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IndyCar Drivers To Rake In The Dough Next Season

Last updated on Wednesday, October 3, 2007

(INDIANAPOLIS, IN) - The winner of next May’s Indianapolis 500 will be taking home a larger check.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Joie Chitwood announced this morning that the purse for the 92nd Indianapolis 500 will be at least 13.4 million dollars, an increase of 25-percent over 2007's record purse of 10.6-seven million dollars.

Next May's winner will receive at least 2.5 million dollars, a 42-percent increase over the record 1.7-six million earned by 2004 winner Buddy Rice.

The speedway made the announcement in conjunction with the IndyCar series' restructuring of its earnings distribution.

The new formula, called the Team Enhancement and Allocation Matrix or "TEAM" for short, will award a minimum of 1.2 million dollars to each car entered to compete in the entire IndyCar season.

The top five finishers in each race will earn bonuses on top of that 1.2 million with the winner earning an additional 35-thousand dollars ranging down to ten-thousand dollars to the fifth-place finisher.

Bonuses will also be awarded at the end of the season for the top five finishers in points with the champion earning a one-million-dollar bonus as in previous seasons. Contingency awards will also be awarded as in previous seasons.

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