Montoya earns $2.4 million for winning 99th Indianapolis 500

Juan Pablo Montoya earned $2,449,055 from an overall purse of $13,397,315 for his victory Sunday, May 24, in the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

In driving his No. 2 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to victory, Montoya held off reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion and teammate Will Power by 0.1046 of a second – the fourth-closest finish in race history. The Penske pair battled Target Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon in a thrilling final 15 laps. This marks Montoya’s second Indianapolis 500 win, as the Colombian won “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” as a rookie in 2000.

Five of the race’s 37 lead changes occurred in the last 15 laps following a restart when Montoya, who led four times for a total of nine laps, passed Dixon in Turn 1 for second place before overtaking Power exiting Turn 4 to capture the lead on Lap 197. He held the lead for the remainder of the 200-lap event. The nine laps led by Montoya is the third-fewest laps led by a winner. Dan Wheldon led one lap in 2011 and Joe Dawson led two laps in 1912.

The 15-year gap between Montoya’s two Indianapolis 500 triumphs is the longest stretch for a driver. The victory extended team owner Roger Penske’s record of Indy 500 victories to 16.

Power, who earlier this month won the second annual Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on the IMS road course, earned $792,555 in driving his No. 1 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet to a runner-up finish, his best in eight “500” starts. Power led the race five times for a total of 23 laps.

Charlie Kimball, who started the race 14th on the grid, also posted a career best Indianapolis 500 performance in finishing third in his fifth start driving the No. 83 Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Kimball led the race twice for 10 laps and earned $564,055.

The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race 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 Awards Celebration presented by Ice Miller Legal Counsel, Contour Hardening, Inc. and Allied Solutions on Monday, May 25, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.