INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. will drive the pace car for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
Griffey has attended “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in his second career as a photographer, but now his job will be much more visible. He’ll be behind the wheel of the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray that brings the field of 33 cars — led by record-setting pole sitter Scott McLaughlin — to the green flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Driving the Pace Car and leading the field to start the Indy 500 is one of the coolest experiences,” Griffey said Monday. “I came to the track a few years ago as a photographer and look forward to seeing the race from a different perspective.”
The pace car driver has been a coveted job among athletes, actors and other celebrities since the 1970s, when actor James Garner and singer Marty Robbins handled it. Others that have driven the car include Jay Leno, Morgan Freeman and Patrick Dempsey and, in more recent years, NBA players Victor Oladipo and Tyrese Haliburton.
Britain's new bonkers EV: Callum Skye is an £80k electric buggy built in Warwickshire
Berkshire Hathaway event gives good view of Warren Buffett's successor
US and Philippine forces stage combat drills near strategic channel off southern Taiwan
Georgia's attorney general says Savannah overstepped in outlawing guns in unlocked cars
US and Philippine forces stage combat drills near strategic channel off southern Taiwan
2 killed when a small plane headed to South Carolina crashes in Virginia, police say
Shooting injures 2 at Missouri high school graduation ceremony
Powerful ethnic armed group in western Myanmar claims to capture base and hundreds of soldiers
Student fatally shot, suspect detained at Georgia's Kennesaw State University
More than 40 workers trapped after a building under construction collapsed in South Africa