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Cignetti to drive pace car at Indy 500

WFIU | By Clayton Baumgarth

Published March 18, 2026 at 2:58 PM EDT

Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti holds up the trophy after the Peach Bowl NCAA college football playoff semifinal against Oregon, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in Atlanta.

IU football coach Curt Cignetti will drive the honorary pace car at the Indianapolis 500.

The announcement came Tuesday night during the World Baseball Classic Championship game.

Organizers said that the coach will open ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing’ while driving a Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X.

“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,” said Doug Boles, president of both the series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in a statement. “His Hoosiers have been nothing short of remarkable, and their national championship run inspired our entire state.”

Since taking on the head coach role at IU, Cignetti brought home the school’s first national championship title. He’s also won 14 of the 17 Coach of the Year awards for which he was eligible.

The Indy 500 takes place Sunday, May 24.

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Clayton Baumgarth

Clayton Baumgarth is a multimedia journalist for Indiana Public Media. He gathers stories from the rural areas surrounding Bloomington. Clayton was born and raised in central Missouri, and graduated college with a degree in Multimedia Production/Journalism from Drury University.

See stories by Clayton Baumgarth

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