Chevy Corvette ZR1 is the 2018 Indy 500 pace car
That'll be one hell of a pace.
You know it'll be an interesting Indianapolis 500 when the pace car has more horsepower than the racecars do.
Chevrolet announced today that the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 will handle pace car duties at the 2018 Indy 500, which will be run on May 27 this year.
The Corvette (in its many iterations) comprises more than 10 percent of all Indy 500 pace cars. The 102nd running will see the 15th Corvette. Chevrolet itself has 29 pace-car-shaped notches on its headboard, extending all the way back to 1948. Last year's pace car was a Corvette Grand Sport, and the last time a ZR1 led the pack was in 2012, with Guy Fieri behind the wheel. No, it was not renamed the Flavortown 500 that year.
With 755 supercharged horsepower on tap, the Corvette ZR1 is actually more powerful than the current racers in IndyCar, which vary between 550 and 700 horsepower, depending on boost levels. The ZR1 pace car will use an eight-speed automatic transmission.
Odds are the pace car won't be stretching its legs that much, but it would be a heck-tacle of a spectacle to see all 30-some-odd contenders ripping a parade lap at the ZR1's top speed of 212 mph. Here's to hoping.
