2009 Daytona 500 Pace Car

2010 Camaro SS selected to Pace the 51st Running of “The Great American Race”

The 51st running of the Daytona 500 featured a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro leading the pack as the official pace car. After a 40 year absence, the new Camaro was the first to pace the Daytona 500 since 1969. It was the third in company history to pace the "The Great American Race."

The car used was a 2010 Camaro SS powered by a 426 horsepower V-8 engine. It had a Cyber Grey paint scheme with a bold accent design befitting "The World Center of Racing."

Actor Tom Cruise drove the Chevrolet Camaro pace car during the opening pace laps. Cruise, who attended the 2008 Sprint Cup banquet at the invitation of team owner Rick Hendrick, is familiar with stock cars, having starred in the movie “Days of Thunder.”

Hendrick facilitated the appearance at the Daytona 500 by Cruise.

Cruise joined several celebrities who attended the Daytona 500. Country music star Keith Urban performed during the prerace show.

The race took place on February 15, 2009 at the Daytona International in Daytona Beach, Florida. Production of the 2010 Camaro will be at GM's Oshawa, Ontario assembly plant.

Corvette played a support role once again by helping out during Speed Weeks this year, and was seen during several races helping with the driver introduction laps. The White / Red / Blue 2007 Corvette Pace Car was also back on the track as the Official Pace Car for the Budweiser Shootout.