Marcus Ericsson earns $3.1 million for Indy 500 win, largest payout in race's biggest purse

INDIANAPOLIS – With more than 325,000 fans on-hand, the second-largest crowd in a quarter-century, Roger Penske and Penske Entertainment Corp. delivered the largest Indianapolis 500 purse ever, reflective of the historic previous two weeks that saw record-setting speeds and a first-time champion.

Penske nearly doubled what a year ago was the second-smallest purse since the turn of the century ($8,854,565) – higher only than the race held without a fan in the stands in 2020 ($7,502,500) -- awarding a record-setting $16,000,200 spread among the 33-car field. It brings to fruition a goal Penske set in February 2020, 100 days from that year's original race date, when he declared a purse that would hit $15 million for the first time. The previous high for a total 500 purse, $14,406,580, came in 2008; prior to that, it had never hit $11 million.

Since 2008, the purse had eclipsed the $14 million-mark two times ($14,315,315 in 2009 and $14,231,760 in 2014). In that same span, it also dipped once to $12,020,065, but outside the previous two pandemic-affected years, it's ranged from $13,078,065 (2018) to $13,592,815 (2010).

More:'Give me one T-shirt': Marcus Ericsson answers a decade of doubts with Indy 500 win

More:Jimmie Johnson named Indy 500 Rookie of the Year over David Malukas

In lockstep with Penske's record-setting total purse, Ericsson took home $3.1 million, the highest payday for a 500 winner in the race's history. The previous watermark came in 2009 when Helio Castroneves earned $3,048,005 for his third 500 win, the only time the victor's cut had eclipsed $3 million. For holding off Pato O'Ward, Tony Kanaan and company over the red flag restart with two laps to go and taking the checkered flag, Ericsson took home just under what the previous two winners Takuma Sato (2020, $1,370,500) and Castroneves (2021, $1,828,305) earned combined ($3,198.805).

Over the past 15 runnings of the 500 (not including the previous two COVID-impacted 500s), the winner’s cut of the purse had ranged from $2,353,355 (Tony Kanaan, 2013) to the previous high of $3,048,005 (Castroneves, 2009). 

More on Sunday's Indy 500:

• How Marcus Ericsson's controversial (but legal) move won Indy 500
• Doyel: He used to get smuggled into IMS. Now, Roncalli grad lands Indy 500 glory.
• Dixon led nearly half the race, set an Indy 500 record. But... 'I just messed up.'
• O'Ward had 1 shot to win 500: 'I have to go flat, and that still wasn't enough'
• Ericsson won 500, but a guy named Wadd is king of drivers: 'He'll go to war for you'

As the runner-up this year, O’Ward received $1,000,000, two days after McLaren Racing formally announced his new contract, which pins him down to Arrow McLaren SP through the 2025 IndyCar campaign, includes a sizable pay bump and a new McLaren street car to drive. In 2021, O’Ward received $343,305 for his previous best 500 finish of 4th, and in 2019 (the last non-pandemic effected 500), Alexander Rossi landed $759,179 as the runner-up to Simon Pagenaud.

Kanaan took home $400,000 for 3rd-place, the Brazilian driver’s best finish since his lone 500 win in 2013. Felix Rosenqvist (4th, $570,500) and 2016-winner Rossi (5th, $548,000) rounded out the top-5.

How much do Indy 500 winners make? The incredible shrinking share of prize money Indy 500 winners receive

How much each driver takes home depends on a variety of factors. The polesitter (this year, Scott Dixon) gets a large chunk on top of their race-winnings, and drivers also get $250 for every lap they lead. Dixon earned $707,000, the third-most awarded, despite finishing 21st. Full-season entries in the Leaders Circle program also get a percentage added on compared to those who didn’t qualify for the program a year ago or are part-time entries.

Before 1982, the winner’s take-home percentage of the purse had always been more than 20%, and it was typically more than 30% in the 1950s and 1960s, but in recent years, it typically fell somewhere between 15-20%. Last year, Castroneves took home 20.6% of the $8,854,565 purse, higher than Sato the year prior (18.3% of $7,502,500). This year, Ericsson earned 19.4% of the total purse.

Indy 500 winnings

(Order of finish, starting position, name, engine manufacturer, laps completed, status at finish, prize amount)

1. (5) Marcus Ericsson, Honda, 200, Running, $3,100,000

2. (7) Pato O’Ward, Chevy, 200, Running, $1,000,000

3. (6) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 200, Running, $400,000

4. (8) Felix Rosenqvist, Chevy, 200, Running, $570,500

5. (20) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 200, Running, $548,000

6. (18) Conor Daly, Chevy, 200, Running, $527,100

7. (27) Helio Castroneves, Honda, 200, Running, $205,300

8. (16) Simon Pagenaud, Honda, 200, Running, $507,000

9. (2) Alex Palou, Honda, 200, Running, $569,600

10. (15) Santino Ferrucci, Chevy, 200, Running, $134,500

11. (30) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevy, 200, Running, $127,000

12. (17) JR Hildebrand, Chevy, 200, Running, $175,300

13. (14) Josef Newgarden, Chevy, 200, Running, $530,000

14. (21) Graham Rahal, Honda, 200, Running, $483,000

15. (11) Will Power, Chevy, 200, Running, $474,500

16. (13) David Malukas, Honda, 200, Running, $463,000

17. (28) Kyle Kirkwood, Chevy, 200, Running, $463,000

18. (31) Christian Lundgaard, Honda, 200, Running, $463,000

19. (4) Ed Carpenter, Chevy, 200, Running, $117,000

20. (24) Devlin DeFrancesco, Honda, 200, Running, $463,000

21. (1) Scott Dixon, Honda, 200, Running, $707,000

22. (23) Marco Andretti, Honda, 200, Running, $114,400

23. (22) Sage Karam, Chevy, 199, Running, $104,500

24. (32) Jack Harvey, Honda, 199, Running, $158,800

25. (10) Takuma Sato, Honda, 199, Running, $462,000

26. (33) Stefan Wilson, Chevy, 198, Running, $102,000

27. (29) Dalton Kellett, Chevy, 198, Running, $462,000

28. (12) Jimmie Johnson, Honda, 193, Contact, $207,900

29. (26) Scott McLaughlin, Chevy, 150, Contact, $462,000

30. (25) Colton Herta, Honda, 129, Mechanical, $469,500

31. (9) Romain Grosjean, Honda, 105, Contact, $478,500

32. (19) Callum Ilott, Chevy, 68, Contact, $463,000

33. (3) Rinus VeeKay, Chevy, 38, Contact, $487,800

Email IndyStar motor sports reporter Nathan Brown at nlbrown@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter: @By_NathanBrown.