Racing immortality is the first aim when drivers enter the Indianapolis 500. But the payday isn't bad either. Over 300,000 are expected for Sunday's109th running of the legendary race, and millions will tune in around the world. It's a lucrative weekend for the sports and for its drivers.
So, how much money is doled out to the 33-car field? And how much are you taking home if you come out on top?
Alex Palou won the 2025 Daytona 500 and made history in the process, as he was the first driver from Spain to win IndyCar's most coveted race. Palou has been dominant so far this season, gaining a substantial number of points in all races. The Indy 500 will help Palou take home, well, a lot of money to his family and team. While the numbers haven't technically been announced just yet, we can guess based on the numbers below. Hint: It's a lot.
What is the total purse for the 2025 Indianapolis 500?
The official purse for the 2025 race isn't public yet, but we can assume around where it'll be based on recent figures.
If we follow the trends, the drivers' purse will be somewhere from $19-20 million in this year's race.
In 2024, the purse for the full 33-car field was $18,456,000. In 2023, the purse was $17,021,000, and the year before in 2022 it was $16,000,200.
That's a far cry from the $27,550 purse in the race's debut in 1911. The purse first hit six figures in 1946 and went over $1 million in 1970.
The purse dropped significantly during the COVID-affected years in 2020 (when the race was held in August) and 2021, with the purse dropping $13 million in 2019 to $7.5 million in 2020. The total purse is not the same as how much the winner takes home, as it's split between the drivers who finished high in the pecking order.
How much does the Indianapolis 500 winning driver earn?
Josef Newgarden has taken home the big prize in back-to-back years, while 32 other drivers are trying to dethrone him on Sunday. We don't know the official winner's payout, but again we can take a good guess based on recent trends.
The 2025 winner could take home somewhere around $4-5 million.
In 2024, Newgarden got a $4,288,000 check for his victory, up from his 2023 payday, which was $3,666,000. But it is important to note that Newgarden tacked on a $440,000 bonus from BorgWarner for winning back-to-back races.
In 2022, Marcus Ericsson took home $3,100,000.
The first winner to win six figures was Sam Hanks in 1957, and the first millionaire winner Emerson Fittipaldi in 1989.
Paydays shot up quickly in the mid-2000s — Dario Franchitti got $1.7 million in 2007 for winning, but the very next year, Scott Dixon's check was just short of $3 million.
Either way, Palou will earn life-changing money, which most of us would do unspeakable things for. Palou is also dominating the IndyCar season so far, so this likely isn't the last race he wins, or the final payday he takes home.
How much do the other drivers in the Indianapolis 500 win?
Once again, we don't know the official numbers, but we do know some key figures from the 2024 race. Newgarden's $4.28 million check was a big jump over second-place Pato O'Ward's winnings, which were nothing to sneeze at: $1.05 million.
IndyCar says the average payday in last year's race was $543,000, but that number is likely inflated by the winner's check.
The lower end of the winnings seems to be in the low six-figure range. NASCAR star Kyle Larson earned a base $128,000 for his 18th place finish, but tacked on $50,000 for winning Indy 500 Rookie of the Year.