Longtime Indiana resident Jeff Gordon longed to drive in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.
On May 24, the NASCAR champion who is retiring at the conclusion of the current stock car season will lead the 33-car field to the green flag in the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for the 99th Running of the Indy 500.
“This is as close as I think ‘m going to get. What an honor for me to come back on Race Day,” Gordon said. “This is my version of the ‘double.’ ”
He’ll watch a portion of the race with his family and then head to North Carolina to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that evening.
“I enjoyed it so much the first lap I thought I’d take some more,” said Gordon, who took the Z06 out for a few laps on the 2.5-mile oval. “What a perfect car to lead the field in the Indy 500.”
Gordon has won the Brickyard 400 five times on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
Gordon has an open-wheel racing background. He competed in quarter midgets and karting. In 1989, Gordon was named USAC Midget Car Racing Rookie of the Year, which was highlighted by winning the Night Before the 500 race. In 1990, Gordon won his second consecutive Night Before the 500 on his way to winning the USAC national Midget title. In 1991, Gordon captured the USAC Silver Crown championship.
