BorgWarner Indianapolis 500 Rollover Jackpot Worth $420,000 To Marcus Ericsson In The 107th Indianapolis 500

A second-straight Indianapolis 500 victory by Marcus Ericsson would be worth an additional $420,000 in the BorgWarner
BWA
Rollover Jackpot.

The longtime part of the prize fund can only be claimed by a driver who wins the Indianapolis 500 in back-to-back years. Each year, the Jackpot increases by another $20,000 and continues until the next driver wins the “World’s Greatest Race” in consecutive seasons.

The bonus was established by BorgWarner in 1995 and has been claimed just one time – by Helio Castroneves of Brazil in 2002 after he won the Indianapolis 500 for the second straight year.

Since the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, the only other drivers who have had the honor of winning the Indy 500 back-to-back include Wilbur Shaw (1939-1940), Mauri Rose (1947-1948), Bill Vukovich (1953-1954) and Al Unser (1970-1971) – all before the jackpot’s inception.

“Every year, BorgWarner looks forward to the excitement and anticipation leading up to the Indianapolis 500 and the rolling jackpot that accompanies it,” said Frédéric Lissalde, President and CEO, BorgWarner. “We’re anxious to see if Marcus Ericsson of Sweden will claim the Borg-Warner Trophy® for the second year in a row and cash in on the jackpot for the first time in over 20 years.”

The $4,200,000 is part of what is expected to be another record purse for this year’s Indianapolis 500, but it’s only available to Ericsson because he won the race in 2022.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske awarded a record purse of $16 million last year with Ericsson earning $3.1 million for his thrilling victory.

The extra $420,000 would be 4,305,924 krona in Sweden for the driver.

“It would be incredible to win that bonus, wow,” Ericsson said. “That’s a lot of dollars and krona. Maybe if I win again BorgWarner will give me both krona and US dollars, ha ha.

“The last year has been an amazing experience and I’d have to say one of the highlights was having the Borg-Warner Trophy travel to Sweden and to my hometown, Kumla.

“Let’s do it again, two Indy 500’s in a row, and that BorgWarner bonus would be great, I’ll take it.”

The $420,000 is more that the entire Indianapolis 500 yearly purse prior to 1962. In 1961 for the 50th Anniversary the total purse was $397,910 and in 1962 it was $425,652.

In 1984 Rick Mears was the first 500 winner to win more than $420,000 in just one race pocketing 434,061 for that victory.

From winning the 500 to visiting beautiful Tryon, North Carolina with Will Behrends, to his image unveil in Indianapolis, then the Borg-Warner Trophy going to Sweden and a Baby Borg this spring and then secretly getting married to Iris Tritsaris Jondahl after the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach in April.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver has also been an incredible ambassador for the sport – both in the US and internationally.

Dario Franchitti is the only driver to win more than one Indianapolis 500 for team owner Chip Ganassi, but he didn’t do it back-to-back because Dan Wheldon of Bryan Herta Autosport won in 2011.

There are nine past 500 winners, representing 13 Indy wins and 5 teams – Ganassi Racing, Meyer Shank Racing, Team Penske, Arrow McLaren, and Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will attempt to qualify for years field including Marcus Ericsson, Scott Dixon, Helio Castroneves (4), Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, Takuma Sato (2), Will Power, Alexander Rossi, Tony Kanaan, and Ryan Hunter-Reay.

Of the former Indianapolis 500 winners, Kanaan and Castroneves are both 48 years old, Sato is 46, Dixon, Hunter-Reay and Power are 42, Pagenaud turns 39 on Thursday, May 18, Ericsson is 32 and Rossi 31.

When Al Unser won back-to-back 500’s he was 31 in 1970 and 32 in 1971 – Ericsson was 31 in 2022 when he celebrated his big win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

If Ericsson does not win the 2023 race, the funds for the jackpot will roll over to the 2024 Indy 500 with an additional $20,000 added to the total prize.