There's something magical about Indy pace cars. They're rare, colorful, and come with worthy pedigrees.
The Central Indiana Camaro Club hosted a reunion of Chevrolet Indy pace cars last summer during its Indy Y2K event at the legendary Brickyard. Besides all the Camaros in attendance, the pace car reunion drew examples of all the Chevy Indy 500 pace cars, along with Brickyard 400 pace cars and other "support" and "festival" vehicles that have been offered for sale after the landmark races. Most were assembly line replicas, but there were a few cars with genuine Indianapolis histories.
Although some pace car replicas (such as the '78 Corvette and '82 Camaro Z28) were built in relatively large quantities, all are rare machines and definite eye-catchers. The cars' unique character helped draw enthusiasts from all over the United States, Canada, and even Australia to the Indy Y2K meet, according to Doug Harden of the Central Indiana Camaro Club. "They're very distinctive, with interesting histories," said Harden. "It's quite a sight to see so many of them in one place."
Chris Morgan and Mike Ramsey brought their '82 Camaro pace car replica from Tennessee. With just 36,000 miles on the clock, the car is all original, save for the tires. It's one of just a few cars that year to get the RPO J65 four-wheel-disc brakes. "What can I say? They're neat cars," said Morgan. "We set out from the beginning to find a pace car because they're so unique and rare. You don't see many of them around any more, either."
The same could be said of Jim Kessler's turquoise '90 Corvette. It's one of just 55 built as a festival vehicle that year. His is number 55, too. But without a doubt, one of the coolest cars in attendance was Matt Murphy's authentic '93 Camaro. It was one of the actual track vehicles for the Indy 500 that year, and includes a full complement of strobe lights.
"I met Jim Perkins [of Chevrolet] at Indianapolis and expressed interest in one of the track cars," related Murphy. "Of course, he had some pull, so he got my name on one of them." Murphy didn't drive off with the car, however. It was sent back to Michigan, where the strobe lights were initially removed. He had replacements installed, and like the other support vehicles, they're mounted between the rear spoiler and decklid, as well as the side markers and headlamps. (Three actual pace cars had roof-mounted strobes.)
A look in the trunk of Murphy's car reveals a large control box and cooling fan for the strobe system. And there's no spare tire, either. It was replaced by a retractable electrical cord that was used to charge the car's battery and power the strobes for static displays.
On top of it all, Murphy replaced the car's stock automatic transmission with a six-speed manual. Only three of the pace cars that year were built with the six-speed, so Murphy's car naturally draws some curious questions. (One of the six-speeds went to Jim Perkins, the other two reportedly went to Canada.)
"That's part of the fun of pace cars," Murphy said. "Every car has a unique story to tell." And as long as there's an Indy 500, there's sure to be more Chevys leading the pack.