Once again, it is time to speculate on what car will be selected as the pace car for this year's Indy 500.  The announcement could come at any time, so I encourage you to read this editorial and then make your vote on the homepage.

Those of you who read my editorial from last year know that my guess was wrong.  In fact the Corvette wasn't even one of my top four choices!  So this year I thought I would talk briefly about each of the cars I've listed in the poll, then let you make your own decision.  OK, I'll still give you my top picks at the end.

Blue Oval's return to the Brickyard?

Two auto makers are celebrating their 100th birthdays this year — Ford and Cadillac.  Yet despite their active presence in NASCAR as well as Cart and Formula 1, it's been nine years since Ford last had an Indy Pace Car (1994 Mustang).  Could this be the year that the Blue Oval returns to the famous oval at Indy?  

Ford brings an impressive lineup of cars to the 2003/2004 model year, including the much-hyped Ford GT, which will begin limited production for 2004.  It's possible but unlikely that a pre-production version of the GT could serve as pace car.  More likely options include the 380 H.P. SVT F-150 Lightning, the 390 H.P. SVT Mustang Cobra convertible, and the retro-styled Ford Thunderbird (one of my top four choices for last year).  

Other possibilities from Ford Motor Company are the 2003 Mercury Marauder and the 2003 Lincoln Navigator.  Although the Marauder is plenty powerful for the job, the car seems better suited for police lights than for pace car strobes.  The Navigator is an unlikely choice, but as the 2001 Bravada pace truck showed, anything is possible.

The new style of Cadillac

In the last few years, Cadillac has turned a lot of heads with its cutting-edge designs.  And although the Cien concept car never made it to production, Cadillac is celebrating its 100th birthday by adding the exquisite XLR Roadster to their lineup.  The 2004 XLR should be available early this year, and road-worthy XLRs have been seen at car shows and in television commercials throughout the past year.  Although GM has dominated the Indy pace car lineup for the past four decades, the Cadillac brand has only paced at Indy twice before, most recently with the 1992 Allante, Cadillac's previous ragtop.

Also coming in late 2003 is a V8-powered version of the Cadillac CTS.  Its 5.7L engine should be more than enough to get this sedan up to speed, but probably won't be in production by race day.  Cadillac's monstrous Escalade EXT is another possibility, although a long shot. 

Other offerings from General Motors

2002 saw the demise of the F-body Camaro and Firebird muscle cars, as well as the end of the entire Oldsmobile division.  Yet 2004 promises to be an exiting year for GM's remaining divisions.  In addition to new offerings from Cadillac mentioned above, several other GM divisions will see exciting new or redesigned models, including the long-neglected Pontiac line.  For 2004, Pontiac will offer a restyled Grand Prix and the long-awaited 5.7L Pontiac GTO.  Unfortunately it's doubtful that either of these cars would be ready for this year's Indy, but watch for the GTO as a possible pace car for the 2004 Indy 500.

Chevrolet also offers a few fresh faces, along with some perennial powerhouses.  The Corvette is of course a favorite of sports car fans, and is GM's only muscle car until Pontiac's GTO hits the streets.  But would Indy choose the Corvette two years in a row?  And if they did, would it be another hard-top (the Z06 coupe), or a more traditional convertible?  The Monte Carlo SS is a possibility, but it's more likely to see a return to the Brickyard 400 than to Indy any time soon.

Chevy also has two new entries to their lineup, both being marketed under the "SS" branding: the 2003 Silverado SS and the unique Chevy SSR crossover vehicle.  The Silverado SS was designed in response to Ford's SVT Lightning and should be available in early 2003.  It uses the same 6.0-litre 345-hp V8 powerplant as the Escalade EXT.  The most exciting prospect from Chevrolet is the concept-to-production SSR crossover pickup/roadster.  This car finished second in an Indypacecars.com poll of which concept car (at the time) readers would most like to see as a pace car, behind the Dodge Charger R/T which is not yet scheduled for production.  Originally listed as a 2004 model, a limited number of SSRs are now scheduled to be available in early 2003.  

One additional possibility for GM is the 2004 Buick Rainier.  Although it isn't scheduled for release until fall 2003, it shouldn't take much to get this rebadged Olds Bravada off the assembly line and onto the track.  Considering Oldsmobile has paced three of the last six Indy 500's, it's always possible that the ghost of Oldsmobile could return to Indy as the reincarnated Rainier.

The forgotten land of Mopar

Although Dodge returned to NASCAR racing a few years ago, they have remained relatively quiet in the performance car arena.  After 12 years, Dodge's Viper SRT-10 finally received a facelift for 2003, and a horsepower boost too.  The Viper was last seen at Indy in 1996 -- could it be time for a return trip?  Besides the Viper, the only other performance product from Dodge is the pocket-rocket Neon SRT-4, but this is such a long-shot that it isn't even included on our survey.

Chrysler offers a few possibilities as well, including the new turbocharged PT Cruiser, which should have enough power to handle the job.  The Chrysler 300M is another possibility, but it's doubtful that Chrysler would promote a model that will be replaced by the 300N next year. Finally there is the concept-inspired 2004 Crossfire, which will be available mid-2003.  However, it is questionable whether thiscar would be allowed to pace the Indy 500 since it is powered by a Mercedes engine and assembled in Germany.

The final score

So there you have it, 20 cars that I (along with input from a few others) have deemed "contenders" in the quest to be the 2003 Indy 500 pace car.  Which car will it be?  Hopefully we will only need to wait a few more weeks to find out, but here are my thoughts.

With Ford and Cadillac both celebrating their 100th anniversaries, both companies seem like strong possibilities.  Ford is promoting their 100th anniversary celebration much more than Cadillac, but GM seems to have a monopoly on providing the pace car.  So my first choice has to be the Cadillac XLR.  This car has been heavily promoted in TV commercials for the past year and should be road-worthy by race day without any problem.  Not to mention that this is the first convertible Cadillac since the last Caddy to pace at Indy.

Don't count Ford out completely, though.  I still think this could be the year for Ford to return to the Indy 500, but with which car?  Ideally it would be the Ford GT, with Thunderbirds for festival cars.  The Thunderbird itself is also a strong possibility.  And although the Mustang Cobra would be a great choice, it's unlikely that Ford would choose to promote the Mustang in its last year of the current body style. (I learned this lesson last year!)  If Ford doesn't pace this year, watch for them to return to Indy next year with the all-new 2004 Mustang. 

I'd like to say that I'm almost certain that the pace car will be one of those three cars (the Cadillac XLR, Ford GT, or Ford Thunderbird), but anything is possible.  So far the Pontiac GTO is clearly the reader favorite, but production isn't scheduled to begin until late September.  However, if the pace car isn't a Ford or Cadillac, it will probably be a GM and most likely a Chevy, based on their past support of the Indy 500.  Unfortunately none of the remaining choices seem very likely.  I doubt we would see the Corvette two years in a row or see the Monte Carlo cross over from the Brickyard 400, so let's just throw the Silverado SS and the SSR in as "wild cards".  Hopefully I won't need them this year. 

Webmaster's note, 3/10/03:  The Brickyard's "Indy 500 sponsors" web page lists Chevrolet as provider of the "Official Pace Car/Truck/Safety Vehicle".  I can only assume this refers to this year and not last year.  Coupled with the 35+ yellow Corvette convertibles sitting in Gasoline Alley and it looks like a safe bet that the pace car will be a Chevy or at least a GM.

 

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