Montoya wins almost $2.5m for Indy victory + Video

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Juan Pablo Montoya earned $US2,449,055 for his Indianapolis 500 victory on Sunday.

New Zealand's Scott Dixon, who finished fourth after starting in pole position, earned $US615,805.

The prize-money was announced at the annual victory banquet at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week.

The Colombian driver Montoya's earnings were part of a $US13,397,315 overall purse for the annual race.

Runner-up Will Power earned $US792,555, and Charlie Kimball, who finished third, earned $US564,055.

Montoya’s victory comes 15 years after his Indy 500 win in 2000.

He left IndyCar for Formula One and later struggled in NASCAR for seven years before making a return to IndyCar in 2014.

Montoya, who also won the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to start the season, leads the IndyCar series standings.

Before picking up his earnings, the 39-year old sat through a roasting by fellow drovers — mostly over his age.

Tony Kanaan, who is 40, joked about watching Montoya race while growing up. Townsend Bell, who finished 14th on Sunday, said he had a “Juan Pablo Montoya” lunch box as a child.

Kimball, while being honest, pointed out that he didn’t have a driver’s license when Montoya won his first Indianapolis 500 in 2000.

Montoya also received kudos for the way he won the race.He had to work his way from the back of the field twice and led just nine laps before eventually giving team owner Roger Penske his 16th Indianapolis 500 win.

Team Penske has been dominant all season. Power won the pole and finished first in the Grand Prix of Indianapolis.But teammate Helio Castroneves went airborne in a wreck early on in Indianapolis 500 practice — a crash that sparked concerns about the safety of the new oval aero kits.

There were no issues with the safety of the aero kits on Sunday and Montoya found a way to get the job done.He slipped ahead of Power with three laps to go and held off his teammate for his second Indianapolis 500 win — a move that paid off for the 39-year old driver.

Montoya held off Power by 0.1046 of a second — the fourth-closest finish in race history.

-AP