A Look Back At The Corvettes That Really Paced The Indianapolis 500
From the March, 2011 issue of Vette
By Christopher R. Phillip
Photography by Ron McQueeney/IMS
Beginning on May 28, 1978, and nine times since, Corvettes have paced the Indianapolis 500. But the car's involvement in the famed Memorial Day weekend race goes back much further, all the way to 1955. That year, three-time 500 winner Mauri Rose (then employed as a Chevrolet engineer) drove a '55 Polo White Vette on the Brickyard track several times, though not as a competition entry.
Shown here are all of the Corvettes used to pace the Indy 500 over the past 33 years. As part of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's contract with GM, the track keeps the cars that were actually used to start the races.
So why wasn't the Corvette selected to serve as an Official Pace Car-a decision that required both Chevy's and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's (IMS) approval-for its first 24 years? To answer that question, we consulted Ron McQueeney, IMS Director of Photography, who has made the Brickyard his workplace for 39 years.
"Then and now, manufacturers submit what they would like to offer as an Indianapolis 500 Pace Car to the IMS," McQueeney explained. "Indy's marketing department, executive department, and the IMS Board select the car from the ones offered. The manufacturer and IMS work together to select the color and the graphics on the car. The minor details can change, even up to the month of May."
If a Corvette is submitted and approved, Chevrolet modifies three or more pilot- or production-line cars with light bars and additional safety equipment (if requested by IMS), and supplies them to the track. (Though the Indy 500 has specific requirements regarding pace-car horsepower and track-worthiness, all Official Pace Car Corvettes starting with the 1986 edition have passed these requirements in stock condition.) In addition, "Chevrolet provides additional Corvettes on a case-by-case, race-by-race basis, including promotional cars," Chevrolet Corvette Communications Manager Dave Caldwell says.
The Corvette Pace Car Registry (
http://www.pacecarregistry.com) groups the Indianapolis 500 Corvettes into the following four categories:
1.Pace Cars: These are the actual Corvettes used to pace the race. The number varies from year to year, but Chevy typically supplies three or more Corvettes when the car is selected to pace the race.
2.Track Cars: Chevy sends these Corvettes to the Speedway to be used by IMS officials and city VIPs (including the mayor, the police chief, media representatives, and others) during the month of May and at the race.
3.Festival Cars: The city of Indianapolis holds an Indianapolis 500 Festival Parade during May; each of the 33 festival-committee members is assigned a Corvette, which he or she drives during the parade and at other festival committee functions.
4.In addition, Chevrolet has often created limited-edition Indy 500 Pace Car replicas for sale to the public. These replica Corvettes are neither pace cars, track cars, nor festival cars, and they have no direct involvement in the race.
Now that you have a better understanding of Corvette's role at the Indianapolis 500, join us as we take a photographic look at the Vettes that actually paced the races. This month we'll feature the first half of them, from 1978-1998, and we'll conclude our two-part series next month with the cars that appeared from 2002-2008.
Chevrolet engineer (and three-time Indianapolis 500 winner) Mauri Rose is credited with having the first-and we mean the very first-Corvette at Indianapolis. The year was 1955.
Chevy cars have paced the Indy 500 numerous times throughout the event's history, but Corvette's first turn came on May 28, 1978, when a specially prepared '78 hit the Brickyard.
In 1978, Chevrolet convinced the IMS to use the 25th Anniversary Corvette as the Official Pace Car. Chevy and IMS officials initially considered using the Silver Anniversary paint scheme for the car, but soon opted for this unique black-and-silver treatment.
Indianapolis 500 Chief Steward Tom Binford poses with Corvette's 25th Anniversary pride and joy before the start of 62nd Annual Indy 500.
This '86 Yellow Corvette convertible is the real McCoy that paced the Brickyard on May 31, 1986, but all Corvette 'verts built that year-in all colors-were considered replica pace cars. They came with the pace-car graphics package, which could be installed at the owner's discretion. A total of 732 Yellow Corvette convertibles were sold to the public during the 1986 model year.
The '86 Official Pace Car leads 33 race cars around the track for the 70th Annual running of the Indy 500.
Chevrolet celebrated "Sky's the Limit" with the '86 Corvette convertible, so it was only natural that IMS execs would tap USAF general and test pilot Chuck Yeager to be the Official Pace Car's driver. According to the IMS, Yeager was one of the most popular figures to ever pace the race.
Chevy provided four '95 Vettes prepped for Official Pace Car duty, as shown here shortly before the 79th Annual Indy 500 began.
Sure, he drove a '70s Firebird in the NBC show The Rockford Files, but actor James Garner looks just as comfortable as the celebrity driver of this Official Pace Car, a '95 Corvette. Photo by Jim Haines
Here's a rare opportunity to see the '95 Official Pace Cars as the race drivers did: from the rear. Chevy added special light bars to the Vettes as part of its contractual obligation to make the cars track worthy.
Festival cars take a parade lap prior to the start of the 82nd Annual Indy 500. Photo by Leigh Spargur
The '98 Official Pace Car leads the field under yellow following an accident during the race. Photo by Steve Snoddy
The C5 ushered in a whole new generation of Corvette, and a brand-new look for pacing Indy. Golfer Greg Norman was contracted to pace the race, but when an injury and subsequent surgery sidelined him, 1963 Indy 500 winner Parnelli Jones took over the driving duties.
