Fernando Alonso wins Indy 500 Rookie of the Year vote 2017

Despite having been consigned to a 24th-place finish when engine failure stopped him on lap 180 of 200, Alonso beat the race's highest-finishing rookie Ed Jones to the honours.

Jones took the chequered flag in third, finishing 0.528s off race winner Takuma Sato.

The award was decided by a media vote, which is to be based on evenly on four criteria - a) the driver's skill, b) sportsmanship, c) accessibility and conduct during the month, d) finishing position.

Two-time Formula 1 champion Alonso qualified fifth for his Indy 500 debut and led 27 laps, and he was running seventh when his Honda engine failed.

Jones, the reigning Indy Lights champion, is contesting his first campaign in IndyCar with Dale Coyne Racing this year.

He ran much of his first Indy 500 outside of the top 10, but was in contention for victory late on, following Sato and Helio Castroneves across the finish line.

Jones believed he would've had a good chance at victory if not for damage incurred in the big crash involving Scott Dixon and Jay Howard early on.

After Alonso won the vote, Jones tweeted: "Appreciate the support from everyone. At the end of day ROY would have been nice but having fought for the overall win is truly special!"

Jones's third-place finish payout was $535,629, while Alonso - who said he would "definitely" aim to return to the race - took in $305,805 - with $50,000 of that figure awarded for winning Rookie of the Year.