The Indianapolis 500 auto race has used a pace car every year since 1911. In the interest of safety, Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl G. Fisher is commonly credited with the concept of a "rolling start" led by a pace car. Nearly all races at the time, as well as all Formula One races even to the present, utilize a standing start.
Contents |
Pace lap
The pace car was used to take the starting field on one unscored lap. The field would use the lap to warm up their engines, tires, and then at the conclusion of the lap, at a prescribed speed, the pace car would pull off the track and allow for a rolling, or "flying," start. Fisher himself drove the pace car in several early years, but it eventually became an honorary position, with invitations extended to notable figures in auto racing or the automobile industry. The driver listed was invited to perform the honor of "pacemaker." In later years, pop culture celebrities were among those, on occasion, invited to drive the pace car.
In most years through the early 1950s, the pace car led the field around the track for one warm up lap, and then the race began. By 1957, the pace car led the field for two warm up laps. In approximately 1974, it was changed to the current three warm up laps (two "parade laps" and one "pace lap"). During the "parade" lap, often several replica festival pace cars join the field, usually carrying celebrities or special guest drivers. They pull off the track, and the lone pace car leads the field on the "pace" lap.
Extra pace laps
In 1957, a new state-of-the-art pit lane was built. For the first time, the pit area was separated from the racing surface. For 1957-1958, the field was lined up in single file on the pit lane, rather than the traditional 11 rows of three on the race surface. This required the cars to pull away, then assemble into formation This caused tremendous confusion in 1958, as the front row escaped from the pace car, and the field needed an extra pace lap to assemble before the green was displayed.
In 1982, a crash occurred as the field was about to take the green flag. The start was red flagged, and the cars circulated around back to the pits. After clean up, the field restarted, with two pace laps before the green flag.
In 1986, Tom Sneva crashed on the backstrech on the pace lap. The start was waved off, and the next time around the cars were halted on the frontstrech. After the cleanup, the field pulled away and took two warm up laps before taking the green.
In the 1992 race, additional pace laps were run (unscored) after Roberto Guerrero crashed during a parade lap. Instead of halting the proceedings, officials decided to simply extend the number of warm up laps.
In 1997, additional laps were run (unscored) due to a three-car crash on the original pace lap.
Caution periods
Through 1978, the pace car was only used at the start of the race, and was not used during caution periods. Since 1979, the pace car has also been used to pack-up the field during caution flag periods. The ceremonial driver drove only at the start of the race. During caution periods, when the pace car is utilized to pace the field, a trained official has been the driver. In some cases, the officials utilize two separate pace cars (same exact model) one each for the start of the race, and the caution periods. Currently, the pace car driver for the caution periods is the same driver who drives the pace car for the Indy Racing League during all other events.
Cars
Starting roughly around the 1960s, the auto manufacturer who provided the official pace car, started selling replica pace cars to the general public. In many cases, the official on-track pace car was modified from its street-legal counterpart. Strobe lights, rolls bars, multi-point harnesses, and removing the air conditioning, are among some of the modifications made for the actual pace car. Some official pace cars, however, have undergone extensive modifications, including suspension, transmission, or even engine modifications from their production counterpart. The special edition production replicas available to the public usually come with full paint and "Indy 500" decals, and may be part of a performance package upgrade.
In addition, the track typically is provided with dozens of lower-end pace car production replicas (or different makes by the same manufactuer) for use as festival cars throughout the month. The company who provides the pace car also often provides safety trucks for use at the track. For instance, in 1994, the Ford Mustang Cobra was chosen as the primary pace car. Ford Motor Company provided numerous Mustang GTs (a "stripped-down" model) for festival use. In 1996, the Dodge Viper GTS was chosen as the pace car. Rather than providing a fleet of Vipers, Chrysler provided numerous Stratus, Intrepids, and Special Edition Rams for festival use.
Traditionally, the make of the pace car has always been a domestic American brand. In 1991, the Dodge Stealth was originally named the pace car. However, the UAW, along with traditionalists, protested since the Stealth was a captive import built by Mitsubishi in Japan. Shortly before the race, the Stealth was downgraded to be the festival car. The pre-production Dodge Viper RT/10 was substituted on race day.
In 2001 and 2003, trucks were used instead of pace cars.
Pacemakers (1911-1978)
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Indianapolis 500 pace cars |
Pace cars (1979-present)
** Professional golfer Greg Norman was originally selected to drive the pace car in 1998. He participated in testing runs in the early spring. However, Parnelli Jones was named a last-minute substitute after Norman was forced to withdraw because of shoulder surgery.
*** Pace truck.
**** There were two Chevrolet Corvette pace cars for the 2008 race; a metallic green pace car that runs on E85 driven by Fittipaldi at the start, and a pace car painted to resemble the 1978 pace car that runs on gasoline (used during caution periods)
Multiple enters
By driver
| Appearances | Driver | Races |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Sam Hanks | 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963 |
| 5 | Carl G. Fisher | 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914, 1915 |
| Jim Rathmann | 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978 | |
| 3 | "Big Boy" Rader | 1927, 1931, 1934 |
| Benson Ford | 1950, 1964, 1966 | |
| James Garner | 1975, 1977, 1985 | |
| James Perkins | 1990, 1993, 1995 | |
| 2 | Barney Oldfield | 1920, 1922 |
| Wilbur Shaw | 1948, 1949 | |
| William Clay Ford | 1953, 1968 | |
| Duke Nalon | 1981, 1983 | |
| Chuck Yeager | 1986, 1988 | |
| Carroll Shelby | 1987, 1991 | |
| Bobby Unser | 1989, 1992 | |
| Parnelli Jones | 1994, 1998 |
By car
| Appearances | Car | Races |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Chevrolet Corvette | 1978, 1986, 1995, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 |
| 5 | Chevrolet Camaro | 1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, 2009 |
| 4 | Stoddard-Dayton | 1911, 1913, 1914 |
| Packard | 1915, 1919, 1936 | |
| LaSalle | 1927, 1934, 1937 | |
| Ford Mustang | 1964, 1979, 1994 | |
| 2 | Chrysler Imperial | 1926, 1933 |
| Hurst/Olds Cutlass | 1972, 1974 | |
| Pontiac Trans Am | 1980, 1989 | |
| Dodge Viper | 1991, 1996 | |
| Oldsmobile Aurora | 1997, 2000 |
Gallery
 1956 Fireflite Convertible Pace Car. |
 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser |
 1966 Comet Pace car. |
 1969 Camaro pace car replica |
 1972 Hurst Olds Pace Car. |
 1978 Corvette pace car |
 1991 Stealth Official Car |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
