Silverado is the 2019 Daytona 500 Pace Vehicle!

[jgisonfire]

Chevrolet announced today that Dale Jr. will be the driver of the first ever pace truck for the Daytona 500. It appears it is an RST trim, but the press release says it has the 6.2 with the 10 speed in it. I'm sure it is a one off blue, but man, I wish they sold the truck in that color!

 

Quote

DETROIT — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will find himself in a very familiar place at the 2019 Daytona 500: at the front of the pack.

Earnhardt Jr., a two-time Daytona 500 winner, will drive the 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pace truck to lead the field to green for the 61st running of The Great American Race. This is the first time the Daytona 500 will be paced by a pickup truck.

“I’ve had a lot of fun and a lot of success at Daytona over the years, and now I can’t wait to get out on that track in a Silverado,” said Earnhardt Jr. “Away from the track I’ve driven Chevy trucks all my life, and I’m excited to have this unique experience of pacing the Daytona 500 with the Silverado.”

In addition to winning The Great American Race in 2004 and 2014, Earnhardt Jr. was a two-time winner of the July race at Daytona, overall scoring four wins, 13 top 5 finishes and 19 top 10s in 36 NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. was voted the sport’s Most Popular Driver for 15 consecutive years.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the perfect choice to pace the race because of his enthusiasm for the sport, his long history with Chevrolet and his love of trucks,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “It’ll be exciting to have Dale lead the field to green in the strongest, most advanced Silverado ever.”

The Silverado pace truck is powered by a production 6.2L V-8 engine paired with a 10-speed automatic transmission. It delivers 420 hp and 460 lb-ft of torque.

Chevrolet has paced the Daytona 500 12 times, seven with Camaro and five with Corvette.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 100 countries and selling more than 4.0 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

 

[Sierra Dan]

This has to be a first.

So much for the  Pace " Car "  LOL

Sleek looking truck! 

[SkiDooNick700]

DETROIT — Dale Earnhardt Jr. will find himself in a very familiar place at the 2019 Daytona 500: at the front of the pack. 

 

LOL!! I'm a huge JR fan but come on you've gotta admit that is a very funny statement.  Anyway, that is a slick looking truck!! Pretty cool to see this happen!

[Camario]

Hopefully the truck starts

[15 Z71]

That looks awesome!

[reardiff]

Is it just me or do the rear tires look like they are extra wide almost as if it was for drag racing?.  At first I though it was just an illusion and the angle it's at but once you click on it and enlarges you can clearly see those are some massive tires in the back... I should sure be a blast to have one of those.

Edited December 13, 2018 by reardiff

[Sierra Dan]

It is a rendering.

Surely the tires will not be that wide?

[rkj__]

I'm not really a Nascar guy, but is it not really weird to use a pickup truck for pacing a field of stock cars around Daytona?

[GMC-AT]

Who really cares.  NASCAR has gotten so candy a$$ in the last 15 years I don't think many people care.  Their ratings are in the tank.   They will probably have a Prius pace car next year.

 

Bring back the real drivers of the good ol days... long live #3

 

[Sierra Dan]

Hey Evel.

You receive your RST yet?