The first Chevrolet Pace Car, a 1948 Fleetmaster convertible. (Chevrolet PR archives)
The first Chevrolet to pace the Indianapolis 500 was a 1948 Fleetmaster convertible.
American racing driver Warren Wilbur Shaw (Oct. 31, 1902 –to Oct. 30, 1954) drove the 1948 Chevrolet Pace Car. Shaw, the automotive test evaluator for Popular Science magazine, was president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1945 until his death in 1954.
According to his page in Wikipedia, Shaw won the Indianapolis 500 race three times, in 1937, 1939, and 1940. He was the second driver to win the 500 three times, and the first to win it twice in a row. In the 1941 race, Shaw was injured when his car crashed; it was later discovered that a defective wheel had been placed on his car.
During World War II, Shaw was hired by the tire manufacturer Firestone Tire and Rubber Company to test a synthetic rubber automobile tire at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The speedway had been closed due to the war.
Fall and Rise of the Speedway
Shaw was dismayed at the dilapidated condition of the racetrack and quickly contacted then-owner Eddie Rickenbacker, the World War I flying ace and president and founder of Eastern Air Lines. When the United States entered World War II, ending racing at Indianapolis and elsewhere for the duration, Rickenbacker padlocked the gates and let the race course slowly begin to disintegrate.
During a meeting soon after the tire test, Rickenbacker informed Shaw that what was left of the track would be demolished, and the land turned into a housing subdivision. Shaw sent letters to the major car manufacturers trying to find a backer to buy the speedway. However, all indicated that should they buy the IMS, they would turn it into a private testing facility for their own cars only.
Shaw then met Terre Haute [Indiana] businessman Tony Hulman who had inherited his family’s business. Hulman & Company was a wholesale grocer and producer of coffee and baking powder, Clabber Girl.
Hulman was a lifelong fan of automobile racing in general and the “500” in particular. He listened with great interest to what Shaw had to say. Despite what Hulman saw among the weeds and deterioration when Shaw took him to Indianapolis, he purchased the Speedway from Rickenbacker in November 1945 for the sum of $750,000.
As a reward for his efforts to revive the Speedway, Shaw was appointed as its president, where he would have complete day-to-day control over the track. To this job, Shaw brought his extensive knowledge of the business of auto racing, something Hulman would admit that he himself did not have. And it was Shaw’s hard work that cemented the reputation of the “500” as the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”
Chevrolet Fleetmaster Lineup
The Fleetmaster had a model-year run from 1946-1948. The 1948 line included the Fleetline sub-series which was offered only in two-door and four-door fastback body styles.
According to an entry in Wikipedia, the Chevrolet Fleetmaster replaced the “prewar” Chevrolet Special Deluxe and was powered by a 216.5 cubic inch (3.5-liter) straight-six engine driving through a three-speed manual transmission. It was offered in two-door Town Sedan, four-door Sport Sedan, two-door Sports Coupe, two-door convertible, and four-door station wagon models.
The Chevrolet Fleetline sub-series featured fastback styling and additional triple moldings on all fenders.
Rev up for the 2023 Indy 500
The 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 — “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” — is “Back Home Again” on Sunday, May 28. Presented by Gainbridge, NBC will provide live coverage of the Indianapolis 500 beginning at 9 a.m. ET (Noon Pacific) Sunday, May 28. Coverage will include a bonus two hours of streaming before the race begins on the Peacock streaming platform.
Get the Indy 500 week schedule here.
