When Sunday, August 23 rolls around, it will run without fans and separators in attendance, but it will have a special guest host in the form of a 2020 Corvette. Chevrolet just announced that they will be using a Corvette for the fourth year in a row, so at least one familiar face will appear on your screen, despite the empty stands.
This will be the 17th time, overall, that a Corvette leads the starting pack, as a Z51 C8 clad in Torch Red, with spoiler and ground effects package will look like a beauty queen among the NASCAR. The C8 Z51 Pace Car also has Carbon Flash accent pieces and the GT2 optional bucket seats. As with any good Pace Car, the C8 running around Indy will have unique Pace Car livery to distinguish it from other Corvettes. GM has yet to announce if they will offer a special edition Corvette C8 that pays homage to the Pace Car used, but it all sounds good to us.
The driver of the Corvette Pace Car will be none other than Mark Reuss, GM President. In an official release from GM, Reuss offered that, “It’s truly an honor to have the opportunity to be behind the wheel of the mid-engine Corvette Pace Car at such a historic race as the Indy 500. The 2020 Corvette Stingray is the result of a close collaboration between the Corvette Racing and production engineering teams, setting a new benchmark for supercars around the world.”
While already the most famous American made mid-engine car, the Corvette won’t be the first mid-engine car, or even mid-engine GM to act as an Indy 500 Pace Car — that was already accomplished in 1984 by the humble Pontiac Fiero.
The 2020 Indy 500 was originally scheduled for May 24th, and was pushed back due to COVID-19 restrictions. Many fans dreaded that it wouldn’t go on at all this year, but it will now go on live with NBC coverage at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 23.
Elizabeth is hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
