The Indy 500 pace car has always meant business.
When the pace car first comes out, it's the last few moments before the race really kicks off. Every car, every driver, every team is on the field, and every eye is on the track. Excitement is building like pressure behind a cork, and Chevrolet has been the exclusive pace car provider for the Indy 500 since 2002.
The C5 made its first appearance on the track before then, though.
1998
In 1998, former professional race car driver and then racing team owner Parnelli Jones took the wheel. It was his second time as the pace car driver; the previous time, in 1994, was behind a Ford Mustang Cobra.
To commemorate the occasion, Chevy built 1,163 replica cars, which were a bonus package above the regular stock cars that included:
- Radar Blue paint with a yellow graphics package
- yellow wheels
- yellow-and-black leather interior with Indy 500 imagery
- Delco/Bose audio
- seat-memory
- automatic overdrive with the sport axle package
- Active Handling suspension system
The replica car had a 345 hp 5.7L V08 engine. Of the 1,163 replicas, five were made exclusively for factory use. Only select Chevy dealers were able to sell the replica cars.
The C5 also showed up at the Indy race track in other years.
2002
The 2002 pace car was both the fifth time a Corvette opened up the race and a landmark in its own right: in 2002, the Corvette turned 50 years old. The appearance at the brickyard kicked off the anniversary year celebrations.
Chevy didn't sell replica pace cars for this year. The car featured a 345 hp 5.7L V-8 engine.
The pace car was driven by actor Jim Caviezel. Caviezel is best known for his work playing Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ, which came out two years after he led the Sunday crowd in its annual Memorial Day weekend miracle of turning tires into rubber.
2004
The last C5 to serve as the official pace car was also the last model year for the C5. Again, Chevy didn't sell replica cars, and this car also had a 345 hp 5.7L V-8 under the hood.
The actor behind the wheel this year was Morgan Freeman. If you don't know who he is, this blog can't help you.
