The 1995 79th Running of the Indianapolis 500 - Paced by a 1995 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible!

The Chevrolet Corvette was selected to pace the Indy 500 for the third time in 1995. Other than mandatory safety features (including a specially designed rollbar), the Corvette needed no modifications to meet pace car specifications. The pace car was driven by Chevrolet general manager Jim Perkins. It was his third time driving the pace car at Indy. This year 527 Indy Pace Car replicas were produced with the exact same options and 75 cars were sent to the Speedway as Event support vehicles.

The specifications for the 527 replicas were:

(Z4Z option package)

• Convertible Dark Purple Metallic over White Two-Tone paint
• Special Indy Decal Package
• Special Indy Emblems
• 5.7L Engine (LT1)
• 4-Speed Automatic Transmission
• Performance Axle Ratio (3.07:1)
• 9.5" Front and Rear Argent ZR-1 Wheels
• P275/40ZR17 B/W Tires
• Coated ZR-1 Rotors
• Black Interior
• Black Leather Adjustable Sport Bucket Seats with purple Insert and Indy Logo on Headrest
• Electronic Air Conditioning
• Delco/Bose Music System with electronically tuned AM/FM Stereo Radio, Cassette Tape and CD Player Power Driver & Passenger Seats

Some trivia notes (that are sometimes a controversy) can be seen in the early pre-race publicity "Hero card" photo (first row left photo below). The Pace Car sported a thin white pinstripe above and below the red nose / front fender stripe, on the front fascia the area between the parking and side marker lights was painted Black, and the "OFFICIAL PACE CAR" door graphic was not applied yet. The first two items were eliminated prior to the race and the door graphic was applied for race day (final design first row right photo below). 

None of the replicas offered by GM or onsite at the Speedway on race day had the white pinstripes and sported the front fascia change that took effect in 1996. The OFFICIAL PACE CAR door graphic could be obtained by the owners to apply if they wished.  Also, only the Actual Pace Car and it's two alternates wore the Yellow lettered Goodyear tires.

The winner of the race this year was Jacques Villeneuve, driving the #27, Player's LTD/Team Green, Reynard, Ford Cosworth XB.

Photos below courtesy of the Speedway and Chevrolet.

For the 1995 race, there were (75) Corvettes assigned as "Festival / Track" Cars this year that were sent to the Speedway in multiple shipments in the months prior to the race.

The Corvette event car numbers were scattered thru the range of numbers and were numbered 1-7, 45-67, 95, and 101-145. During 1995, these cars were distributed to IMS officials, and civic and media personalities. The "500 Festival" committee received white Z28 Camaros with a similar graphics pattern to what was applied to the Corvettes. 

This year's 500 Festival Queen was Misty M. Livengood.