A banner run for the state of Indiana will continue into May as a championship-winning coach takes on The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
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According to an announcement from Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indiana Hoosiers football coach Curt Cignetti will be the pace car driver for this year's Indianapolis 500. He will lead the field of open wheel racers around the 2.5-mile track on May 24.
Cignetti will drive the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X as he leads the 33 drivers. The pace car will have a special livery for the prestigious event, which IMS will reveal at a later date.
He drives, Google him 🔎@IndianaFootball head coach @CCignettiIU will lead the field to green as the Honorary Pace Car Driver at the 110th Running of the #Indy500 presented by @GainbridgeLife!@TeamChevy | #IsItMayYet? pic.twitter.com/Uh4r5EYn38
— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) March 18, 2026
Cignetti took over the Hoosiers football team ahead of the 2024 season. He made an immediate impact as the team went 11-2, marking only the third time since 2000 that the team had a winning record. The Hoosiers made the College Football Playoff but lost in the opening round.
The success continued into 2025. Cignetti led the Hoosiers to a perfect 16-0 record, which culminated in a National Championship win over Miami.
The Indiana head coach will now join a long line of pace car drivers. He follows such personalities as Morgan Freeman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Dempsey, Ken Griffey Jr., Tyrese Haliburton and Michael Strahan.
"Coach Cignetti will have our field in a special victory lap formation as he leads the stars of the NTT IndyCar Series to the green flag at this year's Indy 500," IndyCar and IMS President J. Douglas Boles said.
"His Hoosiers have been nothing short of remarkable, and their National Championship run inspired our entire state. He's the perfect choice to drive the Chevrolet Pace Car, and I know his introduction on Race Day will bring out a special roar of appreciation from our crowd."
The biggest race of the IndyCar season will air on Fox. The coverage for the race will begin at 10 a.m. ET. The green flag will drop at approximately 12:45 p.m. ET.
