With the month of May just around the corner, and continuing the hype following last week's open test at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar on Tuesday unveiled the pace car for the 109th Indianapolis 500.
Michael Strahan, a Pro Football Hall of Fame member, two-time Daytime Emmy Award winner, longtime “FOX NFL Sunday” analyst and “Good Morning America” co-host, will sit behind the wheel as the honorary driver to drive the 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and lead the 33-car field to the green flag on Sunday, May 25.
The car's impressive figures include 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm from a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8, the most ever from a factory Corvette and the most powerful V8 ever produced in America by an automaker.
For its pace car duties at Indianapolis, the ZR1 is equipped with the Carbon Aero package, which includes dive planes on the front bumper, underbody aero strakes and a rear wing that generates more than 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speeds.
The Corvette ZR1 is capable of zero to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds before rushing through the quarter-mile in 9.6 seconds at 150 mph, making it the quickest Corvette ever.
“As we anticipate another iconic Indianapolis 500, we are once again excited to have the incredible American sports car Corvette pacing the field,” IMS and INDYCAR President J. Douglas Boles said.
“The race car-like performance of the Corvette ZR1 makes it the perfect car to pace the Indianapolis 500, and the distinctive sound of the Chevrolet V8 engine will echo brilliantly inside the walls of IMS”, he added.
The Corvette ZR1 for the Indy 500 features Arctic White exterior paint and Jet Black interior accents to match the Indianapolis 500 logos on the pace car. In addition, the jewel-tone, emerald green and gold of the logo are accentuated by racing stripes and other exterior styling elements, while carbon-fibre wheels complete the car's race-ready look.
“Chevrolet is proud that the 2025 Corvette ZR1, our fastest Corvette ever, will be the Official Pace Car for the 109th Running of the Indianapolis 500,” said Scott Bell, global Chevrolet vice president. “With a top speed of 233 mph, the Corvette ZR1 is the perfect fit to lead the Indy 500 field to green.”
The 109th Indianapolis 500 marks the 36th time since 1948 that a Chevrolet has been the pace car at "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" and the 22nd time for a Corvette.
