A Chevrolet Corvette Z06 will be the pace car for the 2023 Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 19. This will be the 15th time that the Bowtie brand will lead the racers for this big event.
Specifically, this Z06 will be blue with a black stripe down the center of the body. This car has the Z07 Performance Package that adds parts like a carbon-fiber rear wing, Brembo carbon-ceramic brake discs, the FE7 suspension upgrade, and Michelin Pilot Cup 2R ZP tires.
Gallery: Chevrolet Corvette Z06 2023 Daytona 500 Pace Car
The Z06 won't be the only Chevy pace car at Daytona. A Camaro SS 1LE will lead the competitors for the Nascar Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duels, ARCA Menard Series race, and Nascar Xfinity Series "Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner" 300.
Plus, a Silverado 1500 RST will be the pace truck for the Nascar Craftsman Truck Series NextEra Energy 250.
Chevy vehicles have won 49 Nascar Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway. Twenty-four of those victories came at the Daytona 500.
The brand just used the Daytona International Speedway as the venue for unveiling the Corvette Z06 GT3.R race car in January. It won't be racing in Nascar, though. Instead, this machine will go sports car and endurance racing in the GT3 class starting in 2024.
Because of the rules, the 5.5-liter DOHC V8 makes less power in the race car than in the road-going version. The track variant can't make more than 600 horsepower (447 kilowatts), versus 668 hp (498 kW) in the road car.
The E-Ray is the latest Corvette variant to debut. Its ethos is a bit different than the Z06. The model uses a 6.2-liter V8 with an electric motor driving the front wheels. This provides a total output of 665 horsepower (481 kilowatts). It can hit 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in 2.5 seconds, according to Chevy. This is just a split second better than the Z06.
