Costs of running the Indy 500?

Pippa Mann practicing for the 99th Indianapolis 500

Have you ever wanted to race in the Indianapolis 500? Well, we've done a little digging hear at AR1 and word is that with a budget somewhere in the range of $400,000-$750,000 depending of course, on the terms of the agreement, you too can get your foot in the door at an opportunity to run The Greatest Spectacle of Racing.

Now, allow us to begin by saying that we estimate (to be clear, this is very conservative) a team's cost for the month per car to be around $600,000. And that's for a low-end barebones effort. Driver are on different plans depending of teams, funding, etc.

Those on the barebones plan might not have as many tires, they may have an older generation engine with mileage restrictions on said engines. In essence, they have fewer laps at their disposal in preparation for the race because the more laps you turn, the greater the cost. You'll notice throughout the month that certain drivers turn fewer laps. While there can be numerous reasons for this, you can rest assured cost is at the top of the list.

Thus, someone who is bringing say $400K obviously doesn't complete a team's budget. Of course, with the payout for merely starting the race over $200,000 a team can reach its net budget merely by qualifying. Of course, that leaves no money for the driver, which means some drivers starting the race will take home little if not none of the purse.

As for the other end of the spectrum, drivers who are bringing something in the range of say 750K are going to have more resources at their disposal. They will have the full allotment of tires, the latest generation engines, fewer mileage limits, etc. They will likewise probably be able to claim a greater percentage of the purse, which depending on how one finishes can be quite good. J.R. Hildebrand last year, for example, claimed $366,194 for finishing 10th in a one-off effort.

Of course, we will never know for sure all the details of these deals. However, that should give you something of an idea as to how some of these one-off deals come to fruition.

AR1 Staff Report