By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

The marriage of two awesome things–it’s like peanut butter and chocolate, only in car form. This ’79 Mustang is running a 429 big block through a shift-kitted C6 trans and 4:10 rear gears, and though it might not be the most practical transportation, it’s totally street legal. Check out the auction on eBay.

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

You know, while it doesn’t take much to make a Colonnade car look like something Homer Simpson and the NHTSA dreamed up, it also doesn’t take much to make a Colonnade car look good. The right front end treatment, the right stance, and a graphics package that highlights rather than detracts from the sculptured body lines does wonders, and this 1975 Buick Century  Free Spirit pace car edition for sale on Hemmings.com combines all three of those elements, along with a little bicentennial fever. From the seller’s description:

Buick had planned on making 1,700 of these cars – but it is rumored (although not proven) they built less than 400 of them. Model name … Century Custom Series Body Style … 2-Door Colonnade Coupe … Model Year … 1975 Engine …. 350ci Carburator 4bbl … Compression Ratio 7.9:1 … Horsepower 175bhp … Transmission … TurboHydramatic 350 (Automatic) … Rear Axle Ratio 3.08 Exhaust …. Single pipe … Seats …. Sport Bucket … console… Exterior Color Graphics … White with Red/Blue Placards, Indy 500 logo above rear quarter, Lettering alongside doors, Blue “BUICK” logo with eagle on hood and trunk lid, Blue “BUICK” logo at far end of either side, White eagle on front fenders,”Free Spirit” white lettering on front fenders, “BUICK” and “Free Spirit” blue lettering on trunk lid … Interior color Glacier Blue … Removable Roof Panels … Hurst Hatches Interior seat material … White Naugahyde .. Stock Tire Size GR70×15 Grille GS Blackout Trim Tail light GS Blackout … Suspension … Higher rate springs, larger stabilizer bars … Wheelbase 112 inches … Overall Length… 209.5 inches … Height 53.3 inches …RUNS AND DRIVES LIKE NEW.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

It seems like we’ve had a few weeks of rental-car sedans and hybrids as pace cars (no offense, Toyota Camry hybrid), so it’s cool to see that Pocono Raceway is going to be running the safety lights on this bright white Camaro SS here at this weekend. It seemed like there were Camaros at every race for awhile in there, but I guess they seem to have gotten more sparse now that the novelty has worn off. It’s going to be cool to see a Camaro out leading the pack once again!

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Continue reading "Finally, A Cool Pace Car" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Wow. Looking around on eBay and discovering just how many pace cars are listed at any given time, it dawned on me that now is a perfect time to snap one up. Televised motorsports is in its heyday in America, and these cars are a dime a dozen–in most cases, no seller can claim that they’re rare, or that you should have to pay a lot of money to get one. So, in browsing the mind-blowing selection of pace cars on eBay, while trying to talk yourself out of placing a bid, do remind yourself of exactly why you should be buying one.

1. Racing history without the race car. Of course it would be out-of-this-world cool to own the Monte Carlo that Earnhardt drove to his first championship. Historic race cars are great, but not only do they command astronomical prices, they’re generally not practical (or legal) to drive on the street. With a pace car, you can get a vehicle that’s participated in a small but important way in racing history, but without the gallons-per-mile fuel consumption, the squirrely dry-rotted race slicks, or the prosecutable-in-50-states exhaust noise. You get to actually enjoy it.

Hit the jump for four more reasons to pull the trigger.

Continue reading "Top Five Reasons Why You Should Buy A Pace Car" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

There’s been a slew of 2010 Camaro pace cars in the last year at high-profile motorsports events like Indy and the Daytona 500. The Sprint Cup series ran the ultra-hot Cyber Grey Camaro in a number of the races this season, and it’s become a welcome part of race-day scenery. However, I haven’t seen a pace car at the as hot as this retro-styled SS, made over by KAO Auto Styling as an update of the 1969 Camaro SS that served as the Indy 500 pace car that year. While this one obviously isn’t a convertible, the tribute was pitch-perfect: I love the louvered rear window and the nostalgic fender badging. The graphics indicate it’s going to be the official pace car for next year’s 500 on May 31, but the “For Sale” sticker suggests it’s probably just a concept.

Continue reading "Nostalgic Camaro SS To Pace 2010 Indy 500?" »

By Chris Bicknell

Bick66

Originally a stock 540hp GT500, this car is one of only 1,000 hand-picked by Shelby Automobiles to become a Super Snake and one of only 427 to become a 427 Limited Edition pushing 750hp with a laundry list of other high performance upgrades. The freshly finished modern muscle car was then selected by NASCAR to pace the March 1, 2009 Sprint Cup Series Shelby 427 Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Click here to watch the in-car interview given by Carroll Shelby during the pre-race laps, and check out the eBay auction for this extremely rare Mustang.

More pictures below the jump.

Continue reading "Shelby GT500 Super Snake 427 Pace Car on eBay" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Looks like they’re going to be running this tough hemi Charger at the front of the pack! But I wonder, how long before we see a new Challenger pace car in any of the major racing series? None of the Sprint Cup Dodge teams managed to make the Chase for the Cup this year, and with rumors swirling that Mopar may be questioning its commitment to racing (they’ve already pulled out of the Craftsman Truck Series), the pace car issue might be a touchy one for the manufacturer. Still, Dodge is running this ultra-badass Challenger prototype in testing as its new Nationwide Series CoT. A Challenger pace car would seem to be the next logical step, but I haven’t yet spotted one. Has anyone else?

Continue reading "Dover's Pace Car" »