It’s always cool to say you got the chance to drive the pace car for any race, but having them toss you the keys for the Indianapolis 500?
It doesn’t get any better than that, and this year, that honor goes to one of the most popular people in Indiana these days, Indiana Hoosiers head football coach Curt Cignetti.
The great thing about driving the pace car is that, unlike a ceremonial first pitch, which has no bearing on the game (although, how fun would it be if it did?), the pace car driver can impact the race.
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You’ve got to be going the right speed so that the cars are able to get their tires up to temperature safely.
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Go too slow, and you’re going to irritate some drivers.
So, it makes sense that you would do some practice ahead of time, and on Saturday, IndyCar shared some pictures and videos of Cignetti getting in some reps at the Brickyard.
Cignetti is getting quite the set of wheels to pace the field. The pace car for the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 is a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X. It has a 5.5L twin-turbo V8 engine that delivers over 1,000 hp to the rear wheels, and if that wasn’t good enough, it also has an electric motor that adds another 186 hp to the front axle.
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I’m not sure what Cignetti is driving day-to-day, but that’s a lot of car, so it’s good that he was getting some pointers from Sarah Fisher. Fisher is a former IndyCar driver with nine Indianapolis 500 appearances under her belt and has also worked for the driver as a pace car driver.
So, if there’s anyone to get some pointers from, it’s her.
Cignetti and the Corvette — which sports a very cool America 250 paint scheme — will lead the field on the pace laps on Sunday, with coverage beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Fox.
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