Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will be the honorary pace car driver for the 108th Indianapolis 500 taking place Sunday. The 13-time All-Star will be leading the field of 33 in a 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray.
"Driving the Pace Car and leading the field to start the Indy 500 is one of the coolest experiences," Griffey said in a press release. "I came to the track a few years ago as a photographer and look forward to seeing the race from a different perspective."
You might say this one's a home run 😏
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) May 20, 2024
Ken Griffey Jr., one of the most prolific home run hitters in @MLB history, will drive the 2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray Pace Car and lead the field to green in the 108th #Indy500!#ThisIsMay | #INDYCAR pic.twitter.com/l8r4BhQbba
Griffey, famously known as "Junior" and "The Kid," was the first overall pick in the 1987 MLB Draft and went on to have a legendary career as an outfielder for 22 years. He spent most of his career playing with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds. He briefly joined the Chicago White Sox in 2008 but returned to the Mariners before retiring in 2010. Seattle retired his No. 24 jersey in 2014.
Griffey was an exceptional hitter and collected a total of 630 home runs, which ranks as the seventh-most in MLB history. He is a highly-decorated athlete with 10 Gold Glove Awards and seven Silver Slugger Awards.
"Every baseball fan knows Ken Griffey Jr.," IMS President J. Douglas Boles said in a statement. "Two legends will come together as Griffey hops into the Corvette E-Ray to lead the field at the Racing Capital of the World."
Other well known sports figures who have gotten the honor of driving the Indy 500 pace car include Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh.
