Packard Pace Car Leading the Indianapolis 500

ID: 1723 ~ Source: Image Courtesy of W.H. Bass Photo Company Collection, Indiana Historical Society. ~ Creator: W.H. Bass Photography ~ Date: May 30, 1936

This file appears in: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Packard Pace Car Leading the Indianapolis 500

The convertible Packard pace car is on the inside of the track, next to the front row of race cars at the beginning of the race.

This file appears in: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

By Elena Rippel, Kaelynn Hayes, Indiana Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology

It took Ray Harroun 6 hours and 42 minutes to win the first Indianapolis 500 on May 30, 1911. Speeding past the checkered flag in his bright yellow Marmon “Wasp,” Harroun had driven the five hundred miles at an average speed of 74.6 mph. Today’s…