Camaro Z/28 Indy 500 pace car revealed by Chevrolet

Chevrolet has taken the wraps off the pace car for the 98th running of the Indianapolis 500: It'll be the 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. Veteran race car driver Dario Franchitti will be piloting the Camaro Z/28 around the track on race day, May 25.

2014 will mark the eighth time that a Camaro has been chosen as the official pace car for the race, with 1967 being the first time that a Camaro has lead the pack around the course. And this year's Indianapolis 500 will be the 25th time that a Chevrolet has served as a pace car. Recall that a 2014 Corvette Stingray did the job last year.

"Dario is a true champion who has earned the respect of competitors and race fans alike,” said Jim Campbell, vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports at Chevrolet. "It will be very special to have Dario lead the field to the green flag in the Camaro Z/28 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway."

Franchitti won the Indianapolis 500 three times--in 2007, 2010, and 2012--and is the third driver ever to win three consecutive IndyCar titles out of a total of four title career wins. Franchitti was thrilled to be chosen to drive the pace car as he moves on to a different stage of his career in driver development with Chip Ganassi Racing after retiring in 2013.

Chevrolet
The specially modified Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 pace car, for the 98th running of the Indy 500.

"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."

As for the Camaro Z/28 itself, the model is fresh from posting a scorching time at the N

By Jay Ramey