Junior Johnson to Drive Corvette Z06 Pace Car

Former Daytona 500 champion Junior Johnson, who claimed 50 NASCAR victories including the 1960 edition of "The Great American Race," will be behind the wheel of a 2008 Corvette Z06 as he paces the field before the start of the historic 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Daytona International Speedway. Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, the North Carolina native claimed his Daytona 500 victory in only his second season in NASCAR competition. That memorable win was behind the wheel of the #27 John Masoni Daytona Kennel Club Chevrolet Impala. Johnson joins past drivers who have paced "The Great American Race" including Baseball "Iron Man" Cal Ripken Jr., Actor Ben Affleck and Tonight Show host Jay Leno. This is the 37th consecutive year that General Motors has provided the Daytona 500 with the Official Pace Vehicle, and the fifth year running that Chevrolet has chosen Corvette for the job. The '08 Corvette Z06 will be decked out in "anniversary gold" in honor of the occasion, making it one of Chevy's most uniquely designed pace cars. Race tickets for the DIRECTV Speedweeks 2008 events are still available by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. DIS PR