Kyle Larson gets lowest Indy 500 payout; IndyCar champ questions if 'he's worth the risk'

Kyle Larson emerged as the driver with the lowest payout for the 109th Indy 500. The NASCAR Cup Series champion lost control of his car after a restart on lap 92, spun, and crashed into the barriers rear-first. Sting Ray Robb and Marcus Armstrong were collected in the crash.

Former IndyCar champion Paul Tracy, who won the 2003 title, shared an image of the reported Indy 500 payout for the entire 33-driver grid on his Instagram story. Larson, who finished in 24th place, earned $102,000, tied with Marco Andretti, who crashed on lap 1, as the lowest earner.

Tracy, whose best Indy 500 result was a runner-up finish to Helio Castroneves in the controversial 2002 race, asked if Kyle Larson running the premier IndyCar race was worth it.

"Indy prize $$ question.. if your Larson is that worth the risk??" he wrote on his story with a Yes/No poll for fans to answer.

A snapshot of IndyCar champion Paul Tracy's Instagram story (@paultracyofficial)

The Indy 500 payout takes multiple factors into account, one of which is whether the entry is chartered or not. Non-charter, one-off entries like Larson earn less than the full-time charter entries. 24 of the 33-car grid in the 109th Indy 500 were charter entries. This year's race had a record total purse of $20,283,000, with winner Alex Palou earning a whopping $3.8 million.

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Kyle Larson's second Double attempt ends with a double crash at the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600

NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 - Source: Getty

Kyle Larson's Indy 500 crash was an ominous sign of what was to come at NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 later on that day. After he spun his No. 17 Arrow McLaren Chevy at the IMS, he was disappointed and apologized to all the parties involved.

"We were just bunched up on the restart and I was really close to Takuma (Sato) in front of me. Got kind of aero tight behind him, and as I peeked left ... I spun," he said via FOX Sports.

"Hate that I caused that crash, hate that others got collected in it, and really just hate it for Arrow McLaren and (Hendrick Motorsports owner) Rick Hendrick – everybody that put a lot into making this effort possible. Just bummed out, really."

At the Coca-Cola 600, Kyle Larson started on the front row and made his way to the race lead early on before an unfortunate spin pushed him down the grid. However, it was on lap 245 that he got collected in a three-car incident among Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, and Chase Briscoe.

Larson finished in a lowly 37th place to cap off a heartbreaking day. At the Indy 500 banquet on Monday, the NASCAR champ admitted that another Double attempt was probably off the table.