Credit: 308391. Indiana native, five-time Brickyard 400 winner and four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon poses with the Indy 500 pace car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Gordon will pace the field for the Indy 500 at May 24, 2015 before flying to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6:00 p.m. ET on FOX).
5-time Brickyard 400 winner and 4-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon will drive a Corvette Z06 pace car for the 99th running of the Indianapolis 500 mile race, May 24 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
It is the 13th time a Corvette has served as the official pace car, dating to 1978, and the 26th time a Chevrolet has led the pack for “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” Corvette has served as the pace car more than any other vehicle in the race’s history.
Gordon, who grew up in nearby Pittsboro, Ind., is no stranger to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1994 he won the inaugural Brickyard 400 – the first-ever NASCAR race at the Brickyard, and has visited the winner’s circle there four more times. That makes him one of only two five-time winners at Indy in any series. Michael Schumacher won 5 Formula One races there.
“It’s great to have Jeff Gordon serve as this year’s pace car driver,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports. “He is a true champion who has earned the respect and admiration of competitors and race fans alike. It will be very special to have Jeff lead the Indy 500 field to the green flag, behind the wheel of the most powerful and capable production car ever from Chevrolet – on a day he’ll also be competing in the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.”
With 650 supercharged horsepower, a seven-speed manual transmission and a track-capable chassis system, Gordon will have no trouble keeping in front of the race field in the production-spec Corvette Z06. Featuring an Arctic White exterior and Adrenaline Red interior, only its unique Indy graphics package and safety strobe lights distinguish it from other production models.
“Indy is hallowed ground for racers like me and I couldn’t be more thrilled to drive the Corvette Z06 pace car around the track that helped drive my success over the years,” Gordon said. “The Indianapolis 500 is one of the most celebrated races of the year and an event I always dreamed of racing while growing up in California and in nearby Pittsboro. I’ve won five NASCAR races at IMS and the track will always be a special place for me, so to be able to participate in such a historic day will be something I remember for the rest of my life.”
Like Gordon, Chevrolet has a long, shared heritage with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Chevrolet was founded in 1911, the year of the inaugural 500-mile race, and the Chevrolet brothers – company co-founder Louis, Arthur and Gaston – all competed in early Indy 500 races. Arthur Chevrolet competed in the 1911 race and Gaston Chevrolet won it in 1920.
Credit: 308391. Indiana native, five-time Brickyard 400 winner and four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jeff Gordon poses with the Indy 500 pace car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Gordon will pace the field for the Indy 500 at May 24, 2015 before flying to Charlotte, North Carolina to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6:00 p.m. ET on FOX).
“Jeff is a great choice to lead this year’s starting 33 drivers in Indianapolis 500 to the green flag,” said J. Douglas Boles, president of Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “Jeff has such a strong connection to the state of Indiana and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and his appearance in the Corvette Z06 pace car reinforces Chevrolet’s important place in the past, present and future of the Indianapolis 500 as well. We also look forward to seeing him back here on July 26, to see if he can make it six wins for the Crown Royal 400 at the Brickyard.”
“Jeff Gordon is a NASCAR legend, an icon of global motorsports and has a special history of success racing at The Brickyard in Indianapolis and the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte,” said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “This is a unique honor for him to be recognized in this way by our partners at Chevrolet and Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The day certainly will be another special one in the storied history that Jeff already has written at Indianapolis and Charlotte.”
Surprise announcement of GoDaddy ending NASCAR Sponsorship of Danica Patrick Car 10
Credit: 308329Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images. Danica Patrick, driver of the #10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, and Ryan Newman, driver of the #31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, race during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway on April 26, 2015 in Richmond, Virginia.
Here is another example of a large company withdrawing Motorsport Sponsorship, this is a surprise as Danica Patrick helped them become a large brand. This is one time I would expect the bean counters decision will hurt them, more than it will help them save. GoDaddy dropped James Hinchcliffe IndyCar Sponsorship in 2013 after his best year. Maybe this is a sign of Danica Patrick of winning her 1st race this year. As for Danica Patrick I would not worry about her getting new sponsorship deal together. The only driver more popular than her is Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Nationwide Chevrolet. There must be a lot of marketing people excited to put a deal together, to present an offer to Danica Patrick & Stewart-Haas Racing.
Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet response to GoDaddy’s announcement:
“GoDaddy has been an incredible partner for a very long time, almost nine years, and as I’ve said before, our brands have really grown up together. It’s pretty cool, from a marketing perspective, that we helped GoDaddy build such strong brand awareness here in the U.S. I’m excited to work with GoDaddy on a personal level moving forward, but will miss having their bright green color on my racecar next year. Now, there’s an opportunity for another breakout brand to join me and Stewart-Haas Racing and experience the kind of growth we had with GoDaddy.”
NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France had the following to say when asked on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio on Wednesday about GoDaddy’s impending departure:
“We’re always disappointed when for one reason or another a company changes course. But that happens, and I know recently they just went from being private to a publicly traded company and I’m sure that changes a lot of their budgets and strategy and that’s just how that goes.
“Danica is very marketable as we all know … and I’ve really been watching her and she’s competing more and more at a higher level, and she’s very competitive. She wants to really make her mark over a period of time, and it’s a tough place to do it with the kind of talent and parity that’s in NASCAR. But she’s showing progress and I think she’ll be just fine.”
It does not make cense when companies drop Motorsport Sponsorship when they are not maximizing their sponsorship. As reported by the Globe & Mail Canadian Tire ending partnership with Canadian NASCAR series. When I have gone into a Canadian Tire I could not find much NASCAR stuff if any.
http://www.nascar.com/en_us/sprint-cup-series.html
Graphics & Photos Courtesy of NASCAR