Sato Earns $2.45 Million for Winning 101st Indianapolis 500

Takuma Sato collects his accolades

Takuma Sato earned $2,458,129 from an overall purse of $13,178,359 for his victory Sunday in the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Verizon IndyCar Series veteran Sato, from Tokyo, became the first Japanese winner of the Indianapolis 500, fending off three-time winner Helio Castroneves by .2011 of a second to the checkered flag in the No. 26 Andretti Autosport Honda. This was the sixth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

Sato took the lead from Castroneves for good on Lap 195 of the 200-lap race. He led twice for 17 laps.

Castroneves, who dodged multiple on-track incidents and led nine laps even after receiving a drive-through penalty, earned $770,629 for finishing second in the No. 3 Shell Fuel Rewards Team Penske Chevrolet. He became one of seven drivers with three Indianapolis 500 runner-up finishes.

Toward the end of the race, Castroneves had to worry about third-place finisher, rookie driver Ed Jones, in his rear-view mirror. Jones never led in the race but ended up as the top rookie finisher in the No. 19 Boy Scouts of America Honda, earning $535,629.

Max Chilton, who led a race-high 50 laps, finished in fourth place in the No. 8 Gallagher Honda. He earned $484,129.

Rounding out the top five was 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan in the No. 10 NTT Data Honda. Kanaan, who led 22 laps, earned $438,129.

Fernando Alonso won Rookie of the Year

Pole sitter Scott Dixon earned $446,629 despite placing 32nd in the No. 9 Camping World Honda. Dixon was unhurt after a frightening crash with Jay Howard on Lap 53 in which Dixon's car went airborne and hit the inside SAFER Barrier between Turns 1 and 2.

Fernando Alonso earned $305,805, including $50,000 for being named Sunoco Rookie of the Year. Two-time Formula One World Champion Alonso was the top-qualifying rookie, in fifth, and led 27 laps – more than any other rookie – before ending up 24th after a mechanical problem on Lap 180 halted his race while running seventh in the No. 29 McLaren-Honda-Andretti Honda.

The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Verizon IndyCar Series awards, plus other designated and special awards. Purse awards were announced and presented at the Victory Celebration presented by Ice Miller and Allied Solutions on Monday, May 29 at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

INDIANAPOLIS – Official Results Sunday of the 101st Indianapolis 500 Verizon IndyCar Series event on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, aero kit-engine, laps completed reason out (if any), and and prize money earned:

1. (4) Takuma Sato, Honda, 200, Running, $2,458,129
2. (19) Helio Castroneves, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $770,629
3. (11) Ed Jones, Honda, 200, Running, $535,629
4. (15) Max Chilton, Honda, 200, Running, $484,129
5. (7) Tony Kanaan, Honda, 200, Running, $438,129
6. (18) Juan Pablo Montoya, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $255,805
7. (3) Alexander Rossi, Honda, 200, Running, $420,629
8. (8) Marco Andretti, Honda, 200, Running, $384,629
9. (25) Gabby Chaves, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $235,305
10. (24) Carlos Munoz, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $364,129
11. (2) Ed Carpenter, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $395,129
12. (14) Graham Rahal, Honda, 200, Running, $361,129
13. (13) Mikhail Aleshin, Honda, 200, Running, $355,629
14. (23) Simon Pagenaud, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $349,129
15. (31) Sebastian Saavedra, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $210,305
16. (6) JR Hildebrand, Chevrolet, 200, Running, $345,129
17. (28) Pippa Mann, Honda, 199, Running, $200,305
18. (29) Spencer Pigot, Chevrolet, 194, Running, $200,305
19. (22) Josef Newgarden, Chevrolet, 186, Running, $334,129
20. (33) James Davison, Honda, 183, v355,129
21. (12) Oriol Servia, Honda, 183, Contact, $200,305
22. (17) James Hinchcliffe, Honda, 183, Contact, $349,129
23. (9) Will Power, Chevrolet, 183, Contact, $388,129
24. (5) Fernando Alonso, Honda, 179, Mechanical, $305,805
25. (16) Charlie Kimball, Honda, 166, Mechanical, $339,129
26. (32) Zach Veach, Chevrolet, 155, Mechanical, $200,805
27. (10) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Honda, 136, Mechanical, $351,629
28. (21) Sage Karam, Chevrolet, 125, Mechanical, $202,805
29. (30) Buddy Lazier, Chevrolet, 118, Contact, $200,305
30. (26) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 65, Contact, $334,129
31. (27) Jack Harvey, Honda, 65, Contact, $205,805
32. (1) Scott Dixon, Honda, 52, Contact, $446,629
33. (20) Jay Howard, Honda, 45, Contact, $200,305

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 155.395 mph
Time of Race: 3:13:03.3584
Margin of victory: 0.2011 of a second
Cautions: 11 for 50 laps
Lead changes: 35 among 15 drivers

Lap Leaders:
Dixon 1-5
Kanaan 6-27
Carpenter 28-29
Hildebrand 30
Montoya 31
Carpenter 32-34
Rossi 35-36
Alonso 37-42
Rossi 43-47
Alonso 48-60
Rossi 61-64
Sato 65-75
Rossi 76-78
Hunter-Reay 79-81
Power 82-83
Chilton 84-86
Hunter-Reay 87-89
Rossi 90-93
Hunter-Reay 94-95
Castroneves 96-103
Hunter-Reay 104
Rossi 105-109
Hunter-Reay 110-112
Rahal 113-114
Hunter-Reay 115-129
Alonso 130-134
Hunter-Reay 135
Alonso 136-138
Chilton 139-142
Kimball 143-147
Chilton 148-165
Davison 166-167
Hildebrand 168
Chilton 169-193
Castroneves 194
Sato 195-200

Verizon IndyCar Series point standings: Castroneves 245, Pagenaud 234, Sato 234, Dixon 234,Rossi 190, Kanaan 188, Power 186, Newgarden 186, Jones 185, Hinchcliffe 170, Chilton 170.