Notebook: The Pace Cars are Coming! The Pace Cars are Coming!

Emerson Fittipaldi in the official 2008 Indy 500 pace car
Photo by Ron McQueeney / IMS

I thought I was doing okay, patiently waiting for May to get here. And then this… a photo of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner and 2008 Indy 500 pace car driver Emerson Fittipaldi with a brand-spankin’ new pace car fresh off the assembly line at the Chevrolet plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

One of the great things about living near Indianapolis is seeing all of the beautiful pace cars roaming around town during the month of May. And look at that photo: it’s sunny, the grass is green, Emerson has a great big smile on his face… it could be May! But it’s not, it’s… still March (ugh).

At any rate, this year’s pace car is a little unique. It sports a black and silver paint scheme to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the celebrated 1978 Pace Car – the first Corvette to pace the field at “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Chevrolet will produce a total of 500 Pace Car replicas in both coupe and convertible form, each signed personally by Fittipaldi.

The actual pace car that will be driven by Fittipaldi on the race’s pace laps is a customized Corvette Z06 E85 concept that runs on E85 ethanol fuel, a domestically produced alternative fuel similar to the 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol that powers all of the race cars in the IndyCar Series. (Perhaps that explains the thin green stripes above and below the Indy 500 logo?)

I do have one other observation about the photo above, which I only noticed just now. Is it just me, or are the words “Indianapolis 500″ layered on top of a GIANT ORANGE?!?! Oh, the irony!

(For those that may not know, Emerson Fittipaldi caused a bit of a stir among traditionalists when he chose to drink orange juice instead of milk immediately following his win in the 1993 Indianapolis 500. Fittipaldi is the owner of several large orange farms in Brazil.)

Only about 8 more weeks until Opening Day!