Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1978?

[Mark E.]

It was 25 years after its introduction in 1953 before Corvette paced for the first time. By comparison, Corvette paced 12 times in the past 20 years.

That seems odd, especially since only American cars are selected, and Corvette is (or at least was at that time) America's only sports car.

[Ed S.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

Mark,
Just guessing here but, years ago I believe that in addition to the token celebrity driver, pace cars carried several sanctioning or race officials. The issue may have simply been that the two seat Corvette could not accommodate the number of persons the sanctioning body wanted in the pace car to make monitor the field, communicate with other officials and decisions. This is purely speculation on my part.

[Mike E.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

What are the criteria for selection! When a brand is "the official razor of the all-star game", it's generally because they paid a significant fee for that designation. My suspicion is that could very well be the case here. GM decided to spend part of the advertising budget for the 500.

[Tom R.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

My view would be a confluence of considerations that came together and can't disagree with either Ed or Mike's perspective. My guess...it is was a matter of economics and limitations. At the time, federal demands for improved emission, safety and mileage requirements undermined those performance and styling characteristics that Corvette depended upon in the past such as cubic inches, horsepower, and styling queues.

As a result, Corvette had to come up with a new scheme, paint, decals, limited edition and a marketing strategy - the Indy Pace Car. We know that the Camaro (four-seater) had paced Indy previously so Chevrolet had had experience with this venue. If you think about it and study the some dozen Corvette Pace Cars since 1978, each has had a novel paint scheme, decals and performance package. What Chevrolet Corvette figured out, probably after the fact in 1978, is that limited editions sell as collectibles. Little boys buy match-book muscle cars...big boys buy Corvette collectibles!

I write about this when the 30th anniversary and rolled out the 2008 Pace Car.

http://www.hunt4cleanair.net/Articles/pacecarfrenzy.pdf

[Larry C.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

A red/white 1955 Chevrolet convertible was the Indy Pace car that year but there did not seem to be anything special about the car, and obviously a GM product.

Larry

[David R.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

The first Chevrolet to pace the indy 500 was a 1948 Fleetmaster with the stovebolt 6. Nothing too fancy there. It doesn't seem like the pace cars were too highly modified from the production versions for many, many years . . . and of course some of the latest Corvettes don't need to be. As to why it took so long for the first Corvette to pace the 500, I think the previous posters have it right. At first, being limited to just two occupants was a factor, and later the advertising dollars became more of a factor. Still, the Corvette has paced the 500 more than any other car.

[Michael J.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

I do wonder if Corvette's distinguished perch and history as the pinnacle of automotive performance prior to that was a factor. Duntov had just left, and Corvettes were not as exclusive or powerful and unique around that time. Maybe GM marketing needed some PR to spark up sales, and since the master was gone, who may well have not at all been interested in doing things like a Pace Car (Pacemakers in the day), since the ones around at that time were not at all in Corvette's class (remember the "secretary's car" paced it in 1964, and there were Studebakers, big Buicks and Olds 98s), he may have seen no upside to spending the money for such frivolity.

[Tom R.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

I do wonder if Corvette's distinguished perch and history as the pinnacle of automotive performance prior to that was a factor. Duntov had just left, and Corvettes were not as exclusive or powerful and unique around that time. Maybe GM marketing needed some PR to spark up sales, and since the master was gone, who may well have not at all been interested in doing things like a Pace Car (Pacemakers in the day), since the ones around at that time were not at all in Corvette's class (remember the "secretary's car" paced it in 1964, and there were Studebakers, big Buicks and Olds 98s), he may have seen no upside to spending the money for such frivolity.

Great point!

[Mark E.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

All good theories, guys. But is the real story known?

Chevy did whatever they had to do to have the '55 Bel-Air selected when the small block was introduced. And they were successful with having the first Gen Camaro selected twice to help with its launch. So why not promote the '53, '63, or '68 Corvette by pacing Indy? (Or the '55 Vette to really showcase the small block. Or the '57 to brag about fuel injection. Or the '65 with Chevy's new big block and disc brakes. Or...)

The two seat T-Bird never paced either, so maybe there's something to our guess more than two seats were wanted in the earlier years.

[Loren L.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

Why not ask Indy?

[Scott G.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

I grew up in central Indiana and was a Corvette and 500 fan. I do seem to remember that the Corvette was selected after the requirement for additional seating in the pace car was eliminated. However, that was a long time ago and I could not swear the above is true. The best way to verify would be to contact Donald Davidson, the Speedway historian care of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum. I'm sure he would know.

[Mark E.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

Good idea. How can Donald be contacted?

I looked through www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com but didn't see a "contact us" button or any email addresses. There is a phone number listed for the museum.

[Ed S.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

Mark
Indy Motor Speedway "contact us". The link is way at the very bottom of the page on the right hand side.
Here is the link to the contact us page: http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway...ate/contact-us. There is also a link on this page to click on to "send us an e mail".
Mail

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
4790 W. 16th St.
Indianapolis, IN 46222
Phone Number: (317) 492-8500

[Ed S.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

E mail address for the Indy Motor Speedway.

imspr@brickyard.com

[Mark H.]

Re: Is there a story behind why Corvette wasn't selected to pace the Indy 500 until 1

So why not promote the '53, '63, or '68 Corvette by pacing Indy? (Or the '55 Vette to really showcase the small block. Or the '57 to brag about fuel injection. Or the '65 with Chevy's new big block and disc brakes. Or...)

They couldn't have done the '53 because the first '53 wasn't built until June 30th and that was a month after the race. Some things to bear in mind is that those Indy roadsters with the Offy had over 400 hp which was a lot back then. Plus, the guys that raced Indy spent the rest of their time running mile or half-mile dirt ovals they really didn't have much respect for "them sporty car guys". I remember all the flack Jack Brabham took when he showed up in '61 with his little rear engine Cooper with a little 2.5 liter Coventry Climax engine. Even though Brabham finished 9th when they saw how that car handled in the corners, as Rodger Ward said, "The writing was on the wall, the front engine car is dead."