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Alex Palou celebrates after winning the Indianapolis 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the race winner earns one of the largest payouts in motorsports.
The winner of the 2026 Indianapolis 500 will walk away with one of the biggest paydays in motorsports, as fans once again wait to see how much money the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” will pay its champion.
While the official 2026 Indy 500 purse has not yet been announced, recent payouts offer a strong indication of what this year’s winner could ultimately take home after Sunday’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Defending champion Alex Palou of Chip Ganassi Racing won the pole with a four-lap qualifying average of 232.248 mph and enters Sunday as the betting favorite after winning three of IndyCar’s first six races in 2026.
The Indy 500 purse has set a new record in each of the last four years, climbing from $16 million in 2022 to a record $20,283,000 in 2025, according to IndyStar reporters Nat Newell and Matthew VanTryon. Based on that growth trajectory, the 2026 total is projected to exceed $22 million.
The winner typically collects around 20 percent of the full pot. Last year’s champion Palou took home $3,833,500 of the $20,283,000 total. The year before, Josef Newgarden set the all-time winner’s record at $4,288,000, a sum inflated by a $440,000 Borg-Warner bonus that accumulates each year a repeat champion fails to materialize, according to PaddockIntel.
Prize money is not distributed by finishing position alone. The pole-sitter earns a $100,000 bonus, while drivers collect additional funds for each lap led. Every driver in the field takes home a check, a tradition dating to 1924. But the cost of fielding an entry, at least $1 million for an established team and $2 million for a startup, routinely exceeds what most finishers earn. Prize money flows officially to the car’s entrant, with drivers typically receiving about 50 percent under their individual contracts.
Here are all previous total purses for each running of the Indy 500, as well as winners and their shares.
| Year | Total Purse | Winner | Winner’s Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1911 | $27,550 | Ray Harroun | $14,250 |
| 1912 | $52,225 | Joe Dawson | $20,000 |
| 1913 | $55,875 | Jules Goux | $20,000 |
| 1914 | $51,675 | Rene Thomas | $20,000 |
| 1915 | $51,200 | Ralph DePalma | $20,000 |
| 1916 | $31,350 | Dario Resta | $12,000 |
| 1919 | $55,275 | Howdy Wilcox | $20,000 |
| 1920 | $93,550 | Gaston Chevrolet | $21,400 |
| 1921 | $86,850 | Tommy Milton | $26,400 |
| 1922 | $70,575 | Jimmy Murphy | $26,200 |
| 1923 | $83,425 | Tommy Milton | $28,500 |
| 1924 | $86,850 | L.L. Corum / Joe Boyer | $20,050 |
| 1925 | $87,750 | Peter DePaolo | $28,800 |
| 1926 | $88,100 | Frank Lockhart | $35,600 |
| 1927 | $89,850 | George Souders | $30,625 |
| 1928 | $90,750 | Louis Meyer | $28,250 |
| 1929 | $95,150 | Ray Keech | $31,950 |
| 1930 | $96,250 | Billy Arnold | $36,900 |
| 1931 | $81,800 | Louis Schneider | $29,500 |
| 1932 | $93,900 | Fred Frame | $31,050 |
| 1933 | $54,450 | Louis Meyer | $18,000 |
| 1934 | $83,775 | Bill Cummings | $29,725 |
| 1935 | $78,575 | Kelly Petillo | $30,600 |
| 1936 | $82,525 | Louis Meyer | $31,300 |
| 1937 | $92,135 | Wilbur Shaw | $35,075 |
| 1938 | $91,075 | Floyd Roberts | $32,075 |
| 1939 | $87,050 | Wilbur Shaw | $27,375 |
| 1940 | $85,525 | Wilbur Shaw | $30,725 |
| 1941 | $90,925 | Floyd Davis / Mauri Rose | $29,200 |
| 1946 | $115,450 | George Robson | $42,350 |
| 1947 | $137,425 | Mauri Rose | $33,425 |
| 1948 | $171,075 | Mauri Rose | $42,800 |
| 1949 | $179,050 | Bill Holland | $51,575 |
| 1950 | $201,035 | Johnnie Parsons | $57,458 |
| 1951 | $207,650 | Lee Wallard | $63,612 |
| 1952 | $230,100 | Troy Ruttman | $61,743 |
| 1953 | $246,300 | Bill Vukovich | $89,496 |
| 1954 | $269,375 | Bill Vukovich | $74,934 |
| 1955 | $270,400 | Bob Sweikert | $76,138 |
| 1956 | $282,052 | Pat Flaherty | $93,819 |
| 1957 | $300,252 | Sam Hanks | $103,844 |
| 1958 | $305,217 | Jimmy Bryan | $105,574 |
| 1959 | $338,100 | Rodger Ward | $106,850 |
| 1960 | $369,150 | Jim Rathmann | $110,000 |
| 1961 | $400,000 | A.J. Foyt | $117,975 |
| 1962 | $426,152 | Rodger Ward | $125,015 |
| 1963 | $494,030 | Parnelli Jones | $148,513 |
| 1964 | $506,575 | A.J. Foyt | $153,650 |
| 1965 | $628,399 | Jim Clark | $166,621 |
| 1966 | $691,808 | Graham Hill | $156,297 |
| 1967 | $734,834 | A.J. Foyt | $171,527 |
| 1968 | $712,269 | Bobby Unser | $175,139 |
| 1969 | $805,127 | Mario Andretti | $206,727 |
| 1970 | $1,000,002 | Al Unser | $271,697 |
| 1971 | $1,001,604 | Al Unser | $238,454 |
| 1972 | $1,011,845 | Mark Donohue | $218,767 |
| 1973 | $1,006,105 | Gordon Johncock | $236,022 |
| 1974 | $1,015,686 | Johnny Rutherford | $245,031 |
| 1975 | $1,001,321 | Bobby Unser | $214,031 |
| 1976 | $1,037,776 | Johnny Rutherford | $255,321 |
| 1977 | $1,116,807 | A.J. Foyt | $259,791 |
| 1978 | $1,145,225 | Al Unser | $290,363 |
| 1979 | $1,271,954 | Rick Mears | $270,401 |
| 1980 | $1,503,225 | Johnny Rutherford | $318,819 |
| 1981 | $1,605,375 | Bobby Unser | $299,124 |
| 1982 | $2,067,475 | Gordon Johncock | $290,609 |
| 1983 | $2,411,450 | Tom Sneva | $385,886 |
| 1984 | $2,795,899 | Rick Mears | $434,060 |
| 1985 | $3,271,025 | Danny Sullivan | $517,662 |
| 1986 | $4,001,450 | Bobby Rahal | $581,062 |
| 1987 | $4,490,375 | Al Unser | $526,762 |
| 1988 | $5,025,400 | Rick Mears | $809,853 |
| 1989 | $5,723,725 | Emerson Fittipaldi | $1,001,604 |
| 1990 | $6,325,803 | Arie Luyendyk | $1,090,940 |
| 1991 | $7,009,150 | Rick Mears | $1,219,704 |
| 1992 | $7,527,450 | Al Unser Jr. | $1,244,184 |
| 1993 | $7,681,300 | Emerson Fittipaldi | $1,155,304 |
| 1994 | $7,864,800 | Al Unser Jr. | $1,373,813 |
| 1995 | $8,063,550 | Jacques Villeneuve | $1,312,019 |
| 1996 | $8,114,600 | Buddy Lazier | $1,367,854 |
| 1997 | $8,612,450 | Arie Luyendyk | $1,568,150 |
| 1998 | $8,722,150 | Eddie Cheever Jr. | $1,433,000 |
| 1999 | $9,047,150 | Kenny Brack | $1,465,190 |
| 2000 | $9,476,505 | Juan Pablo Montoya | $1,235,690 |
| 2001 | $9,610,325 | Helio Castroneves | $1,270,475 |
| 2002 | $10,028,580 | Helio Castroneves | $1,606,215 |
| 2003 | $10,151,830 | Gil de Ferran | $1,353,265 |
| 2004 | $10,250,580 | Buddy Rice | $1,761,740 |
| 2005 | $10,304,815 | Dan Wheldon | $1,537,805 |
| 2006 | $10,518,565 | Sam Hornish Jr. | $1,744,855 |
| 2007 | $10,668,815 | Dario Franchitti | $1,645,233 |
| 2008 | $14,406,580 | Scott Dixon | $2,988,065 |
| 2009 | $14,315,315 | Helio Castroneves | $3,048,005 |
| 2010 | $13,592,815 | Dario Franchitti | $2,752,055 |
| 2011 | $13,509,485 | Dan Wheldon | $2,592,255 |
| 2012 | $13,285,815 | Dario Franchitti | $2,474,280 |
| 2013 | $12,020,065 | Tony Kanaan | $2,353,355 |
| 2014 | $14,231,760 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | $2,491,194 |
| 2015 | $13,397,315 | Juan Pablo Montoya | $2,449,055 |
| 2016 | $13,273,253 | Alexander Rossi | $2,548,743 |
| 2017 | $13,178,359 | Takuma Sato | $2,458,129 |
| 2018 | $13,078,065 | Will Power | $2,525,454 |
| 2019 | $13,090,536 | Simon Pagenaud | $2,669,529 |
| 2020 | $7,502,500 | Takuma Sato | $1,370,500 |
| 2021 | $8,854,565 | Helio Castroneves | $1,828,305 |
| 2022 | $16,000,200 | Marcus Ericsson | $3,100,000 |
| 2023 | $17,021,500 | Josef Newgarden | $3,666,000 |
| 2024 | $18,456,000 | Josef Newgarden | $4,288,000 |
| 2025 | $20,283,000 | Alex Palou | $3,833,500 |
| Total | $464,217,080 | $85,762,811 |
Palou opens at +250 odds to win Sunday, a short price for a 200-lap race where late cautions, pit strategy, and mechanical attrition can scramble even the most dominant entry. Starting alongside him on Row 1 are Alexander Rossi at +1000 and David Malukas, who finished runner-up in 2025, at +600, according to Sportsbook Review.
Two-time defending winner Josef Newgarden, starting fifth, poses a serious threat. He won his two most recent oval races at Nashville and Phoenix. Pato O’Ward, twice a heartbreaker at Indianapolis without a win, is also near the top of the betting board.
The most compelling subplot belongs to Mick Schumacher, the 27-year-old son of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, making his Indianapolis 500 debut in the No. 47 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. He enters as a long shot at +15000 but has drawn praise from RLL team president Jay Frye for his rapid adaptation to oval racing, according to Motorsport.com.
The green flag drops at 12:45 p.m. EDT on FOX. Forecasters give Sunday roughly a 24 percent chance of rain at race time in Indianapolis, with temperatures expected around 71 degrees under mostly cloudy skies, according to a FOX Sports forecast. Any showers are more likely to develop late in the afternoon, well after the checkered flag.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist who covers MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf, and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, pro baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin
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