Indianapolis 500 pace cars

In addition, during yellow flag caution periods, the pace car enters the track and picks up the leader, bunching the field up at a reduced speed.

Prior to the first "500" in 1911, in the interest of safety, Indianapolis Motor Speedway founder Carl G. Fisher is commonly credited with the concept of a "rolling start" led by a pace car.

Fisher himself drove the pace car in several early years, but it eventually became an honorary position, with invitations extended to former winners, notable figures in auto racing or the automobile industry.

During his tenure as Speedway president, Tony Hulman rode in the pace car nearly every year, immediately after giving the command to start engines.

His primary duty was to marshal the start and in some years, his responsibilities included operating a film camera that would be housed inside the car's trunk.

Dating back to the very early years, the pace cars were often painted with special liveries complete with logos, lettering, pinstriping, and other decorative markings.

In many years, the pace car was a convertible, which along with increasing the luxury status of the vehicle, it aided in the officials' ability to marshal the start.

In most years through the early 1950s, the pace car led the field around the track for one warm up lap, and then the race began.

This also allowed the fans on the main stretch (where the largest grandstands are located) to see the entire field parade by one time before the start.

The two laps allowed the field to properly form up, however, in practice it turned out to be difficult and both races saw incidents at the start.

By the late 1960s, not only would a special driver be behind the wheel of the pace car, but numerous celebrities would be invited to ride along as passengers.

Automotive executives, NASA astronauts, reporters from ABC Sports and the IMS Radio Network, and other celebrities were among those invited to ride in the pace car.

In 1971, local Indianapolis Dodge dealer Eldon Palmer was involved in a crash driving the pace car.

During the parade lap(s), often several replica festival pace cars join the field, usually carrying celebrities and/or special guest drivers.

This practice was often the subject of harsh criticism from fans and media, especially when the start was strung out single file, breaking tradition.

In 2010, officials announced they were going to police the parade and pace laps closer, requiring the drivers to stay in the rows of three during the extent of the warm up period.

In later years, the Speedway began experimenting with using pop culture celebrities driving the pace cars, a change that has met with mixed responses from fans.

The teams were allowed to replenish a few gallons of used up fuel, and a short time later, the field pulled away for two new pace laps.

In some cases, the officials utilize two separate pace cars (exactly the same models) one each for the start of the race, and the caution periods.

Strobe lights, roll bars, multi-point harnesses, television camera mounts, two-way communication (for officials), and removing the air conditioning, are among some of the more routine modifications made for the actual pace car.

The special edition production replicas available to the public usually come with full paint and "Indy 500" decals, and may be part of a performance package upgrade.

In 2005, a specially restored 1955 Bel Air pace car was commissioned by the Indianapolis Race Committee to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Chevrolet V-8 engine.

In some years, and in most cases for the past several decades, the winner is actually presented with one of the official street-legal pace car replicas.

[8] The process of varying the selection across different models, which existed from 1911 through 2001, has been abandoned since 2002, with all pace cars exclusively provided by the Chevrolet marque since that year.

The process of varying the selection across different manufacturers, which existed from 1911 through 1996, has been abandoned since 1997, with all pace cars exclusively provided by General Motors since that year.