Griffey Jr. to join list of luminaries to lead Indy 500 field in pace car
INDIANAPOLIS — Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. will drive the pace car for the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
Griffey has attended “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” in his second career as a photographer, but now his job will be much more visible. He’ll be behind the wheel of the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray that brings the field of 33 cars — led by record-setting pole sitter Scott McLaughlin — to the green flag at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“Driving the pace car and leading the field to start the Indy 500 is one of the coolest experiences,” Griffey said Monday. “I came to the track a few years ago as a photographer and look forward to seeing the race from a different perspective.”
The pace car driver has been a coveted job among athletes, actors and other celebrities since the 1970s, when actor James Garner and singer Marty Robbins handled it. Others who have driven the car include Jay Leno, Morgan Freeman and Patrick Dempsey and, in more recent years, NBA players Victor Oladipo and Tyrese Haliburton.
Griffey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2016 after a 22-year big league career spent mostly with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds. He was a 13-time All-Star and hit 630 home runs, which still ranks seventh on the career list. The outfielder also was one of the best defensive players in the game, winning the Gold Glove award 10 times.
He will join a celebrity cast at the Indianapolis 500 that includes national anthem singer Jordin Sparks and Phillip Phillips, who will perform “God Bless America.”