IMSA details plans for 50th anniversary in 2019 - MotorSportsTalk

ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – What began as the sanctioning body for a Formula Ford and Formula Vee race at Pocono Raceway in October 1969 has grown over five decades to become an international auto racing powerhouse specializing in world-class sports car competition, and next year, the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) turns 50.

To commemorate the golden anniversary, IMSA and stakeholders including series partners, manufacturers, teams, drivers, event promoters and fans will join together in a season-long 50th Anniversary celebration that will begin with the 2019 Rolex 24 At Daytona on the weekend of Jan. 24-27 and will carry all the way through to the season-ending Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Oct. 11-13.

Photo courtesy of IMSA

“Almost 50 years ago, Bill France Sr. and John and Peggy Bishop laid a foundation that today supports one of the most prominent auto racing organizations in the world,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “The story of IMSA over the past five decades is truly fascinating and will be told throughout our 2019 50th Anniversary celebration in several ways by a variety of stakeholders.

“From historic race car liveries and commemorative logos to many other surprises throughout the season for fans at-track and watching through our new-for-2019 partnership with NBC Sports, it will be a year-long celebration for all to enjoy.”

A key component of the celebration is the official 50th Anniversary IMSA logo that was publicly unveiled for the first time this evening as part of the State of the Series presentation at Road America. The logo – which will be featured on items such as uniforms, race car liveries and commemorative merchandise in 2019 — incorporates many elements of the traditional IMSA logo, including the 27-degree angle from vertical center and the familiar “apex arrow” that has long been a part of IMSA’s brand identity.

Enhancing the logo is the use of gold to signify IMSA’s “golden” anniversary, as well as laurels that symbolize excellence, honor and victory. A secondary commemorative logo, which replaces the standard red in the current IMSA logo with gold and features the addition of “Est. 1969” also was unveiled and will be used throughout 2019 in selected applications as well.

IMSA will be centering its celebration around four cornerstones – “Drivers and Teams,” “Tracks,” “Manufacturers” and “Fans”. These pillars will be highlighted at 2019 events and will have a presence the entire season as the foundation of what has made IMSA what it is today.

Additional elements of the IMSA 50th Anniversary celebration will be unveiled soon.

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INDIANAPOLIS — The first Indy 500 victory for Josef Newgarden also was the richest in race history from a record 2023 purse of just more than $17 million.

The two-time NTT IndyCar Series champion, who continued his celebration Monday morning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway earned $3.666 million for winning the 107th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

The purse and winner’s share both are the largest in the history of the Indianapolis 500.

It’s the second consecutive year that the Indy 500 purse set a record after the 2022 Indy 500 became the first to crack the $16 million mark (nearly doubling the 2021 purse that offered a purse of $8,854,565 after a crowd limited to 135,000 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

The average payout for IndyCar drivers was $500,600 (exceeding last year’s average of $485,000).

Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske, whose team also fields Newgarden’s No. 2 Dallara-Chevrolet, had made raising purses a priority since buying the track in 2020. But Penske but was unable to post big money purses until the race returned to full capacity grandstands last year.

The largest Indy 500 purse before this year was $14.4 million for the 2008 Indy 500 won by Scott Dixon (whose share was $2,988,065). Ericsson’s haul made him the second Indy 500 winner to top $3 million (2009 winner Helio Castroneves won $3,048,005.

Runner-up Marcus Ericsson won $1.043 million after falling short by 0.0974 seconds in the fourth-closest finish in Indy 500 history.

The 107th Indy 500 drew a crowd of at least 330,000 that was the largest since the sellout for the 100th running in 2016, and the second-largest in more than two decades, according to track officials.

“This is the greatest race in the world, and it was an especially monumental Month of May featuring packed grandstands and intense on-track action,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said in a release. “Now, we have the best end card possible for the 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500: a record-breaking purse for the history books.”

Benjamin Pedersen was named the Indy 500 rookie of the year, earning a $50,000 bonus.

The race’s purse is determined through contingency and special awards from IMS and IndyCar. The awards were presented Monday night in the annual Indy 500 Victory Celebration at the JW Marriott in downtown Indianapolis.

The payouts for the 107th Indy 500:

1. Josef Newgarden, $3,666,000
2. Marcus Ericsson, $1,043,000
3. Santino Ferrucci, $481,800
4. Alex Palou, $801,500
5. Alexander Rossi, $574,000
6. Scott Dixon, $582,000
7. Takuma Sato, $217,300
8. Conor Daly, $512,000
9. Colton Herta, $506,500
10. Rinus VeeKay, $556,500
11. Ryan Hunter‐Reay, $145,500
12. Callum Ilott, $495,500
13. Devlin DeFrancesco, $482,000
14. Scott McLaughlin, $485,000
15. Helio Castroneves, $481,500
16. Tony Kanaan, $105,000
17. Marco Andretti, $102,000
18. Jack Harvey, $472,000
19. Christian Lundgaard, $467,500
20. Ed Carpenter, $102,000
21. Benjamin Pedersen (R), $215,300
22. Graham Rahal, $565,500*
23. Will Power, $488,000
24. Pato O’Ward, $516,500
25. Simon Pagenaud, $465,500
26. Agustín Canapino (R), $156,300
27. Felix Rosenqvist, $278,300
28. Kyle Kirkwood, $465,500
29. David Malukas, $462,000
30. Romain Grosjean, $462,000
31. Sting Ray Robb (R), $463,000
32. RC Enerson (R), $103,000
33. Katherine Legge, $102,000

*–Broken down between two teams, $460,000 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, $105,500 Dreyer & Reinbold Racing/Cusick Motorsports