Cadillac CTS-V named pace car for inaugural Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race

Cadillac CTS-V named pace car for inaugural Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race

Open-Wheels Staff
October 7, 2019 | 12:00 PM

Just 41 days stand between now and the inaugural running of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions on November 17. As the event draws nearer, we will continue to release some special announcements – and today is one of those days!

For next month’s race, Open-Wheels Motorsports Sanctioning will use a unique starting procedure that features iRacing’s pace car pulling off the track and the Open-Wheels pace car remaining in place. This will help the field form its traditional 11 rows of three before the race start.

Today, the staff would like to announce that the Official Pace Car of the 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions will be the Cadillac CTS-V. The CTS-V becomes the first pace car in the history of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race.

The Cadillac CTS-V will lead the field to green in the Open-Wheels 500 on November 17.

“We are extremely excited to unveil our pace car today, one of the most recognizable cars on the iRacing service,” said Tanner Watkins, the owner and editor of Open-Wheels.com and the president of the Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race.

“The Cadillac CTS-V is the closest match to a pace car that we have available at this time in iRacing, and we believe it is going to look stunning as it leads the field of 33 drivers to the green flag on November 17.”

The Cadillac CTS-V is included in all iRacing member subscriptions and is an exciting car to drive on both road and oval courses alike. The car features:

  • 6.2L, 90-degree V-8 engine with aluminum block and heads
  • 460 horsepower at 5400 RPM
  • 447lb/ft of torque at 4400 RPM
  • Brembo four-wheel disc brakes
  • A sequential six-speed transmission with no-lift shifting

Cadillac, which belongs to the same General Motors portfolio that supports Chevrolet (one of the competing engines in this year’s race) will pace a 500-mile race at Indianapolis for the first time since the 1992 Indianapolis 500.

That year’s race – considered the coldest on record – featured the closest finish in “500” history as Al Unser Jr. edged Scott Goodyear to the line on Lap 200. It was a Cadillac Alante that paced the field that May, and the brand also led the way in 1973 (Eldorado) and 1931.

The last time a Cadillac paced a 500-mile race at Indianapolis? It was 1992, when three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Unser was at the wheel, and Al Unser Jr. won by a hair.

For more images of this year’s Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race pace car, check out the pictures at the bottom of today’s press release.

The pace car driver for this year’s event will be announced closer to the race date. Entries are now being accepted for the 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions. The registration period closes on October 25 at 6:00 PM Eastern.

This year’s Open-Wheels 500 will feature one of the richest prize and cash purses for a one-off event without an entry fee in iRacing’s history. Opening Day of practice will be November 3 while Qualifications Weekend presented by AG Trucking is to be held over two days – November 9 and 10. RaceSpot TV will provide final-hour coverage of both days of qualifications.

Finally, the 2019 Open-Wheels.com 500 Mile Race presented by Mitchell Transmissions will go green on Sunday, November 17 at 11:30 AM ET on RaceSpot TV.

All images of Cadillac CTS-V courtesy of Tanner Watkins/Open-Wheels.com.

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