Indianapolis Motor Speedway has announced that three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti will drive a 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 to pace the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 25.
“It is a tremendous honor for me to be asked to drive the Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500,” Franchitti said. “As a historian of motorsport and as a three-time winner of this great race, I will appreciate every minute of getting to pace the field in the new 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. Although I won’t be competing in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing, this will be as close as one person can get to the action. I can’t wait until May in Indianapolis.”
Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 in 2007, 2010 and 2012 and is only the third driver ever to win at least three consecutive IndyCar titles – among four championships overall. With his racecar driver days behind him as a result of a wreck last year at Fontana, Franchitti embarks in a new driver development role with Chip Ganassi Racing – which will use Chevrolet power in 2014.
“We are excited to have Dario Franchitti lead this year’s Indianapolis 500 starting field to the green flag,” J. Douglas Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said. “Dario’s appearance in the Camaro Z/28 Pace Car will be special for race fans and it underscores Chevrolet’s important place in the past, present and future of the Indianapolis 500.”
For Chevrolet, it marks the 25th time a Chevrolet has paced the race, and the eighth time a Camaro has been the pace car, starting in 1967.
“Dario is a true champion who has earned the respect of competitors and race fans alike,” Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports, said. “It will be very special to have Dario lead the field to the green flag in the Camaro Z/28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.”
