#Indy 500 Pace Car

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

2024 Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe

2024 Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe

2024 Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe

2024 Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe

The quickest production Corvette in history will lead the Indy 500 field to the green.

The 2024 Team Chevy Corvette E-Ray 3LZ coupe, with its combination of naturally aspirated V-8 and electrified AWD that combines for 655 horsepower, is the Official Pace Car for the Indy500.

[savageonwheels]

Car Spot: 89 Pontiac Trans Am Pace Car

When Pontiac cars paced the indy 500. 89 Pontiac Trans Am Pace Car is my spot this week.

20th Anniversary Special Before the Indianapolis Motor Speedway made the Corvette its official Indy Pace Car in 2004 there were a variety of brands that provided vehicles for the race. Pacing the 73rd Indianapolis 500 on May 28, 1989, was the 1989 Pontiac Trans Am, the subject of this week’s spot. I found this example at Road America while participating in the Sunset Cruise. BTW, you really…

[rabbitcruiser]

National NASCAR Day

Rev your engines for NASCAR! The high-speed thrills, heart-pumping action, and fierce competition make for an unforgettable experience. So strap in and hold on tight, it's going to be a wild ride!

With thrilling competition and a great deal of risk, race car driving is a sport that is not necessarily for the faint of heart. But to those participants and fans of NASCAR racing, it’s worth it all for the possibility of winning the race.

Now it’s time to start those engines and get ready to watch those stock cars fly around the racetrack because NASCAR Day is here!

History of National NASCAR Day

When car enthusiasts from all over the country began gathering in Daytona, Florida in the 1930s to participate in and watch stock car races, the rules and prizes were not standardized. In 1948, Bill France, Sr. and a group of others formed a governing body called the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing or NASCAR. The organization led their competitions to eventually become one of the most popular spectator sports in the United States, as well as a multi-billion dollar industry in Canada, Mexico and Europe.

The first NASCAR Day was celebrated in 2003 when it was founded by the NASCAR Foundation to raise awareness for stock car racing while also raising funds to help children with their medical needs. The organization supports two different non-profit foundations, the Speediatrics Children’s Fund and the Betty Jane France Humanitarian Award.

NASCAR Day is a special race day set aside on the third Friday in May where spectators can not only see a race but also participate in the event. Meet-and-greets with drivers, bumper-to-bumper races, raffles and many other activities take place. In addition, a Give-A-Thon is scheduled for the day so that people can make donations to benefit the health of children in their communities.

How to Celebrate National NASCAR Day

Enjoy the fun and excitement of NASCAR Day, whether celebrating from home or heading all the way to Daytona! Participate in the enjoyment with some cool ideas of your own, or get started with some of these:

Attend a NASCAR Race

The perfect way to celebrate NASCAR Day would be to head over to a race track and enjoy the sights and sounds of a speedy stock car race! The excitement is contagious and the crowds can get an exhilarating glimpse of these amazingly fast NASCAR races, live and in person. Plus, there should be extra activities and events in honor of NASCAR Day, such as raffles, games and other fun events.

Can’t seem to get out to see a race in person? That’s okay! Plenty of NASCAR races are broadcast on television and through online sports channels.

Make a Donation to the NASCAR Foundation

The purpose of the NASCAR Foundation is to help kids who are in need of medical care. One excellent way to participate in the purpose of the day could be to make a difference in the life of a child by making a donation. It’s easy to brighten a sick child’s day by donating a Speedy Bear or even donating an old vehicle that can help provide support to children in the racing communities.

Source

[radracer]

1976 Buick Century Indy 500 Pace Car Edition

[jettacar]

birthday gift for a friend!!

[whaleiumsharkspeare]

It’s Indy 500 day which means my Hoosier self awakens like a sleeper agent to be like “yay let’s go Indiana!” even though I’ve never even been to the race lol

[stone-cold-groove]

From the car files: a 1949 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car edition.

[blackros78]

1987 Chrysler LeBaron Indy Pace Car

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am Turbo, 1989. A limited edition third generation Firebird 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am, which was the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car that year. The 20th Anniversary model featured a 3.8-litre turbocharged Buick V6 engine. It was the first Indy Pace Car to not require mechanical modifications to lead the field.

[thewritingofspencerrose]

mclaren masterlist : masterlist

Monaco to Indy

saturday, may 25th, 2024 : monaco

liked by patriciooward, landonorris, and 101,349 others

etta.norris split custody weekend 🧡💛 good luck to team mclaren here in monaco (landonorris) and to my boy and arrow mclaren in the states at the indy 500 (patriciooward)!

patriociooward mi amor, really that photo?

patriciooward miss you endlessly!

etta.norris miss you more patito 🧡

alexanderrossi etta, begging you to come and pick up your boyfriend

etta.norris sorry rossi! you have custody this weekend, remember?

landonorris ha! take that patriciooward! i get ettie this weekend!

patriciooward rude.

"Fuck!" My brothers voice calls over the radio, voice indicating all the attitude his colorful language emphasizes, pulling into the pits. Qualifying is over, and Lando is just out of reach of the podium spots at a track where qualifying is everything and overtaking is nonexistent.

His car is rolled in, hands already removing his steering wheel and placing in on the nose of the car.

Lan's helmet is off next, being handed over to one of the engineers before he's approaching where I stand with Jon. "The pace wasn't there."

"We know," I am quick to assure, more than aware that if I don't, he'll spiral away before he can even hand off his gloves. "You pushed to get everything from the car that you could."

Lando throws his arm over my shoulder, sweaty and heavy but no where near uncomfortable enough to complain about. "How's Arrow doing stateside?" He asks, eyes on the monitors in front of us, picking apart each and every lap he completed.

"Good, Pato called just before quali. From the sounds of it he's a contender to win this weekend," My smile wouldn't dim even if I wanted it to, the idea of him pulling off an Indy 500 win.

From the moment I met Pato at the Mclaren mixer just after his signing, he followed me around like a puppy, and I found it adorable.

And it took me a total of three months to realize I was falling for the man with the infectious personality who didn't seem to waiver, even with my brother and Danny Ric threatening him at every chance they get.

And here we are, a year together later, and I'm split custody between two Mclaren teams.

"I'm sure I could get Max to let you borrow the jet."

What have I missed?

"What?"

Lan's eyes meet mine, matching hues meeting, as he smiles. Not out of joy, but smiling all the same.

"The chances of me making the podium tomorrow are slim. If you catch a plane now you can make it in time for the Indy, surprise your boy."

"Lan, it's your weekend-"

"This isn't a custody battle," He interrupts before I can even finish. "This is the biggest race of Patricio's year and he might win it. Go be his lucky charm or whatever," He's still smiling, and for a moment I can't help but admire my brother for the kind human he is.

But I can't help the smile on my face as I think over the idea.

"I'd have to text Elba."

"Text her, I'll ask Max about the plane." This is why he's my favorite human.

My arms wrap around him, pulling his sweaty body into a tight hug. "Thank you, Lan."

"Anytime, Ettie Mae, any time," He returns, curls brushing against my head as he pulls me close.

sunday, may 26th, 2024 : indianapolis

liked by mclaren, maxverstappen1, and 136,028 others

etta.norris shhhh no one tell pato! i made it for the final ten laps, and could not be prouder of my boy! let's go number five! (shoutout to landonorris and maxverstappen1 for getting me here on time)

maxverstappen1 anytime kid! enjoy the race and good luck to patriciooward

zakbrown you surprised me too! biggest papaya supporter there is!

etta.norris you know it!

landonorris glad you made it! zakbrown look after her for me!

zakbrown i'm sure pato has it covered, but i'll keep an eye!

etta.norris are we forgetting that i'm 21?

landonorris no you're not, you're fifteen and a little rebel

He had been ahead. He was in first for so long.

And then Josef popped up, not out of nowhere but still in surprise, there's nothing that can be done to soothe my heart. My nails are getting sorter and shorter by the second, heart beating out of my chest until the crowd cheers out, all of the air leaving my body.

Pato was so close, yet not close enough.

Zak's hand lands on my shoulder in an attempt at comfort, but all I can focus on is my boy making his last lap, Josef celebrating just in front of him as they lap around to the pits.

Here he is, pulling in, and stopping, making no move to get out of the car. Pato simply leans forward, body wracking with what I can only assume to be sobs as Zak and I approach.

Zak goes in first, patting him on the back and whispering something, whatever it is earning a soft nod before Zak's eyes are meeting my own, his head ushering me over.

"Patito?"

In our time of knowing one another, I don't think I have ever seen his head move as fast as he does, tearful eyes being the only thing clear through his helmet that is still on his head, body scrambling to leave the confines of his car and tear off his helmet, tossing it to Zak.

And I'm right here to catch him when he manages his escape, throwing himself into my arms, hugging me with his entire being.

"You're here," he whispers, fingertips digging into my sides as I run my own through his sweaty hair. "You're actually here."

"I'm always going to be here," Is what my heart inspires me to respond, kissing the side of his head. He's pulling back though, arms still around my waist as his watery eyes look me over.

"You were supposed to be in Monaco, Lando got you this weekend," He doesn't sound upset at my spontaneous arrival, but rather entirely confused.

My thumbs brush across his cheeks, wiping away the tears that have been shed. "He realized he wouldn't be making the podium," Is the beginning of my explanation. "After quali, we knew. So I texted your sister to see if she could get me a ticket, and Lando texted Max to get me on his jet. It was all Lan's idea, honestly."

He pulls me back into his arms, a sigh leaving his body as he deflates.

"Remind me to thank your brother. You're exactly what I needed."

[th21w]

Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 Indy 500 Pace Car '14

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1977 Hurst/Olds Indy 500 Pace Car

[coimbrabertone]

Motorsports Christmas: An After-Action Report.

May 26th, 2024 was one of the biggest days in motorsports, and it was freaking exhausting in the best ways possible.

So, everybody knows that the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500 are on the same day, well, the Charlotte 600 is on that day too, making for the triple. This year, the Catalan Motorcycle Grand Prix also fell on that weekend, so there was a quadruple of racing, and I was ready to watch it all.

I woke up around 5:30am - the joys of the Mountain Time zone - in time to watch MotoGP at 6am. Aleix Espargaro took pole on the factory Aprilia and Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia satellite bike lined up third, but it was Pecco Bagnaia in second that turned into the protagonist of the race. Bagnaia held off the likes of Jorge Martin, Marc Marquez, and Aleix Espargaro behind to take a calculated victory.

I was happy for Bagnaia, however, with Jorge Martin in second having a dominant championship lead, it did sort of feel like a pyrrhic victory. Bagnaia gives this controlled, smart victory ride but it doesn't really matter since he only scored five more points over his main championship rival. Add in the fact that Marc Marquez, who is toe-to-toe with Bagnaia in the fight for second, finished third. This means that Bagnaia leaves the Catalan Grand Prix 39 points behind Martin and just 2 ahead of Marquez.

That's not even the worst part.

Enea Bastianini - the rider I support - kinda had a meltdown this race. First, he starts eleventh, loses places off the start, and then got pushed off at turn one by Alex Marquez. Enea cuts the track to rejoin, receives a long lap penalty, refuses to serve it. He then gets gets pushed off again in a second attempt. Enea receives a double long-lap penalty for failing to serve the penalty, serves one but not the other, and then gets a thirty second penalty post race.

In his interviews, he called it a protest against unfair stewarding decisions.

On track, it led to him finishing eighteenth and out of the points.

This is particularly devastating as Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez - the guys in second and third - are fighting to take his seat for 2025. I already did a blogpost about this a few weeks ago and I have a lot to get to today, so I'll keep this brief, but yesterday was not a good day for Enea Bastianini.

The Monaco Grand Prix also happened. Swiftly moving on...

Joking. I'm joking. Monaco was actually pretty good this year. The Ferraris and McLarens qualified 1-3 and 2-4, respectively, so we got a fight between them rather than Red Bull dominance. Unfortunately, they decided to fight by going as slow as possible to prevent anyone else from pitting once they all got a free change of tyres under red following a scary first lap incident between Sergio Perez and the two Haas cars.

Still, it was a fight between Ferrari and McLaren and the top seven all put a lap on eighth place. That was as vintage F1 as you could get. It was also at vintage speeds with them running around four seconds off the pace, but hey, strategy shenanigans are fun.

Charles Leclerc won and proceeded to drop the Monegasque flag in front of the Prince of Monaco, twice. That is objectively funny and probably my favorite F1 moment of the weekend.

So, the Indianapolis 500.

Normally it would start shortly after Monaco, however, a rain front in Indianapolis delayed the 500 into the afternoon. This would wreck Kyle Larson's attempt to do the full 1100 mile double at Indy and Charlotte - more on that later - but it did actually lead to some great moments for me personally. Spending the hours in discords with other motorsports fans talking about when the rain might stop, when the track might dry out, when the race should start, whether Larson would stay or go...it all gave a very wholesome, community feel that I really enjoyed.

Then the race itself. It was amazing.

The clouds cleared, we got a partly cloudy afternoon with filled grandstands and a full 500-mile race around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We got a little bit of everything. Crashes (where thankfully nobody was hurt), engine failures, competing fuel strategies, sixteen different leaders - that's half the field! - and a last lap, penultimate corner pass for the win.

Now, I'm an Arrow McLaren fan. Alexander Rossi was a driver who I followed in F1 because I was excited at the prospect of seeing the first American driver in a decade. Rossi's F1 hopes with Marussia didn't work out, but he went on to Indycar and won the Indy 500 in his first attempt. Between the peak Andretti years where he had the knife between his teeth bringing the fight to the likes of Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon, to now, where he's in that beautiful #7 white and orange McLaren, bringing the fight to the likes of...Josef Newgarden and Scott Dixon.

Then there's Pato O'Ward, the exciting, young, charismatic Mexican charger in the #5, driving an awesome orange and black car. It's perfect, he and Rossi have night and day cars, and they were slingshot passing each other in the Indianapolis 500 to save fuel. That was the happiest I was during the race, watching my two favorite Indycar drivers in my favorite team leading 1-2.

Then Alexander Rossi made his final pitstop for fuel.

They were racing to keep track position, so they fueled him just a bit short, and I fear that ultimately decided the course of the race.

Josef Newgarden cycled out in front at the end of the fuel cycle, Alexander Rossi attacked first, got in front, but immediately got overtaken again as he had to save a bit of fuel. Rossi would try again, but Newgarden would nose ahead, as would Pato O'Ward.

Pato O'Ward was a student of the Indy 500, so he knew he had to make the pass as late as possible to ensure that Josef Newgarden wouldn't be able to respond. Pato would lift in turn one on a number of final laps to stay second and keep the draft, before finally making the attack in turn one on the final lap...only for Josef Newgarden to come back at him in turn three.

There was nothing Pato could've done at that point.

Josef made the pass in turn three, got a good exit off turn four, and Pato didn't get enough of a draft to the finish line in order to stop him. Pato was rightfully devastated, Rossi ended up in fourth, behind the lead two in addition to third placed Scott Dixon, as a result of his fuel strategy.

It was utterly devastating.

But that's motorsport. The days that you lose are what make the days that you win more meaningful. The Indianapolis 500 happened in its entirety despite all the rain and the worries. Not only that, but NBC is saying that the preliminary ratings look to be over 5 million viewers for the race. A last lap pass, a back-to-back winner, and a ratings bump over last year. As much as I wish Pato or Rossi could've won that race, I've spent the last day making my peace with it. For now, I'll just be happy that Indycar as a sport snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat.

Then there was the Coke 600 at Charlotte.

I tuned in late thanks to the late Indianapolis 500, and I was pretty emotionally drained at this point, but a charge from Brad Keselowski at the end of the second stage got me motivated again. Brad Keselowski, the owner-driver of the #6 for the team I support in NASCAR - Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, also known as RFK Racing - pushed his way up the field. He moved into second, and he was hunting down the leader, Christopher Bell.

I began to believe that, after a 1,113-day winless streak, Brad Keselowski would win two races in three weeks.

Unfortunately, as soon as he caught up to the back of Bell, it started raining.

To add insult to injury, Kyle Larson, who had run the Indianapolis 500 earlier that day and completed all 500 miles, finishing 18th after a pitlane speeding penalty, had just arrived at Charlotte. He was about to take over the #5 from replacement driver Justin Allgaier, only he never got the chance.

At this point, I was emotionally drained after three and a half races, so at around 8:45pm, I fully embraced my grandmother era and went to bed.

That wound up being the right decision, because despite waiting out the rain and attempting to dry the track, NASCAR would end up calling the race anyway when they hit the end of Fox's TV window. Christopher Bell would win the race, Brad Keselowski would have to settle for second.

I quite literally missed nothing by going to bed when I did.

So, I sorta got the result I wanted at Catalunya, a full-on positive result at Monaco, and narrowly had my picks finish second at both Indianapolis and Charlotte.

In the grand scheme of things, that's not a bad Motorsports Christmas.

And on June 14th and 15th, we have Motorsports New Years with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, so the Racing Holidays aren't quite over.

[formulatrash]

hello hazel! first time watching the indy 500 yesterday and i just found it so strange and uncomfortable how all of the commentators were speaking about santino ferrucci. i didn’t follow the junior series till recently and even i found out about how much of a bad person he is.

everyone was actively rooting for him to win and i think i just kept muttering to myself “he’s a raging racist” the whole time and every time i thought they would stop, they would just bring him up again.

honestly, if they don’t care about what he did then maybe don’t vocalize that you’re ok with it? and anyone that says well maybe he’s changed, this guy has openly said he doesn’t regret what he did.

i don’t know, i just found the whole thing so bizarre because i didn’t realize that he was actually well liked in indycar for some reason.

cn: racist bullying, generally being an arsehole

so for anyone who doesn't have the context for this: in 2018 Santino Ferrucci was America's hot new Formula 1 prospect, signed to Haas as a junior and competing in Formula 2 with ehhhh I guess. some results. he'd scored points for Trident, which isn't a frontrunning team but good drivers have taken the car to wins.

his teammate was Arjun Maini, who during the French round gave one of the most desperate-sounding, saddest radio messages you've ever heard, sounding close to tears and begging "I swear you guys don't support me at all" and saying no one believed him about his car's performance.

at the time it was extraordinary but maybe didn't ring the right alarm bells. the F2 car was very tricky for teams to manage and even Maini's explanation, that parts were failing and he was losing pace compared to his teammate, more accused the championship of having a shoddy car than anything else.

Ferrucci didn't exactly seem nice. but then there was a battle at the front of the 2018 field between Russell, Albon and Norris that was fairly distracting so someone picking up the odds point finish wasn't getting too much press scrutiny.

then it gets to Silverstone and things explode. Maini is clearly miserable and at the end of the sprint race (which then was after the feature race, so this is Sunday) Ferrucci comes out of fucking nowhere and crashes deliberately into Maini on the in-lap. he's banned for four races for being a weapon and then it all starts coming out.

Trident apologise to Maini, who it turns out was totally right that his car was essentially being sabotaged by Ferrucci and was also being subjected to racist bullying by Ferrucci and his father. Ferrucci's also dropped for non-payment, in a statement that basically says we couldn't wait to find a legal way to get away from this asshole.

Haas bin him at the same time and that looks like the end of this wanker who adds 'texting while driving a racecar' and 'trying to run a MAGA livery' to his list of misdemeanours all over the course of the same weekend.

he does a bit more postural nonsense including claiming he can't be racist because he's Italian and then seems to go away. until 2019 when he turns up in IndyCar as darling of the year. I don't watch a lot of IndyCar but it was to pretty much everyone's dismay to find this dude being gassed up from the start and given opportunities to put his "behavioural incidents" behind him without any regret.

idk how much he actually changed even on an operational level within teams cus he did get binned out of Indy for a bit to NASCAR, which actually has a pretty strong anti-racism and anti-asshole thing going on so unsurprisingly he didn't last there. now he's back in Indy being gassed up as the next great American dream by anyone with a microphone and I can't tell you what the Penske corporation sees in him but it's always been this way since he rocked up there.

some of it is a bit of 'well screw Europe and their whiny moralism we're backing our boy' kind of thing but like. this wasn't 'oh no you don't have the correct experience of our intricate continental racing' this was 'fuck off, you racist non-payer who held a team ransom while abusing your teammate, along with your garbage dad.' I guess someone always has to be the worst cousin at the barbecue and like so often, they're the one with the sports medals lately.

[radracer]

1977 Oldsmobile Hurst Indy 500 Pace Car Edition

[jack-doohan]

fox is REALLY pushing the fact that they’re indycar’s new broadcaster bc they just named michael strahan (who is an analyst for nfl on fox) as the indy 500 pace car driver 😭😭