It’s nice to be an Indianapolis 500 winner. Not only will your name go down in history (along with the lovely BorgWarner Trophy), but you will also be able to pour milk on your head in front of millions of people and gain some real bragging rights. Oh, and then there’s the cash. Josef Newgarden, the 2024 Indy 500 winner, is taking home a cool $4.4 million after winning his second consecutive 500 last Sunday.
The successive bit is important because winning the race back-to-back earned him a $440,000 bonus from BorgWarner. This additional award is a rolling bonus given to all drivers that increases by $20,000 annually. Helio Castroneves was the last driver to earn this money, having won in 2001 and 2002.
In 2024, a total purse of $18,456,000 was distributed, a 1,434,500 increase over 2023. All 33 racers receive a slice of the pie, even if they only started the race and crashed a few feet later. Of course, the winner gets the greatest cut, but second-place finisher Pato O’Ward took home a substantial $1,050,500, while Scott Dixon earned $835,000 for finishing third.
As I previously stated, drivers do not get to keep all of their earnings. Depending on their pre-negotiated Indy 500 contracts (or yearly contracts for full-season drivers), they will be able to keep anywhere from 30% to 60% of the money after costs are reduced and other portions awarded. A million-dollar payment might suddenly become a “just” $350,000 take-home pay—and that’s before taxes are included in. Drivers of Newgarden, O’Ward, and Dixon’s caliber can command bigger percentages, whilst pay-to-play racers must hand over the bulk to the team.
NASCAR champion Kyle Larson earned $178,000 for finishing 18th, which included a $50,000 bonus for winning Rookie of the Year—a title that many Indy fans (and even drivers) believe should have gone to 19-year-old Kyffin Simpson.
