Jeff Gordon’s lifetime dream was to one-day race in the Indianapolis 500 before his career path took him in a different direction as a four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion. On May 24, Gordon will come close to his dream by leading the field to the green flag to start the 99th Indianapolis 500 in the Pace Car.
Gordon will drive a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Pace Car around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway to lead the field of 33 to green in this year’s race. Gordon has a long history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway winning a record five NASCAR Brickyard 400s including the inaugural Brickyard 400 in 1994.
"Indy is hallowed ground for racers like me and I couldn't be more thrilled to drive the Corvette Z06 pace car around the track that helped drive my success over the years," said Gordon, whose racing hero is four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Rick Mears. "The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most celebrated races of the year and an event I always dreamed of racing while growing up in California and in nearby Pittsboro. I've won five NASCAR races at IMS and the track will always be a special place for me, so to be able to participate in such a historic day will be something I remember for the rest of my life."
Gordon has won 92 races in NASCAR, all with Chevrolet and that places him third on the Cup all-time wins list behind Richard Petty’s 200 and David Pearson’s 105 wins.
Gordon was at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Wednesday for a NASCAR test session and took a few laps around the track in the Corvette V06 Pace Car.
“I enjoyed it so much the first lap, I thought I would take one more,” Gordon said. “This is amazing. What a special moment this is for me. When I go back to being a young kid, I started racing quarter midgets in California, all I wanted to do was be a professional racecar driver and hoped that I got the chance to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
This is Gordon’s final year as a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver. His family moved to nearby Pittsboro, Indiana when he was 13 so that he could race in the United States Auto Club (USAC) and stayed in Indiana until he began his NASCAR career in what was then the Busch Series in 1991. He started the final race of the 1992 Cup season for Hendrick Motorsports at Atlanta Motor Speedway and has been in the No. 24 ride ever since.
“As a kid I watched this race,” Gordon said of the 500. “I dreamt about it. I got to be here in 1983, watch Al Unser, Jr. be a rookie that year, I think Tom Sneva won it that year. I sat in the grandstands that year. I got Rick Mears' autograph. Those were my heroes.
“As I got older, I moved to Indiana. My first car was a Chevy. My second car was a Chevy. Now I get to drive Chevrolets every weekend on the racetrack and win in a Chevy. To do it here in Indianapolis is the ultimate.
“There's only one thing that was missing, that was the Indy 500. This is as close as I think I'm going to get. But this is pretty awesome. This is amazing to me. What an honor it is for me to be here. To come back here in May on race day at the Indy 500, pace this field to the green in this amazing Z06 Corvette, I don't know how it gets any better than that.”
It was a big coup for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to bring back a driver with deep Indiana roots who is the winningest driver on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval in history.
"Jeff is a great choice to lead this year's starting 33 drivers in the Indianapolis 500 to the green flag," said J. Douglas Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "Jeff has such a strong connection to the state of Indiana and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his appearance in the Corvette Z06 pace car reinforces Chevrolet's important place in the past, present and future of the Indianapolis 500. We also look forward to seeing him back here on July 26, to see if he can make it six wins in the Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard."
After driving the Pace Car for the Indy 500, Gordon will watch a few laps of the race before flying back to Charlotte where he will compete in his final Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night – a race that will be telecast by FOX.
“It's such an awesome race weekend,” said Gordon, who scored his first career Cup victory in the 1994 Coca-Cola 600. “I'm a huge motorsports fan. So I love watching the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indy 500. Then to be able to compete in the 600 at Charlotte, have won that race before, it's a very special race.
“The excitement and the energy, just like here, it's unbelievable what Race Day is like for the Indy 500. It's the same way for the 600. It's incredible energy. The fans are excited to see a great race. I love that track. It's one of my favorite tracks on the NASCAR circuit, as far as the mile‑and‑a‑half's, the high‑bank tracks. It's a lot of fun to drive. Not quite like Indianapolis, but it's certainly one that's at the top of my list, along with Indianapolis.
“I'm trying to get Rick Hendrick to come up here as well. I don't think he's ever been to an Indy 500. But my wife and kids are very excited. I took my son Leo to a race at Pocono a couple years ago. He thought those cars were the coolest cars ever. He's pretty excited to come to this race and see these cars on the grid.”
Gordon's drive will mark the 13th time a Corvette has been the official pace car, dating to 1978, and the 26th time a Chevrolet has led the pack for "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." Corvette has served as the pace car more than any other vehicle in the race's history.
With 650 supercharged horsepower, a seven-speed manual transmission and a track-capable chassis system, Gordon will have no trouble keeping in front of the race field in the production-spec Corvette Z06. Featuring an Arctic White exterior and Adrenaline Red interior, only its unique Indy graphics package and safety strobe lights distinguish it from other production models.
Chevrolet has a long, shared heritage with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chevrolet was founded in 1911, the year of the inaugural 500 Mile Race, and the Chevrolet brothers - company co-founder Louis, Arthur and Gaston - all competed in early Indy 500 races. Arthur Chevrolet competed in the 1911 race and Gaston Chevrolet won it in 1920.
"It's great to have Jeff Gordon serve as this year's pace car driver," said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. "He is a true champion who has earned the respect and admiration of competitors and race fans alike. It will be very special to have Jeff lead the Indy 500 field to the green flag, behind the wheel of the most powerful and capable production car ever from Chevrolet - on a day he'll also be competing in the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race at Charlotte."
In addition to its frequent use as a pace car in the Indianapolis 500, official partner Chevrolet is the only car to ever pace the Brickyard 400.
Race fans can follow Jeff Gordon and his Corvette Z06 pace car experience on Twitter at #JGPace2Race.
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