INDIANAPOLIS –- Helio Castroneves birthday is today, May 10, as the four-time Indianapolis 500 winning driver turns 47.
But a big gift awaits him on May 29 if he should repeat his back-to-back Indy 500 wins that he achieved in 2001 and 2002.
BorgWarner’s Indianapolis 500 Rolling Jackpot is up to $400,000.
All of that would go to Castroneves –- not the team –- as part of BorgWarner’s prize. The last time a driver collected was 2002 when Castroneves earned $160,000. He is the only driver ever to win the bonus and this is the third time he is eligible.
To win the jackpot, a driver has to win the Indy 500 in back-to-back years.
Since its establishment in 1995, BorgWarner has bolstered its prize by $20,000 each year.
Castroneves is one of five drivers to ever achieve back-to-back wins in the history of this legendary race. Others who have achieved this feat include Wilbur Shaw (1939-1940), Mauri Rose (1947-1948), Bill Vukovich (1953-1954) and Al Unser (1970-1971).
He is also among a group of only four drivers that have won the race four times. A victory for Castroneves in 2022 would make him the first driver ever to win the jackpot twice and the only driver to earn two back-to-back victories at the Indianapolis 500.
Nobody has ever won the race five times, another record within reach for Castroneves.
“BorgWarner takes great pride in our extensive history with this classic motorsport event, and we enjoy upping the ante with this exciting rolling jackpot,” said Frédéric Lissalde, president and CEO of BorgWarner. “We’re on the edge of our seats waiting to see if Helio will once again claim the jackpot or if another driver will be immortalized on this year’s coveted Borg-Warner Trophy.”
Aside from the opportunity to win the steep jackpot, the likeness of this year’s winner’s face will be sculpted and forever engraved onto the iconic Borg-Warner Trophy, as is tradition.
This year’s victor also will receive the BorgWarner Championship Driver’s Trophy or the “Baby Borg” — a miniature version of the much larger 110-pound sterling silver Borg-Warner Trophy.
If Castroneves does not come out victorious, the funds for the jackpot will roll over to the 2023 Indy 500 with an additional $20,000 added to the pot.