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The all-new, seventh-generation 2014 Corvette Stingray served as the Indianapolis 500 Pace Car, leading the field to green at the start of the 97th running of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” on Sunday, May 26 2013. It marked a record 12th time the Corvette served as the Pace Car, starting in 1978. Jim Harbaugh, head coach of the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, drove the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Pace Car
The L71 was Chevrolet’s most powerful engine in 1967 which replaced the big-block L71 from the previous year. Using it’s famous ‘Tri Power’ intake manifold was rated by the factory at 435 bhp. Costing $437.10, 3,754 Corvettes were made with the L71 options and they could not come with automatic transmissions nor air conditioning.
The Corvette skipped a year and returned to the Indy 500 in 2015. NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon drove the 'Vette for the first lap, and the car had a fairly simple body with the race decals on the doors and sponsor stickers at the front end. Gordon, who grew up in nearby Pittsboro, Indiana, is no stranger to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won the first NASCAR race in the history of the famed 2.5-mile oval and has won four more times.