What is the role of the pace car in NASCAR? All you need to know

Ever since its inception in 1948, NASCAR has been using a pace car in its races. A pace car, or safety car in other motorsports series like F1, pulls out to the track with its yellow strobe lights to limit the speeds of the competing race cars whenever cautions come out.

Without a pace car, mayhem is expected on track as drivers would likely take it upon themselves. As such, it plays a huge role in maintaining order under a yellow flag, providing safer restart procedures. For a deeper understanding, let’s take a look at what the pace car does every race week.

The role of pace car in NASCAR

As the name suggests, this car paces the field whenever it is deployed on track, usually under a yellow flag, before the waving of the green flag. Since NASCAR Cup cars don’t have a speedometer, pace cars can ensure a specific speed is followed, which usually averages around 45 mph.

Cautions can be brought out by several factors, with a racing incident arguably the most common. When a crash is so severe that the competing race cars can’t drive anymore, they become safety hazards, hence they must be cleared out. The race control will deploy the pace car in situations like this to slow the field down while the safety crew clears the wrecked cars and debris.

Pace cars are deployed under a yellow flag - Source: Imagn

No overtaking is allowed and race cars cannot drive past the pace car under a yellow flag.

When cautions are thrown, the pace car will pick up the race leader. Upon completion, the pit road will begin to open, allowing lead lap cars to pit first. The lapped cars will be allowed to wave around the track to get regain a lap. The league also implements the beneficiary rule, also known as the lucky dog rule, which allows the first car not on the lead lap to get a lap back.

As the field, including the pace car, passes through the start/finish line, it will still count as one racing lap completed.

Once the incident is cleared, the pace car will return to the pit and the leader will set the pace heading to green flag racing.

NASCAR pace car models

As opposed to F1, which uses one or two pace car models in a year, NASCAR fields various models from manufacturers. These manufacturers sponsor the tracks hosting the races, allowing them to provide a pace car from their model lineup.

The Xfinity Series fields a Toyota GR Supra pace car - Source: Imagn

The most common pace cars for the Cup Car Series these days are the Toyota Camry, Ford Mustang, and Chevrolet Camaro. In NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series, spectators can expect to see trucks like the Ford F-150 pacing the field.

Notable pace car moments throughout the years

In 1986, an intoxicated fan stole a Pontiac Trans Am pace car and drove around Talladega before the race. He was blocked off by the maintenance trucks on the track before being forced out of the car by the race marshals and police.

Another memorable pace car moment was in 2017 at Darlington when Richard Petty was pacing the field in his No.43 Plymouth as the honorary pace car driver. However, he was later black flagged for staying out on the track too long.