IndyCar

IMS annouces 2010 Indy 500 pace car driver

'GOOD MORNING AMERICA' ANCHOR ROBIN ROBERTS TO DRIVE PACE CAR AT 2010 INDIANAPOLIS 500 INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, March 25, 2010 -- Robin Roberts, anchor of the Emmy-winning morning news program "Good Morning America" on ABC, will drive the 2010 ...

Edited: Mar 26, 2010, 3:25 AM

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

'GOOD MORNING AMERICA' ANCHOR ROBIN ROBERTS TO DRIVE PACE CAR AT 2010 INDIANAPOLIS 500

INDIANAPOLIS, Thursday, March 25, 2010 -- Robin Roberts, anchor of the Emmy-winning morning news program "Good Morning America" on ABC, will drive the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Pace Car to lead the field of 33 drivers to the start of the 2010 Indianapolis 500 on May 30 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves introduced Roberts as the driver March 25 live on "GMA" in Times Square in New York. Castroneves, winner on ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" in fall 2007 with dance partner Julianne Hough, won the 2009 Indianapolis 500 and this year will attempt to become just the fourth driver to capture "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing" four times.

The 2010 Indianapolis 500 starts at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday, May 30 and will be televised live on ABC for the 46th consecutive year.

"I am thrilled beyond words to be the Pace Car driver for this year's Indianapolis 500," Roberts said. "I've watched the race for years, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be starting one of the premier American sporting events. If you see an extra car in the field, it will be me!"

Under Roberts' leadership, "Good Morning America" has won three consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning program.

When not traveling around the country or the world covering breaking news events, Roberts is at "GMA's" studio in Times Square conducting interviews with a diverse group of newsmakers. Her headline-making interviews include: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on his battle with leukemia and more. Roberts has also done extensive reporting around the globe. She traveled to the Middle East with former First Lady Laura Bush, who was on a mission to raise awareness about breast cancer in the Muslim world; to Africa with former President Bill Clinton for a first-hand look at the AIDS crisis in that part of the world; to Mexico, where she scaled the Mayan pyramids as part of "GMA's" "The New 7 Wonders of the World" series; and to Haiti, where she reported on the devastating earthquake in January 2010.

"We're thrilled to welcome Robin Roberts as Pace Car driver for the 2010 Indianapolis 500," said Jeff Belskus, IMS president and chief executive officer. "She is an inspiring and popular personality with tremendous enthusiasm for 'The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.'"

Roberts has played host to primetime specials since November 2009 that featured an exclusive interview with Janet Jackson, the performer's first since the death of her brother Michael, and interviews with some of country music's biggest stars. Roberts played an active role in ABC News' coverage of the 2008 presidential race. She interviewed the candidates and a wide-range of political newsmakers for "GMA," traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, to moderate a town hall debate with then-candidate Hillary Clinton and reported live from Washington on Inauguration Day. Roberts was the first journalist to interview President Obama after he was sworn in as president. From 1990 to 2005, Roberts was a contributor to ESPN, where she was one of the network's most versatile commentators. Her assignments there included hosting "SportsCenter" and contributing to "NFL PrimeTime."

The 2010 Chevy Camaro Indianapolis 500 Pace Car is a modern sports car that looks to the future with a nod to the heritage of both the car and the race. The first year for Camaro to pace the Indianapolis 500 was in 1967, the year the Camaro made its debut. Camaro has since paced the race in 1969, 1982, 1993 and 2009.

This year's Pace Car features an Inferno Orange Metallic paint scheme with White Diamond rally stripes that travel from the front to the rear over the top of the body, as well as extending to the interior dash. The design is a modern interpretation of the original rally stripe that debuted on the 1969 Indianapolis 500 Pace Car.

The Pace Car is equipped with a stock 400 hp 6.2-litre V-8, front and rear Pedders eXtreme Xa Adjustable suspension, an RS appearance package and leather interior with Inferno Orange interior accents. It also features design cues that further enhance the Camaro's head-turning design.

***

2010 Indy 500 tickets: Tickets for the 2010 Indianapolis 500, scheduled for Sunday, May 30, are on sale now. Race Day ticket prices start at just $20.

Fans can order tickets online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com, call the IMS ticket office at (317) 492-6700, or (800) 822-INDY outside the Indianapolis area or visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at the corner of Georgetown Road and 16th Street. Online orders can be made at any time. Hours for phone orders and the ticket office are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday-Friday.

Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are on sale. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information.

-source: ims

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Read also :

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Facebook

Share on Twitter

Share on WhatsApp

Share on Linkedin

Share on Pinterest

Share on Viber

Previous article St. Pete: AJ Foyt Racing preview

Next article Renault Sport interview with Bertrand Baguette

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

More from

Helio Castroneves



Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership

IndyCar

IndyCar

Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership



Where will Kevin Magnussen rank among the Project 91 NASCAR drivers?

NASCAR Cup

NASCAR Cup

San Diego

Where will Kevin Magnussen rank among the Project 91 NASCAR drivers?



The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history

IndyCar

IndyCar

110th Running of the Indianapolis 500

The five closest Indy 500 finishes in history

Latest news



Carlos Ezpeleta: Qatar GP “noise” left MotoGP unnecessarily exposed

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Qatar GP

4 min

Carlos Ezpeleta: Qatar GP “noise” left MotoGP unnecessarily exposed



Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

28 min

Oscar Piastri splits from Mark Webber management



WEC drivers question lack of full-course yellow after heavy Monza crash

WEC

WEC WEC

Monza

2 h

WEC drivers question lack of full-course yellow after heavy Monza crash



How Formula 1 proved the naysayers wrong – for once

Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

How Formula 1 proved the naysayers wrong – for once

Feature

Discover prime content



How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona

Feature

IndyCar

Feature

IndyCar

By Joey Barnes

How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona



Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game

Feature

IndyCar

Feature

IndyCar

By Joey Barnes

Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game



You Ask The Questions: David Malukas

IndyCar

By Joey Barnes

You Ask The Questions: David Malukas



Top 10 Ganassi IndyCar drivers of all time

IndyCar

By John Oreovicz

Top 10 Ganassi IndyCar drivers of all time

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts

Subscribe