Vasser's Big U.S. 500 Pay Day
DETROIT (May 28, 1996) - Jimmy Vasser did not need Ed McMahon at his door, a lucky state lottery ticket or a generous Las Vegas slot machine to deliver him a payout in excess of $1 million.Instead, Vasser won The Inaugural U.S. 500 - the PPG Indy Car World Series' most prestigious and lucrative race of the season - and collected $1,157,750 in prize and contingency monies. The majority of the huge purse came courtesy of a $1 million winner's share, which was delivered to Vasser in cash by an armored car during post-race ceremonies in the Winner's Circle at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, May 26.
In addition to the $1 million in cash, Vasser won $145,000 from the Marlboro Pole Award program for capturing the pole ($100,000) and then winning the race ($45,000); $8,750 in lap leader money ($250 per lap) and $4,000 in other contingency awards. He also takes home a re-creation of the Vanderbilt Cup that was made by Tiffany's.
Vasser's hourly pay for roughly three hours of work behind the wheel of a Target Reynard Honda for Target/Chip Ganassi Racing was $385,916.66.
"It's a whole lot of money, and it's one of the reasons why it is our biggest race of the year," Vasser said. "That and the Vanderbilt Cup signify the status of the U.S. 500 in American auto racing."
Vasser, however, was not the only one to grab a large portion of the $3.38 million overall purse. Mauricio Gugelmin, driving a Hollywood/PacWest Reynard Ford for the PacWest Racing Group, won $262,250 for finishing runner-up and Robert Moreno, driving a Data Control Lola Ford for Payton/Coyne Racing, grabbed $104,000 for landing the final podium position.
Gugelmin won $250,000 for second place, $10,000 in contingencies and $2,250 in lap leader money. Moreno won $100,000 for finishing third, $3,500 in contingencies and $500 in lap fund money.
The other 24 teams each received a minimum of $75,000 for competing and the most awarded non-podium finisher was rookie Alex Zanardi of Target/Chip Ganassi Racing. Zanardi, who drove a Target Reynard Honda, took home an additional $33,500 in lap money for a total of $108,500. Zanardi led a race-high 134 of the 250 laps on the 2-mile oval.
Zanardi's performance, coupled with that of Vasser, gave owner Chip Ganassi's Target team a combined payout of $1,266,250, which was better than a third of the total purse.
Vasser also gained 21 valuable points in The Inaugural U.S. 500 to extend his lead to 36 over Al Unser Jr. (Marlboro Penske Mercedes) in the PPG Cup championship race.
The Inaugural U.S. 500, round six of the PPG Indy Car World Series, kicked off the busiest portion of the season with four more events in the next five weeks. Each of those races - the Miller 200 in Milwaukee (June 2), ITT Automotive Detroit Grand Prix (June 9), Budweiser/G.I. Joe's 200 in Portland, Ore. (June 23) and the Medic Drug Grand Prix of Cleveland (June 30) - will be televised live on ABC-TV.
Source: IndyCar News Service
