Penske to Drive Indy 500 Pace Car

(photo courtesy INDYCAR/LAT USA)

A legendary figure in motorsports will drive the pace car at the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500. Our partners at WTHR-TV report Roger Penske will get behind the wheel to start the historic race.

Roger Penske is the owner of Team Penske, which includes Verizon IndyCar Series drivers Simon Pagenaud, Will Power, two-time Indy 500 winner Juan Pablo Montoya and three-time winner Helio Castroneves. Team Penske is celebrating its 50th anniversary in motorsports this year.

Penske has won 16 Indy 500 championships as a team owner, including four with driver Rick Mears. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway says it will make the formal announcement Monday. 

"We’re very excited about our Chevrolet pace car driver for the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil," said IMS President Doug Boles. "It is critical to IMS and our fans that the pace car driver for the Indianapolis 500 represent the importance of this event and understand what it means to be leading the field to the green for the 100th time. Our selection embodies those requirements completely. We are looking forward to unveiling this year’s pace car and making the driver announcement formal on Monday afternoon at IMS."