The Story Behind The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car Edition

Key Takeaways

• The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS Indy 500 pace car is a rare and special edition vehicle that holds value due to its unique features and history.
• This particular car has been in one family since it was bought new in 1969 and has been well-preserved, making it incredibly valuable and desirable.
• The Camaro was chosen as the pace car for the Indy 500 on seven occasions, with the 1969 model standing out due to its distinct features and iconic color scheme.

The Indy 500 is part of the triple crown of motorsport along with the Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans 24 Hours. IndyCar’s showpiece event has run for over 100 years, and it continues to thrill race fans to this day. The race also needs a pace car, with various vehicles serving that honor over the years and sometimes, manufacturers make special pace car editions for them to sell to customers. Such as this 1969 Chevrolet Camaro RS/SS which is an Indy 500 pace car special edition.

The car is on the JC Fernandez on YouTube who regularly checks out an array of rare and interesting muscle cars. Hemmings also has an article on their website that talks about the Camaro Indy 500 pace car and what helps make it so rare. The one in the YouTube video has been a part of one family since 1969 when Jenn’s grandfather bought the car new that year. Since then, the Chevrolet Camaro has been lovingly looked after and cared for, and it is in immaculate condition.

The 1969 Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car Is One Of The Rarest Camaros

1969 Chevrolet Camaro Indy 500 Pace Car Replica Engine Specs

(Sourced from Hemmings, RM Sotheby’s & Motor Trend)

Adding extra value to the Camaro is the fact it is a convertible, and Jenn’s example is pristine. One of the standout features of the pace car edition was its white livery with orange stripes running across the entire body of the car. Jenn’s grandfather bought the car new from Rockville, Maryland, back in 1969 and drove it straight off the shop floor. The car was then passed down to Jenn’s father, who drove the Camaro in high school. When he left to go to the Air Force Academy in Colorado, Jenn’s grandfather had it for a little bit more time before the Camaro came back to her father.

The muscle car followed the family around whenever they moved, and soon, Jenn’s father handed her the keys. So three generations of the family have had the car, and it has been a member of their family since 1969. The family owned a rare car at that time, with only 3,000 examples of the 1969 pace car edition Camaro coming out of the General Motors factory. The one thing it is missing is the “Official Pace Car” stickers, which while they came with the car from new as an extra, have gone missing.

Jenn’s grandfather never applied them to the car, but there were some noticeable differences between this road-going version and the real Indy 500 pace car. The actual pace cars according to the video had roll-cages, camera mounts, and more performance upgrades so they could serve their pace car duties. They had to go faster and standard to allow the IndyCars behind them to keep enough temperature in their tires. The orange and white help to make this particular Camaro one of the most recognizable types of Camaro in the world.

The Camaro Has Been A Pace Car At The Indy 500 Seven Times

As Hemmings reported in 2018, the Chevrolet Camaro was the pace car of choice for the Indy 500 on seven occasions. These were 1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Yet the 1969 example stands above the rest, with the Dover White, Hugger Orange graphics and the distinctive Rally Sport grille and taillamp setting it apart from other pace car editions. Chevrolet even worked hard to make the interior brash and powerful, thanks to the flashy orange and black.

The 1969 Camaro became such a memorable vehicle that General Motors even paid tribute to it back in 1969. A pace car for that year’s Indy 500 was also given the same color scheme as the 1969 classic, and the legendary four-time winner of the Indy 500, A.J. Foyt, was the man chosen to drive the car. Back in 1969, Chevrolet supplied 133 identical white and orange 1969 Camaros ahead of that year’s Indy 500. Out of that number, 130 of them were pace car replicas that were used as festival and courtesy cars. These would ferry around officials, VIPs, drivers, various dignitaries, and the press in the run-up to the race.

The stock engine was the base Super Sport 350 ci engine with Turbo Hydra-Matic 350 automatic transmissions. The pace car in the YouTube video has had a few bits of tuning done to its engine to give a deeper and throatier sound. The convertible was an option for the model, and these are rarer than the standard versions while the price tag for the Camaro pace car in 1969 was high. Back then, the muscle car would set you back $3,405. The Indy 500 used two actual pace cars for the race, while a third was solely given to the winner, who that year was Mario Andretti.

This 1969 Camaro Pace Car Is A Genuine 1969 Example

A check under the hood at the VIN indicates that this is a true, 1969 Indy 500 pace car replica Z11 convertible. These were mostly used as festival cars, taking dignitaries and drivers around Indianapolis during the Indy Speedweek festivities. The engine bay is incredibly clean in Jenn’s Camaro, and it still has the 350 ci engine which, as standard, makes 300 hp. The YouTube video says that many examples of the 1969 pace car Camaro have found their way into the hands of modifiers and undergone engine swaps.

This Camaro Pace Car Has Had A Minor Repaint

The fact that this particular example is so original helps add value and ensure its rarity. At some pain in its life, it has had a repaint, noticeable via the color differences in various aspects of the paintwork. But that does little to detract from the appeal and originality of the Camaro. It is incredibly clean, and the video praises the paintwork which was to a high standard. It’s one of the cleanest examples of a 1969 Camaro Pace Car you will ever see.

Sources: JC Fernandez YouTube Channel, Hemmings, RM Sotheby’s, Motor Trend, Mecum Auctions