Just read the Car of the Year thread and thought this one is related. What car do you see taking the pace car for the indy 500 this year. Personally I see the vette. The mustang will take it next year when the SVT or SE pops up. I really hope the GT uh-oh doesnt get it. But anyway, what does everyone think.

 

It won't be anything but a GM. Ford supports CART, the IRL's rival league.

 

So Ford cant run a pace car at Indy any more?
is this a newer thing. I know the viper and previous stangs have ran Pace car.

 

That's right. Not until CART and IRL reconcile their differences. The league split in 1998. Here are a list of Indy 500 Pace Cars since then:

1998: Chevy Corvette
1999: Chevy Monte Carlo
2000: Olds Aurora
2001: Olds Bravada
2002: Chevy Corvette
2003: Chevy SSR
2004: Chevy Corvette

It'll either be a C6 Vette or GTO next spring.

 

Hasn't the IRL gone under and is being forced to sell everything. I thought I heardthat somewhere.

 

:notnice: I wondered why the pace cars sucked so bad!

 

the IRL sucks....they're very bad off; probably will go bankrupt soon. CART is where the open wheel racing is; even then I still hate it.

F1 is the best

 

I wonder how popular the Indy 500 Edition Bravadas are at the dealerships?

 

That thing should say "Roll Tide!" on it instead........

 

I still wouldn't buy it.

 

wow that is ugly!

 

No, this is ugly:

 

What is the pace car this year? the Aveo?

 

Corvette

 

Actually, isn't CART in even worse shape the the IRL? If I recall CART actually went under recently did they not? I aboslutely do not follow it so I cannot say for sure...anyone know?

Either way, both bodies suck IMHO. For that matter Trans Am racing is a shell of it's former self and so is NASCAR. I cannot think of one form of American-based auto racing that does anything at all for me currently.

Truly sad.

 

I don't follow either, but, I thought IRL was the one still surviving.

 

CART did go bankrupt recently. They were bought out by a new organization called OWRS (Open Wheel Racing Series). Tony George tried to buy up CART's assets, presumably to kill it off once and for all, but ended up losing a court battle with OWRS over that issue. Mr. George claimed that it would have been in the best interest of open-wheel racing in the US for him to have bought it up. That's ridiculous, look at the popularity of CART prior to the split. Now look at that of the two series afterwards, it points toward a simple conclusion, he's done more to harm open-wheel racing in the US than any one else. :notnice:

 

Open Wheel Racing Series is made up of a group of CART team owners. Hopefully they can do something to keep the series around.

The only good thing Tony George did for open wheel racing was bringing Formula 1 back to America. I went to the USGP in 2001 and it was unbelievable.

 

 

I've been to a few CART races at Michigan. That's some good stuff.

Somebody in my neighborhood has one of those yellow-on-purple C5 Indy pace cars...barf. It's nasty looking. And I can't believe that a Bravada ever paced the I500! What a crock!