things didn't run according to plan. Team Penske locked out the front row with Will Power on pole and McLaughlin alongside, while Armstrong slotted into sixth and Dixon in 11th. David Malukas launched well at the start, snatching the lead away from both Penske drivers. Meanwhile, Dixon dropped to 15th early, slipping back behind Alex Palou and Marcus Ericsson as the field settled. The first caution flew after just four laps when Devlin DeFrancesco spun and backed into the Turn 2 wall. Newgarden began making progress climbing to seventh after overtaking Armstrong. Malukas maintained the lead but McLaughlin was there or thereabouts in third, preserving his tyres. Newgarden had moving into fourth by Lap 39, forming a Penske train behind Malukas. Moments later, Power suffered a right-front blowout while running second, sending him into the wall and out of the race. The second caution sent most of the field into the pits. McLaughlin beat Malukas out and took control of the race. The Kiwi led the restart on Lap 58 with Malukas and Newgarden behind. Armstrong restarted ninth, while Dixon sat 13th. McLaughlin began to stretch a gap, building a 1.2-second margin by Lap 70. Newgarden took over second spot from Malukas. The Kiwi soon found himself slowing for backmarkers. After pitting, McLaughlin rejoined in third, almost seven seconds adrift of the leader. Next thing, Louis Foster tagged the wall and slid back across the track right into the path of Newgarden. Both drivers emerged without injury, despite a fire in Newgarden's car which was destroyed. McLaughlin was the lone Penske car remaining. He pitted under caution but copped a three-position penalty, dropping him to fifth at the restart on Lap 149. Armstrong held eighth, and Dixon was in 12th. Daly and O'Ward went toe to toe for the lead, Rasmussen had climbed to fifth after passing McLaughlin, gaining 19 places from the start. After another cycle of pitstops, Dixon found himself in the race lead. Malukas then made contact with the wall and brought out another caution. Dixon was able to pit and maintain his track position, returning to the lead on Lap 208. Armstrong's earlier stop before the caution dropped him to 15th and a lap down. When racing restarted McLaughlin suffered a right-rear tyre issue, forcing him to retire on Lap 200. Dixon kept control for a time and pitted with 24 laps to go, handing the lead briefly to O'Ward and then Ferrucci. The final laps were all about fuel-saving strategy, several leaders having to pit for extra fuel. Kirkwood, who had been there or thereabouts, took advantage gaining the lead with five laps remaining and subsequently won the race. O'Ward was second, and Rasmussen third after starting from the back of the grid. Dixon crossed the line in fourth, another strong finish for the consistent Kiwi. Armstrong brought his car home in tenth. Final Classification – Top 10 Kyle Kirkwood – Andretti Global Pato O'Ward – Arrow McLaren Christian Rasmussen – Ed Carpenter Racing Scott Dixon (NZL) – Chip Ganassi Racing Santino Ferrucci – AJ Foyt Racing Conor Daly – Juncos Hollinger Racing Rinus VeeKay – Dale Coyne Racing Alex Palou – Chip Ganassi Racing Robert Shwartzman – Prema Racing Marcus Armstrong (NZL) – Meyer Shank Racing DNF: Scott McLaughlin (NZL) – 23rd Indycar returns this weekend for the Xpel Grand Prix at Road America. The race kicks off at 5.30am Monday 23rd June NZT. For more on today's race, see here.

RNZ News
6 days ago
- RNZ News
Leader Palou grabs sixth Indycar win, Dixon gamble backfires
Photo: PHOTOSPORT Series leader Alex Palou clings on to notch a sixth Indycars season win in Wisconsin while New Zealand's Scott Dixon just falls short after employing a bold fuel strategy. After starting 25th on the grid at the Grand Prix of Road America, veteran Chip Ganassi Racind driver Dixon led for a race-high 27 laps out of 55 laps, courtesy of an early pit stop and some good luck with a safety car stoppage. Having looked like he could hold on to land his first win of the season, Dixon's fuel bottomed out and he was forced to pit again with two laps to go, to ultimately finish ninth. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Palou led for only six laps but squeezed out the win on low fuel, having drafted behind team-mate Dixon over the closing stages to ensure he'd reach the chequered flag. The Spaniard notched his sixth win in nine rounds but his first since the Indianapolis 500 to extend his dominant lead in the championship standings to 93 points over American Kyle Kirkwood. Sweden's Felix Rosenqvist took second, and Santino Ferrucci continued a hot stretch of his own by placing third, while Kirkwood was fourth and New Zealand's Marcus Armstrong fifth. The third Kiwi in the field, Scott McLaughlin, was 12th after leading on the opening lap of a topsy-turvy street race. "It was a crazy race," Palou said. "I had moments I thought we were losing a ton [more] position than we were making. "It was a tough race for everybody, but kudos to the team for the amazing strategy, and Honda, man. HRC being able to give us the fuel mileage we needed at the end to make it." Palou became the first IndyCar driver since A.J. Foyt in 1975 to win six of the first nine races in a campaign. He will be hard to catch over the final eight rounds. Dixon is fifth overall, with McLaughlin eighth and Armstrong 10th. - Reuters/RNZ

1News
13-06-2025
- 1News
McLaughlin on Indy 500 crash: 'I still am a little bit perplexed'
Scott McLaughlin doesn't mince words about the moment that derailed his Indianapolis 500 dream. The Kiwi IndyCar driver crashed out before the race had even started, spinning on the warm-up lap and slamming into the wall in a rare, rattling mistake. "I still am a little bit perplexed about what happened in that scenario and how it did," he told 1News. "Never sort of done that before in my career." It capped off a nightmare month that began with promise and ended with wrecked cars, lost opportunity, and questions he was still attempting to answer. ADVERTISEMENT "That whole month was pretty tough. It started really well and then obviously ended in a couple of bad ways with my crash before that, and then crashing another brand new car. "Yeah, look, it was definitely one of, if not the lowest point of my career, but there's something that I'll learn from. McLaughlin's response was immediate: get back behind the wheel. Kiwi IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin. (Source: 1News) "The best thing for me, after a week after that, was getting back in the race car. And, you know, felt really good even if it wasn't the most ideal result either.' While Indy was the most public blow, it had been a turbulent season all round. His team, Penske, was hit with a cheating scandal for illegal use of engine software. He's also been at the centre of social media run-ins, including one with former IndyCar champ Tony Kanaan. Still, McLaughlin's belief hasn't wavered. ADVERTISEMENT "We've had the pace to win races we just haven't put it together. A little bit of luck, little bit of making mistakes, bits and pieces." He opened the year with a pole position in St. Petersburg, grabbed a podium at Barber, and now turns his focus to this weekend's Bommarito 500 in St. Louis a track where he won pole and finished second last year. "I truly believe we have a fast car. I feel really strong on ovals. Do I enjoy ovals more? And I have to say, I do now. It's such a refreshing change for me in my career. Every time I go on an oval, I feel really confident and definitely feel like that's my kettle of fish." Scott McLaughlin opened up about his horror run at the Indy 500. (Source: 1News) He would enter the race sitting eighth in the standings, with championship leader Alex Palou well ahead but not out of reach. "I've been in this sport long enough not just IndyCar but Supercars as well. Sometimes you can have a fast car and you just don't put it together. It's not your year. I don't believe it's not my year yet." "I certainly need to get on the train and start winning races or, you know, getting some consistency back." ADVERTISEMENT There's added pride behind the wheel, too. McLaughlin's long-time sponsor, Gallagher Insurance, has partnered with the All Blacks — a team he had supported since childhood. "It's full circle. They've sponsored me here in America and now they're an associate of the All Blacks. I'd love to try get some of the boys out to a race vice versa." After a month of setbacks, McLaughlin was focused on the one thing that matters now — turning pace into results. Watch the full interview on TVNZ+