HVM Racing's Simona de Silvestro earned the Indianapolis 500 Chase Rookie of the Year Award, which includes a $25,000 bonus, for her 14th-place finish in the No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds entry.
The Swiss driver was originally credited with 13th place, having passed fellow rookie Mario Romancini on the final lap as he ran out of fuel. However, subsequent scoring evaluations invalidated that pass, as it came under yellow in the chaos of Mike Conway's horrific crash, and she finished behind Romancini in the final order. However, in combination with her superior qualifying showing, de Silvestro still scooped the top rookie award.
“This was the craziest race I have ever done!," said de Silvestro. "I am happy where we ended up and I am honored to have competed in this truly historic race. I am extremely proud and grateful for the Team Stargate Worlds/HVM Racing crew and personnel. Everyone has worked so hard this month and I am glad we were able to race to a 14th-place finish. I'm also glad that we had a great race in front of the Nuclear Clean Air Energy and Entergy guests this weekend as well. My thoughts are now on Texas and I'm looking forward to our night race there!”
HVM Racing team principal Keith Wiggins added, “Great result for Simona and the team. We completed all 500 miles and finished on the lead lap. A true testament of Simona's ability and attitude as a rookie in her first Indy 500. A good month of May for the entire team.”
The Speedway also announced that race winner Dario Franchitti earned $2,752,055 for his victory, from an overall purse of $13,592,815.