Baseball Hall Of Fame inductie Ken Griffey Jr has been named the honorary Pace car driver for Sunday’s 108th running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge.
Griffey Jr spoke the opportunity ahead of him saying:
Driving the Pace Car and leading the field to start the Indy 500 is one of the coolest experiences. “I came to the track a few years ago as a photographer and look forward to seeing the race from a different perspective.”
Known as “Junior” and “The Kid,” Griffey played 22 years as an outfielder in the Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent the majority of his career with the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, with a short stint with the Chicago White Sox.
The first overall pick in the 1987 draft and a 13-time All-Star, Griffey is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history. His 630 home runs rank as the seventh-most in MLB history. Griffey was also an exceptional defender and won 10 Gold Glove Awards in center field. He is tied for the record of most consecutive games with a home run (eight, with Don Mattingly and Dale Long).
Ken Griffey Jr also voiced himself in arguably one of the best episodes of The Simpsons where he joined the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant soft ball team.
Indianapolis Motor Speedway President J Douglas Boles commented saying:
Every baseball fan knows Ken Griffey Jr. “Two legends will come together as Griffey hops into the Corvette E-Ray to lead the field at the Racing Capital of the World.”