Ken Griffey Jr. announced as pace car driver for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500

“One of the purest swings in all of baseball is heading to Indianapolis,” NBC Sports posted on X. “Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. has been announced as the pace car driver for Sunday’s #Indy500.”

In addition to Griffey Jr. joining the party, a lot of focus on Sunday will be on NASCAR’s Kyle Larson attempting the double, running the 500 and then jetting to Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600 in the evening.

With all the pomp and circumstance, the Indianapolis 500 is always must-see, but it’s even moreso than usual in 2024. Ken Griffey Jr. is getting in on the action, as it should be an awesome afternoon in Indianapolis.

Jeff Gordon: Kyle Larson’s drive, Rick Hendrick’s involvement in Indianapolis 500 a ‘dream come true’

Jeff Gordon was in Indianapolis for Kyle Larson’s qualifying attempt over the weekend for the Indianapolis 500, and he took it all in.

The four-time NASCAR champion never attempted to pull the double, like Larson will be doing next weekend, but the racer-turned-Hendrick Vice-Chairman is putting all his support behind the driver. Speaking with the media during a beautiful Saturday afternoon, Gordon waxed poetic about Indianapolis.

“I feel like Indianapolis is what made me a fan of motorsports,” Gordon told Peacock. “As a kid, even in California, between Sprint Car racing and the Indianapolis 500, that’s what drew me in, and made me really want to be a race car driver. And I, as a kid, came here. So you know, I’ve been here before, a long time ago. I was able to drive the pace car here a few years back. And it is, it’s just special. When you live here in Indiana, you race around Indiana, it becomes that much more hallowed ground. 

“So yeah, that dream didn’t come true in an IndyCar, but it came true in the Brickyard 400, in a stock car. And this is another dream come true, getting Rick Hendrick, Kyle Larson and just all of Hendrick Motorsports involved in this amazing event. We hope we get qualified in, and we get to go and have a fun weekend next week.”

One has to wonder if Rick Hendrick would’ve been so supportive of Larson’s venture, if not for Gordon’s support. Since joining Hendrick, Larson has become the flag-bearer for the team, drawing comparisons to Gordon’s immense talent.

Kyle Larson has a long way to go to match Jeff Gordon’s NASCAR success, but he is attempting something Gordon never did as a racer, and it’s evident the four-time NASCAR champion has a heck of a lot of respect for Larson for doing so.