Chevy Camaro
53rd Indy 500
May 30, 1969

The Camaro returned to Indy just two years after holding pace car honors in 1967, the year it debuted.  With its striking white and "hugger orange" color scheme, the 1969 Camaro SS has become one of the most popular Indy pace cars of all times.  The car was driven by 1960 Indy 500 winner Jim Rathmann, his first time behind the wheel of a pace car.

1/24 scale by The Franklin Mint 1/24 scale by Greenlight

The Camaro SS pace car was powered by a 375-hp, 396-ci TurboJet V-8 engine and three-speed Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.  According to records, only two cars were produced with this configuration, to be used for official pace car duties.  An additional 43 Camaros were used as festival cars, and it is believed that all of these cars were automatic transmissions with 350-ci engines.  As many as 116 additional cars were designated as  USAC Official Cars, and were a mix of 396-ci 4-speed manuals and 350-ci automatics.¹  In all, Chevrolet built 3675 replicas of the 1969 pace car.²

1. Camaro Pace Car Presentation by Jim Hairston, Aug. 12, 2000 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway 
2. Indy 500 Pace Cars, ©1996 Publications International, LTD

396 pace car replica - owner unknown

 

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