San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is going to get to experience something this weekend that only a select few have gotten to do. Harbaugh will be driving the ceremonial pace car at this years Indy 500. Now some may say why isn’t his brother driving since he won the Super Bowl? The answer is quite simple. Jim was a former QB for the Indianapolis Colts and he’s part owner of Panther Racing which has three entrants in the race.
Harbaugh, the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback who coached the San Francisco 49ers to this year’s Super Bowl, will be the ceremonial pace car driver for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, the Indianapolis Star reported first on Tuesday.
As a longtime co-owner of Indianapolis-based Panther Racing, Harbaugh knows the pressures of leading 33 cars to the green flag before a crowd of 250,000. He’ll be driving the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray; like others before him, he’ll practice to get it right.
“I’ve already had a dream about it,” Harbaugh told The Star today. “I kept the car out on the track and won the Indy 500.” (Indianapolis Star)
Harbaugh isn’t taking his duties lightly. Jim will arriving in Indy later in the day on Thursday and will take plenty of practice laps. He doesn’t want to take any chances of screwing it up and wrecking on the ceremonial lap.
Only thing that would make him happier Sunday is if one of his drivers won the race. “Being part of the team,” he said, noting championships won by Hornish in 2001 and ‘02. “It’s the thrill of victory.
