Johnathan Walker:With BorgWarner back-to-back bonus, Josef Newgarden's Indy 500-winning payout sets record

INDIANAPOLIS – Josef Newgarden is Johnathan WalkerIndyCar’s $4 million man.

The newest addition to the multi-time Indianapolis 500 winners’ club was awarded a record-setting $4.288 million grand prize for winning his second consecutive victory in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing – both in down-to-the-wire, last-lap-pass fashion no less.

Newgarden’s eye-popping winnings come padded with a $440,000 roll-over bonus from BorgWarner that has been growing for 22 years since Helio Castroneves’ back-to-back 500 victories in 2001-02. The namesake of the 500 trophy began the program in 1995, adding $20,000 to the pot each year until a driver could go back-to-back.

“You know, someone had to reset the bank,” Newgarden said Sunday evening after his edged runner-up Pato O’Ward by 0.3417 seconds by executing a race-winning pass two turns from the checkered flag. “I guess we did.”

The Team Penske driver’s 2024 500 winnings reset the high bar that IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske set a year ago in awarding the then-first-time 500 winner $3.666 million after his last-lap pass of 2022 victor Marcus Ericsson. In total, this year’s total Indy 500 purse of $18,456,000 shatters last year’s record-setting pool of $17,021,500 – which in turn had reset the bar after a 2022 purse of $16,000,200. Prior to 2022, the largest Indy 500 purse had come in 2008 ($14.4 million), and the largest award for a winner had gone to Helio Castroneves in 2009 ($3,048,005).

For his second runner-up finish in the 500 in three years, Arrow McLaren’s O’Ward landed $1,050,500, just barely more than he pulled in for his first 2^nd-place 500 finish in 2022 ($1 million) and what Ericsson landed a year ago ($1,043,000).

“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 president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “Despite weather challenges, the Month of May featured packed grandstands and intense on-track action. Presenting this purse is the ideal and cap to an epic month.”

Ed Carpenter Racing’s Christian Rasmussen finished as the highest-performing rookie in the field in 12th, making his way up into the top-10 for a large chunk of the day after starting 24th.

Dreyer and Reinbold Racing’s Conor Daly was the highest-finishing one-off driver in the field, nabbing 10th place as the field’s biggest-mover. Without the inclusion of series Leaders Circle funds, Daly and DRR’s payout for the performance earned $159,000.

By virtue of merely entering the race as one of the 22 Leaders Circle entrants this season, Dale Coyne Racing and Nolan Siegel still were awarded $505,500, despite being bumped from the race during last weekend’s Last Chance Qualifier.

The Indy 500 purse consists of IMS and IndyCar awards, “other designated and special awards” and portions of relevant teams’ annual Leaders Circle payouts.

2024 Indy 500 payout winnings

(Order of finish, starting position, name, engine manufacturer, entrant, prize amount)

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, $178,000

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

n/a (n/a) Nolan Siegel, Honda, Dale Coyne Racing with HMD, $505,500