INDYCAR - Power Earns $2.52 Million for Winning 102nd Indianapolis 500

INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, May 28, 2018 - Will Power earned $2,525,454 from an overall purse of $13,078,065 for his victory Sunday in the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

2014 Verizon IndyCar Series champion Power, from Toowoomba, Australia, became the first Australian winner of the Indianapolis 500, capturing his first victory in "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. He beat pole sitter Ed Carpenter to the finish by 3.1589 seconds to score the record-extending 17th Indianapolis 500 victory for Team Penske.

Power took the lead for good on Lap 196 of the 200-lap race. He led four times for 59 laps.

Carpenter, from Indianapolis, earned $911,504 for his career-best "500" finish in the No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Fuzzy's Vodka Chevrolet. He led a race-high 65 laps, also a best among his 15 career starts.

2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Scott Dixon earned $587,129 for finishing third in the No. 9 PNC Bank Chip Ganassi Racing Honda. It was his 11th career top-10 finish in 16 "500" starts.

2016 winner Alexander Rossi drove from the 32nd starting spot in his No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda to finish fourth, earning $454,804.

Rounding out the top five was 2014 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay in the No. 28 DHL Honda, who earned $419,804.

Robert Wickens earned $424,979 for his ninth-place finish in the No. 6 Lucas Oil SPM Honda, including $50,000 for being named Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Wickens, who led two laps, was the highest-finishing rookie among the four drivers making their first Indianapolis 500 starts this year.

The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Verizon IndyCar Series awards, plus other designated and special awards. Purse awards were announced and presented at the Victory Celebration on Monday, May 28 at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

Visit IMS.com/renew to renew tickets for the 103rd Indianapolis 500 on Sunday, May 26, 2019. Visit IMS.com to buy tickets for the remaining races in 2018 at the Racing Capital of the World - the Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational, Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard Powered by Florida Georgia Line and Lilly Diabetes 250, and the Red Bull Air Race

Dave Chess

Dave Chess has been writing for RIS since the late 1980s during the CompuServe days. His work has also appeared in Auto Week magazine, Chicago Gearhead News newspaper, ATA airlines in-flight magazine, National Speed Sport News and on many websites.

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Volume 2018, Issue 5, Posted 6:34 PM, 05.28.2018