Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 To Pace 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge 

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From IMS;

C  INDIANAPOLIS (Tuesday, April 29, 2025) – The 2025 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 – capable of 233 mph, the highest top speed of any car ever made in America by an auto manufacturer – will lead the field to the green flag for the 109th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge on Sunday, May 25 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Designed for speed and performance, the Corvette ZR1 is up for any challenge, and the exterior and interior of the Corvette ZR1 will be on full display as the car fulfills responsibilities on and off the track.
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, has been named honorary Pace Car driver and will pace the field of 33 drivers in the Corvette ZR1 to start “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
“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 Corvette ZR1 delivers 1,064 horsepower at 7,000 rpm from a 5.5L twin-turbo V8, which is the most power ever from a factory Corvette and the most powerful V8 ever produced in America from an auto manufacturer. For Pace Car duty, the ZR1 is equipped with the Carbon Aero package, including dive planes on the front bumper, underbody aero strakes and the rear wing, which creates more than 1,200 pounds of downforce at top speeds.The Corvette ZR1 achieves incredible acceleration – 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.
Arctic White exterior paint and Jet Black interior accents pair nicely with the Indianapolis 500 logos on the Pace Car. The jewel tone, emerald green and gold of the logo are highlighted in racing stripes and additional exterior design elements. Carbon fiber wheels complete the car’s iconic, race-ready look.
“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.”Corvette is the longest-running car nameplate in automotive industry history, so it’s no surprise Corvette has paced “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more times than any car.
The 2025 race marks the 36th time for Chevrolet to pace dating back to 1948 and the 22nd time overall, all since 1978, for America’s favorite sports car.
Visit IMS.com for tickets and more information on all Month of May events and activities at IMS.
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 80 countries. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com. 

Day 2 Wrap Up

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Pato O’Ward set to go out for high boost practice.

IndyCar testing concluded with a smooth, on time schedule Thursday afternoon. Weather conditions were ideal, although the wind picked up in the second half of the afternoon.

Some observations:

The two day test was good for the teams, drivers, and fans. The days had an atmosphere resembling a prequalifying practice day. Fan turnout was amazing considering the test took place in the middle of the week.

There were laps at more than 230 mph and even some qualification day type drama when Takuma Sato, one of the quickest this morning, crashed.

This section filled up when the afternoon session began

Hondas dominated the top half of the speed chart with only a Team Penske Chevy spoiling the party. Josef Newgarden and Scott McLaughlin have traded turns in the top five.

Kyle Kirkwood has shown hints of being very quick, and he could become a contender when the series returns for 500 practice. Kirkwood currently heads the non-tow chart. It appears that Andretti may have a stronger presence in May than they have had the last few years.

Scott Dixon and Helio Castroneves have also shown speed.

Of course, this all could change when practice officially begins May 13.

IMS Acquires 14 Cars from Ganassi

Thge IMS Museum today received 14 cars from Chip Ganassi Racing. It is the museum’s largest acquisition. Included are five Indianapolis 500 winning cars:

Juan Pablo Montoya’s winning car from 2000
  • Juan Pablo Montoya’s 2000 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
  • Scott Dixon’s 2008 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
  • Dario Franchitti’s 2010 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
  • Dario Franchitti’s 2012 Indianapolis 500 Winner,
  • Marcus Ericsson’s 2022 Indianapolis 500 Winner, Huski Chocolate

The remainder of the collection includes Scott Dixon’s championship winning car from 2015.

The 500 winning caes will be on display in the museum in thew future.

Thanks for following along these past two days. Next weekend the series moves to Barber for the last race before three glorious weeks at IMS.

High Boost Session Complete; Larson, Sato Crash

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It took no time at all for drivers to reach 230 miles per hour as IndyCar allowed qualifying boost for the first time in an IMS practice session. Two crashes 11 minutes apart interrupted the otherwise clean running time.

Just past the halfway mark of the two and one half hour session Kyle Larson made contact with the wall in turn 1, then e slid to the inside of track. The damage looked slight, and Larson was cleared by the medical staff.

Practice resumed, but only for a moment before Takuma Sato made hard contact in turn 1, slid into turn 2 and hit the wall again. Sato had turned the second fastest lap of the day and was atop the no tow chart at the time of his accident. The car looks like a total loss.

Sato mwas treaqted and released from the infield care center.

Scott McLaughlin had the fastest single lap at 232.686. 12 drivers topped 230 mph.

Kyle Kirkwood had the best four lap average and the second best no tow speed behind Sato.

If this were Fast Friday, the pattern heading into qualifying would look familiar- Penske Chevys vs. the Honda teams. Andretti and Ganassi cars look to be near equal in speed. The pole could be one heck of a battle.

The top ten single lap speeds:

Practice resumes at 2 pm Eastern

IMS Open Test Day 2

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Today’s Schedule:

9:30-12p: high boost session

2-5p: All skate regular session

Free admission Turn 2 mounds + SE Vista will be open

@IndyCar YouTube page will stream

Timing and Scoring: http://INDYCAR.com/leaderboard

Another beautiful day to watch testing at IMS. Fans turned out yesterday, and I saw quite a line waiting for the gates to open as I drove in just a few minutes ago.

From last night

Back Home Again for the First Time This Year

Honda looked strong yesterday. We will see if the qualifying boost changes anything this morning.

The Speedway has turned this test into a somewhat May like atmosphere with concessions and merchandise available, as well as keeping fans informed over the public address system. The only change I would make would be to put these two days in May.

I’ll be bak with results from the high boost session around midday.

Back Home Again for the First Time This Year

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The technical glitch which stole more than two hours of the IndyCar Open Test at IMS was quickly forgotten when cars finally took to the track at 12:45 this afternoon.

It is great to be back at the Speedway watching cars zip around the oval. The highlight of the two days comes tomorrow morning when the qualifying boost is added.

Cars left pit lane at 10 am for install laps, but as they returned to the pits, network connections failed. Race control could not communicate with teams, and timing and scoring did not work. After a two-hour, 45 minute delay, the Speedway’s first oval action of 2025 began. The shortened session was interrupted first for Jack Harvey stopping on the backstretch, followed by Santino Ferrucci coming to a halt in nearly the same place.

Alex Palou had the fastest time in the early running.

The rookie and refresher tests had 120 minutes to complete their programs. Kyle Larson ran just a few laps before returning to pit lane with an issue. he got back on track, but he needed time in the all car session to complete his laps. Jacob Abel and Marco Andretti also needed some extra time.

New at the Track

More of a return than new, LED panels now crown the pagoda, showing the top 10 positions. This was a great help to those sitting in Turn 2 who can’t see the pylon and don’t want to wait for the order to scroll on the video boards.

A large merchandise tent has sprouted along the drive just west of Pagoda Plaza. This is a good move and will take pressure off nthe new, more compact gift shop in the museum.

Some cars on track

Pato O’Ward- this car looks amazing on track
Alexander Rossi

I will publish the results of today later. As I write, Josef Newgarden has the fastest lap, with a tow, of 225125. Felix Rosenqvist has the quickest lap without a tow, 220. 418.

Rookie/Refresher Lineup

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Session from 2-4 ET

Rookies

Jacob Abel car 51 Dale Coyne Racing

Robert Shwartzman car 83 PREMA Rcing

Louis Foster car 45 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Refreshers

Marco Andretti car 98 Andretti Global

Kyle Larson car 17 Arrow McLaren

Callum Ilott car 90 PREMA Racing

Devlin DeFrancesco car 30 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Takuma Sato car 75 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing

Rookie test:

10 laps at 205-210 mph

15 laps 210-215

15 laps 215 or higher

Refresher

last two segments of rookie program.