Indy 500 Winner Juan Pablo Montoya Earns $2.4 Million For Victory

Indianapolis 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya earned his team quite a chunk of change for reaching victory lane.

According to the Bleacher Report, Montoya won his second Indy 500 after a 15-year absence, the longest such break between wins in Indy 500 history. For his efforts, Montoya earned the Penske team $2.4 million. Prize checks were determined and handed out at Monday’s Annual Indy 500 dinner, a tradition for many years.

Montoya took the lead from Penske teammate Will Power with just over three laps to go and held on for a close finish. Montoya has raced three times at Indianapolis, winning twice.

“That was fun,” Montoya said. “I knew I had a good car when I came through the field. But the fight at the end was hard. It’s awesome. I’m looking for the words; it’s too much.”

Power, who was near the front of the pack for the latter half of the Indy 500, finished second. Charlie Kimball finished third, while Scott Dixon, who led for 84 laps, finished fourth. Dixon was fortunate to finish in the top four, as his car gave him handling and starting issues, especially after the last restart. Graham Rahal rounded out the top five finishers.

“We didn’t have enough speed. We kind of went back and forth on ignition settings,” Dixon said. “The car was overheating a bit and just too much understeer is what it came down to.”

The U.S. News and World Report, the top four cars, and eight of the top ten in the Indy 500 were Chevrolets. This year, Chevrolets have dominated race courses. Rahal, who drives a Honda, said Chevrolets would dominate before the race.

“I really do have the absolute most confidence in Honda,” he said Sunday. “Obviously, we got to find some horsepower. On the road course, street course, we got to find some drivability. But at the end of the day, everybody’s working as hard as they can.”

It was also a good Indy 500 for the country of Colombia. Montoya’s first-place finish represented the country well, as did Gabby Chaves, who overcame a safety warning during a pit stall and had issues with his front wings during the closing laps. Chaves’ 16th-place finish earned him the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year.

“But we had a great car,” he said. “We drove through the field twice, into the top 10 twice after two mistakes. I wish I could go out there and do it again.”

The race was led by Jeff Gordon, who drove the pace car to start the race. He spent a few laps watching the race, then caught a plane to fly to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Coca-Cola 600, is what will be Gordon’s last year of NASCAR racing.

Asked if he will participate as a driver in next year’s Indy 500, Gordon said, “I’ll be in the Fox booth next year (as a NASCAR analyst). I’m so glad that deal worked out because I wouldn’t have a better excuse for you.”

[Image courtesy of Michael Conroy/AP]