Revealed: Alex Palou’s prize money for winning the Indy 500
Payday: Here’s how much Alex Palou pockets after his maiden Indy 500 win.
Alex Palou has secured a staggering $3.8 million in prize money following his maiden victory at the Indianapolis 500.
After a sold-out race, IndyCar awarded a record-breaking total purse of $20,283,000 to drivers participating in the 109th running of the iconic race. This marks the largest prize pool in Indy 500 history—an increase of over 10% from last year’s $18,456,000, and significantly higher than the $17,021,500 awarded in 2023.
Palou's earnings account for nearly 20% of the total purse, representing a major payday for the Spanish driver, who already commands a multi-million dollar salary through his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing.
Despite the massive payout, Palou’s total falls short of last year’s top prize. Josef Newgarden took home $4.3 million in 2024, thanks in part to a $440,000 bonus from BorgWarner for winning back-to-back Indy 500 titles.
This year’s second-highest earner is McLaren’s Pato O’Ward, who received nearly $1 million after being promoted to third place on the podium due to a post-race penalty for Andretti driver Marcus Ericsson.
Meyer Shank’s Racing Felix Rosenqvist has been awarded $769,500 for finishing fourth, while Santino Ferrucci will also receive more than $700,000 in prize money.
Meanwhile, Prema’s Robert Shwartzman earned a $50,000 bonus for winning the rookie of the year award, taking his total take-home prize to $327,300.
At the other end of the spectrum, Marco Andretti and Kyle Larson were the lowest earners of the event, each receiving just over $100,000 following their mid-race crashes.
2025 Indy 500 prize money per driver
| Pos | Driver | Earnings |
| 1. | Alex Palou | $3,833,500 |
| 2. | David Malukas | $667,300 |
| 3. | Pato O'Ward | $951,000 |
| 4. | Felix Rosenqvist | $769,500 |
| 5. | Santino Ferrucci | $707,500 |
| 6. | Christian Rasmussen | $683,000 |
| 7. | Christian Lundgaard | $671,000 |
| 8. | Conor Daly | $682,500 |
| 9. | Takuma Sato | $298,500 |
| 10. | Helio Castroneves | $137,000 |
| 11. | Devlin DeFrancesco | $663,000 |
| 12. | Louis Foster | $637,000 |
| 13. | Nolan Siegel | $632,000 |
| 14. | Colton Herta | $630,500 |
| 15. | Ed Carpenter | $118,500 |
| 16. | Will Power | $632,500 |
| 17. | Graham Rahal | $607,500 |
| 18. | Marcus Armstrong | $607,500 |
| 19. | Jack Harvey | $116,500 |
| 20. | Scott Dixon | $632,500 |
| 21. | Ryan Hunter-Reay | $274,000 |
| 22. | Josef Newgarden | $657,500 |
| 23. | Sting Ray Robb | $607,500 |
| 24. | Kyle Larson | $102,000 |
| 25. | Kyffin Simpson | $607,500 |
| 26. | Robert Shwartzman | $327,300 |
| 27. | Rinus VeeKay | $158,800 |
| 28. | Alexander Rossi | $634,000 |
| 29. | Marco Andretti | $102,000 |
| 30. | Scott McLaughlin | $607,500 |
| 31. | Marcus Ericsson | $610,500 |
| 32. | Kyle Kirkwood | $607,500 |
| 33. | Callum Ilott | $155,300 |
| N/A | Jacob Abel | $153,300 |
In this article
Rachit joined the Crash.net team in 2025 with a primary focus on F1 and sportscar racing.
He previously served as a news editor at Motorsport.com, where he played a key role in the day-to-day editorial operations.
