A sunny Sunday afternoon will see33 of the fastest driversin the world compete for the ultimate prize in American open-wheel racing: theIndianapolis 500. The historic race is one of the biggest events in the motorsports world and mentioned in the same breath as NASCAR's Daytona 500, Formula 1'sMonaco Grand Prixand endurance racing's 24 Hours of Le Mans. Winning the Indy 500 is one of the greatest achievements any driver can reach. For the last two years,Josef Newgarden's reigned supreme at the iconic 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The two-time IndyCar champion became the first driver in 22 years to win back-to-back Indy 500s with hislast-lap pass on Pato O'Ward in 2024. His win in 2023 came in similar fashion with a last-lap pass on Marcus Ericsson on a last-lap restart. This year, he has a shot at history to become the first driver to win three Indy 500 races in a row. ONLY IN#INDYCAR.ONLY AT THE#INDY500.THIS IS — AND ALWAYS WILL BE — THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING!pic.twitter.com/NA0PxYhm5t — NTT INDYCAR SERIES (@IndyCar)May 26, 2024 DAVID LETTERMAN:Former late-night host has storied history with Indy 500 Hundreds of thousands of people will be in Speedway, Indiana, to see if Newgarden makes history, another prior winner takes the checkered flag or if a new winner will emerge. Rookie Robert Schwartzman starts from pole position - the first rookie to do so since 1983. Whoever wins will have their name in IndyCar glory and enjoy the iconic bottle of milk in victory lane. That tradition began in 1936 and the American Dairy Association of Indiana will provide the winner with a bottle at the completion of the hours-long race. But that's not all the winner will receive. Here's what we know about this year's Indy 500 purse: The winner's purse has increased steadily in recent years.Newgarden earned $3.666 million in 2023for his win and that went up to $4.288 million in 2024. His second victory purse included a bonus for being a repeat winner. Organizers do not announce the specifics for the purse until after the race, but we have a good idea of what it could be. If Newgarden wins again, his purse would be slightly bigger than someone else's due to another rollover bonus. All drivers can expect at least $3.8 million which would be in the result of no increase from last year and no rollover bonus. Helio Castroneves' win in 2009 set the record for the most prize money at $3.048 million, and the winner's purse stayed at that total for years. Ericsson's win in 2022 broke that record at $3.1 million before Newgarden's winnings. The total purse is determined by multiple factors including sponsors, television networks and sanctioning body fees. Newgarden's $4.288 million in winnings last year came out of a $18.456 million total purse. Yes. Final order at the checkered flag determines the winnings and every driver receives some money. The polesitter also gets a large cut of the total purse and drivers earn extra money for each lap led. Considering that it costs $1-2 million per entry, some drivers who finish farther down the order could lose money on this year's race. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Indy 500 purse: How much money does race winner earn in Indianapolis?
