In this section you will find general pace car information, frequently asked questions (FAQ), and maybe an occasional press release.  Please keep in mind that I am not a news agency, nor do I have unlimited time to update this page, so please do not expect this page to contain late-breaking news.  For the latest news about the Indy 500, please visit www.indy500.com.  I am also not a pace car expert, and I am constantly learning new things, so please bear with me.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. My friend has a car with Indy 500 decals.  Does that make it a "pace car"?
2. How much is my pace car replica worth?
3. Where can I find a list of Indy 500 pace cars and drivers?

Q: My friend has a car with Indy 500 decals.  Does that make it a "pace car"?

A: Yes and no.  As I recently learned, there are several different categories or types of cars affiliated with the Indy 500, any of which may be referred to as a "pace car".  There is, of course, the actual car that was used to lead the Indy 500 race.  Normally only two or three "real" pace cars are produced by the manufacturer.  These include all the required safety features such as four-point racing harnesses and flags or strobe lights, as well as other non-factory modifications.  Most true pace cars also have the air conditioning removed to save weight.  Since the introduction of strobe lights in 1982 it has become easier to distinguish an actual pace car from festival and replica cars since these strobes are often integrated into the body of the car, but older pace cars can often only be identified by the VIN.  An actual pace car is an extremely rare automobile, and many are owned by the Speedway or by the auto manufacturer.

More likely than not, if you see a car with Indy 500 decals, it is one of two things: an Indy 500 festival car or a dealer replica.  Although festival cars and replicas were used as early as the 40's, they did not become a widespread tradition until the 1960's.  Mechanically, the festival cars and pace car replicas are often identical, with the only difference being the fact that festival cars were actually used at or near the Indy 500.  Keep in mind that this does not guarantee that a festival car was ever driven on the famed Brickyard track, just that it was delivered to the speedway for official use.  In recent years, as many as 200 or more festival cars have been provided for use by television studios, local dignitaries, and Indy Speedway staff.  It is also worthwhile to note that the festival cars provided to the speedway are sometimes not even the same model car as the official pace car.  This is often the case when the official pace car was a hard-top (since convertibles were preferred for the parade lap), or when the pace car was a one-of-a-kind model or was simply too expensive to provide more than a few to the speedway.  Such an example was in 1990, when the Beretta convertible, a car that never made it to production, was used as the pace car.  In lieu of Beretta hard-tops, Chevrolet provided Corvette and Camaro convertibles as festival cars.

Q:  How much is my pace car replica worth?

 

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