The Chevrolet Corvette has paced ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ more times than any car. The 2023 race marks the 34th time for Chevrolet to pace dating back to 1948 and the 20th time overall and since 1978. (Photo by Chris Owens)
The 107th Running of the Indianapolis 500 — “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” — is “Back Home Again” on Sunday, May 28.
Presented by Gainbridge, NBC Sports 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.
There will be 33 cars on the field this year by Chevrolet and Honda.
Katherine Legge, 42, is the lone female in the pack. Driving for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing in the No. 44 Honda, the British-born Legge will start in row 10, the 30th position.
According to a report by Scott Horner of the Indianapolis Star, Legge crashed into Stefan Wilson Monday, May 22, during Indianapolis 500 practice.
Wilson suffered a fractured vertebra in Monday’s crash, which required surgery on Wednesday night, wrote Charles Bradley of Motorsport.com. Wilson is determined to make a full recovery and return to contest the race next year with his Cusick Motorsports/Dreyer and Reinbold team, he wrote in the online report.
Legge was cleared by medical personnel to compete on Sunday. She returned to the track in her repaired Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing car and was 29th fastest in Friday’s final practice on Carb Day, per Bradley Motorsport.com.
Wilson, a Chevrolet driver for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, was replaced by veteran driver Graham Rahal.
Legge is just the ninth woman ever to compete in the Indianapolis 500.
Race Day Countdown
All times are Pacific Standard, or 3 hours ahead of Indianapolis:
11:45 a.m.: Borg Warner trophy march to the Bricks; departing from the IMS Museum;
Noon-12:30: Cars to Pit Lane;
1:30 p.m.: Cars to grid on front straight;
2:47 p.m.: Driver introductions; Trackside Yard of Bricks Stage
3:18 p.m.: Invocation; trackside Yard of Bricks Stage;
3:24 p.m.: Jewel sings the national anthem;
3:36 p.m.: Jim Cornelison singing the Hoosier state’s favorite anthem, “Back Home Again In Indiana”;
3:38 p.m.: Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Roger Penske will command drivers to start engines.
3:45 p.m.: Green flag drops.
2023 Indy 500 Corvette Z06 Pace Car
For the first time in the storied history of “America’s sports car,” a hardtop convertible Chevrolet Corvette Z06 will lead the field to the green flag.
Corvette is the longest-running car nameplate in automotive industry history, and the Corvette has paced “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” more times than any car. The 2023 race marks the 34th time for Chevrolet to pace, dating back to 1948.
This year’s Corvette Z06 Pace Car exterior is two-tone Red Mist Metallic and Jet Black. The interior in Sky Cool Gray has Torch Red accents. Spider-design forged aluminum wheels are finished in Tech Bronze.
The 2023 Corvette Z06 is set apart from the rest of the lineup by its 670 horsepower, 5.5-liter LT6 V-8, and 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. Chevrolet says the LT6 V-8 is the highest-horsepower, naturally aspirated V-8 in any production car.
Helping to keep the Z06 pace car flying low is the Carbon Aero package. It provides 734 pounds of downforce at 186 mph, more than any other Corvette.
Expect to spend around $150,000 if you’d like to re-create a 2023 Corvette Z06 in the image of the pace car.
Get the Indy 500 schedule here.
