Franchitti earns $2.47 million for winning 96th Indianapolis 500
May 29, 2012 | By Tom Surber
INDIANAPOLIS, Monday, May 28, 2012 – Dario Franchitti earned $2,474,280 from an overall purse of $13,285,815 for his victory Sunday, May 27 in the 96th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
Scotland native Franchitti became just the 10th driver to win “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” at least three times. He also won in 2007 and 2010.
Franchitti, who started 16th, took the lead for good in the No. 50 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda on Lap 199 from his teammate, Scott Dixon, and overcame a spirited passing attempt by Takuma Sato in Turn 1 on the final lap. Sato spun and hit the SAFER Barrier in Turn 1, while Franchitti hung on to win the race under caution.
Four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion Franchitti led seven times for 23 laps in a race that set an Indianapolis 500 record with 34 lead changes.
2008 Indianapolis 500 winner Dixon brought his No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Honda up from the 15th starting position to finish second and earn $1,102,280. It was Dixon’s seventh consecutive top-six finish at Indianapolis.
2004 IZOD IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan posted the fifth top-five Indianapolis 500 finish of his career, placing third in the No. 11 GEICO/Mouser Electronics KV Racing Technology Chevrolet. Kanaan earned $636,580.
Oriol Servia climbed 23 spots from his 27th starting position – more positions gained than any other driver in this year’s race – to finish an Indianapolis 500-best fourth in the No. 22 Panther/Dreyer & Reinbold Racing Chevrolet. He earned $443,430.
After winning the closest battle for the pole in the history of the Indianapolis 500 on Saturday, May 19, Ryan Briscoe rounded out the top five finishers in the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet and earned $489,930.
Formula One veteran Rubens Barrichello won the prestigious Chase Rookie of the Year Award after placing 11th in the No. 8 BMC/Embrase KV Racing Technology Chevrolet, the highest-finishing rookie. Barrichello’s total earnings were $331,080, which included a $25,000 bonus from Chase.
The Chase Rookie of the Year Award was the second major career achievement by Barrichello at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he also won the 2002 United States Grand Prix Formula One race.
The Indianapolis 500 Mile Race purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IZOD IndyCar Series awards, plus other designated and special awards. Purse awards were announced and presented at the Victory Awards Celebration presented by Ice Miller LLP on Monday, May 28 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The 97th Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 26, 2013. First run in 1911, 1911, “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” is the world’s largest single-day sporting event and most prestigious auto race.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE 2012 INDY 500 BOX SCORE
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2013 Indianapolis 500 ticket orders: The 2013 Indianapolis 500 Mile Race is scheduled for Sunday, May 26. Ticket information can be found at www.imstix.com. Ticket information also can be obtained by calling the IMS ticket office, (317) 492-6700 or (800) 822-INDY.
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Media Contacts: J. Douglas Boles, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (317) 492-6412 or (317) 750-9277, dboles@brickyard.com
Tom Surber, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (317) 492-6594, tsurber@brickyard.com
Media Website: media.indianapolismotorspeedway.com