Thank-you for sharing that. When I read this one - back in 2021 - I thought maybe Robin was delirious, as he was passing away, and it would never happen! Thankfully all parties involved got it to this point at least! (Too bad about the rain today though, and I'm shocked they are saying Indy is priority, but the NASCAR point deal is different than it used to be...some hate it, I'm fine with parts of it. This could be a time it benefits a situation that many think is neat...).

Kyle is locked into the nascar chase and leading nascar points by 20. It cost millions to get a car on the grid at indy. Your there. go for it.

But he has to get a waiver (to be locked in). Unfortunately, the Cup championship is worth more than an 18th place Indy 500 finish. I would hope NASCAR would grant it, but I have yet to see that they have (from an official source - I'd suspect that was part of the conversation Hendrick and everyone had though...perhaps even NBC got involved...even though they aren't doing the 600, they are doing the end of the Cup season). That is the only reason I said I was "shocked". Tony was geared up to leave in 01 when it rained, and Robby left the year before that; to go to Charlotte. I am aware the points for NASCAR are different now, and I addressed that in my post.

He lost the point lead. But, again, to me all that matters is the playoff waiver from NASCAR. I don't imagine they wana get in the habit of granting those so guys can run other races, but I do think in this case it will be done (thanks to qualifying on Saturday and making the effort to show up Sunday night - the article in the next post says you can't ask for a waiver until after you miss a race).

https://www.jayski.com/nascar-cup-se...nts-standings/

This, and if he gets RoY, can keep us in suspense (I'm hoping he at least gets co-RoY like in 78 and 84)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mot...373b41a7&ei=16

He got RoY!


By IndyCar | May 27, 2024 5:00 PM ET

The Indianapolis 500 purse record was shattered for the third year in a row after the weather-delayed 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500, with two-time race winner Josef Newgarden of Team Penske earning $4.288 million from a total purse of $18,456,000.

After record-breaking payouts in 2022 and ’23, this is the largest purse and largest winner’s payout in the century-plus history of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” The year’s average payout for NTT IndyCar Series drivers was $543,000, which also exceeds last year’s average of $500,600.

In 2023, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $17,021,500, and the year’s winner payout was $3.666 million. In 2022, the Indianapolis 500 purse was $16,000,200, and the winner earned $3.1 million.

Prior to 2022, the largest Indianapolis 500 purse was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indianapolis 500.

Second-place finisher Pato O’Ward of Arrow McLaren Racing took home $1,050,500, exceeding the take-home prize for last year’s second-place finisher.

‘“The Indianapolis 500 is the greatest race in the world, and this record-breaking purse is reflective of just how monumental competing in and winning at Indy is for these drivers,” Penske Entertainment President and CEO Mark Miles said. “Despite weather challenges, the Month of May featured packed grandstands and intense on-track action. Presenting this purse is the ideal end cap to an epic month.”

NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors for his performance during the Month of May. Larson, driving for Arrow McLaren, made his first attempt to complete “The Double,” by racing both the Indianapolis 500 and the NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600. Larson earned a $50,000 bonus for being named Rookie of the Year, adding to a total take-home prize of $178,000.


The Indianapolis 500 purse consists of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and NTT IndyCar Series awards, plus other designated and special awards. Purse awards are presented annually at the Victory Celebration, held this year at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis Monday night.

Newgarden’s purse included a $440,000 roll-over bonus from BorgWarner for earning back-to-back Indy 500 wins. The jackpot increases by $20,000 each year but has only been awarded one other time since its inception when Helio Castroneves won the Indy 500 in both 2001 and ’02.

Robin was right. Larson moved the interest needle for both sports. IndyCar drivers aren't moving the needle themselves. Larson was one of the msot popular on Sunday and his merchandise was selling like crazy. All of his diecast was gone out of most of the merchandise shops on the grounds, and there were a lot of people wearing Larson gear.

A dirt track guy showed again that he can run one of those cars and run up front. Yeah that penalty cost him a top 10, but it could and has happened to the best in NASCAR and open wheel. One of the breaks of the game. Larson ran in the top 10 for quite some time, actually led and ran 500 miles, rolling the car on the trailer. And got ROY. I'd say he had a good day.

"6.46 million viewers" in primetime! Nice! I was hoping the later time of day would HELP...plus they gained just via the fact they lifted the blackout...

BUT, I also hope they don't move it back too far in the day, in the future, hoping for better viewership...it would ruin the double-duty attempts, and anytime it rained at 3pm, people would complain they shoulda started at the normal time (which I'm screwed up anyway, with Indiana's take on DST...it used to start either 11 or 11:15am CST, but its different now with the time difference...)