Indy 500 purse, payout breakdown: How much prize money does the winner get in 2020?

The Indy 500 in 2020 was going to award the winner more money than ever from a record $15 million purse. This was the promise of Roger Penske, the super-rich race team owner who purchased Indianapolis Motor Speedway last year.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the United States in the spring, and everything changed.

Not only was the 2020 Indy 500 pushed back to August from its traditional date in May, but after initially planning to host fans at 50 percent capacity and then at 25 percent capacity, Indianapolis Motor Speedway was forced to proceed with the race without fans in attendance. Which directly impacts the purse for the Indy 500.

MORE: Everything to know about the Indy 500 in 2020

According to Racer Magazine, the lack of Indy 500 ticket sales alone takes at least $20 million away from the track's earnings. So Penske had to cut the Indy 500 purse in half, from $15 million to $7.5 million.

“I’m not worried about the purse," IndyCar team owner Chip Ganassi said earlier this month. "Sure we’d like to have more money, but this isn’t about one year and (Penske) is doing all he can."

Added Ed Carpenter, another team owner who also races part-time himself: “We could be in a much worse situation than we are, and instead of b—ing about the prize money, I think we’re thankful to have the opportunity to compete. It’s still pretty damn big money, but if the only way to win was not make a penny, I’d do that every day of the week."

Below are all of the details about the purse for the Indy 500 in 2020, including how much money the winner is projected to receive and how the payout breakdown looks.

How much does the Indy 500 winner get?

• Prize money: $1.5 million (est.)

This is an estimate based on past Indy 500 payout breakdowns and the updated purse of $7.5 million for the 2020 Indy 500.

The driver-by-driver earnings from the 2020 Indy 500 will not be announced until the day after the race, but recent Indy 500 winners have earned roughly 20 percent of the purse. And 20 percent of $7.5 million is $1.5 million.

Even though the winner of the 2020 Indy 500 will receive half of what he would have earned from a $15 million purse, he will still receive much more than anybody else, at least double the amount of the second-place earnings based on previous Indy 500 payouts.

For example, last year's Indy 500 winner, Simon Pagenaud, earned $2,669,529 from an overall purse of $13,090,536. Second-place finisher Alexander Rossi earned $759,179.

What is the Indy 500 purse for 2020?

• Indy 500 purse: $7.5 million

So much for Penske's plan to raise the Indy 500 purse almost $2 million from $13,090,536 million last year to $15 million in 2020. 

Penske told team owners in early August that the 2020 Indy 500 payout would be reduced to $7.5 million due mostly to the track's inability to host fans. It's a huge hit to all of the race teams involved, but half of the prize money typically awarded at the Indy 500 is better than nothing.

"Far and away it’s what makes and breaks our season as teams,” Carpenter told reporters earlier this month (via NBC Sports). "It’s the most important event to our partners. It 100 percent sucks not having fans there and not even being able to have the experience with our partners in full being there. But it’s necessary.

“We’ve got to look at all the hard decisions now of what we have to do to be in a position to have fans in 2021. It’s critical for the health of the teams that we have this race to make sure we have teams back here next year. That sounds a little dramatic, but that’s the reality."

Indy 500 payout breakdown 2020

The details of the Indy 500 payout system are undisclosed, but it is relatively complicated. The purse is made up of prize money from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the IndyCar Series, sponsors and organizers, meaning a driver with a certain sponsor might have a chance to make more money in the Indy 500 than a driver with a different sponsor.

Further, the Indy 500 payout fluctuates based on variables like the number of laps led, fastest laps and so on. That's why the driver who finishes seventh, for example, could earn less in prize money than the driver who finishes eighth.

For reference, below are the results from last year's Indy 500 and the payouts for each driver. Because of the purse reduction, the payouts in 2020 will be roughly half of what they were in 2019.

Indy 500 payout history

The Indy 500 purse hasn't been as low as $7.5 million since the early 1990s. The winner used to receive more than 50 percent of the purse, which is no longer the case.

Below are all of the purses and winners' earnings in the 103-year history of the Indy 500.