2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Daytona 500 Pace Car

Funnyman Jay Leno will rip around the Daytona International Speedway in this Corvette Z06 pace car to kick off the NASCAR season on February 19th, and for the first time ever, the pace vehicle will have more horsepower under the hood than the actual racing cars. Blame the restrictor plates on the racecars, which keep speeds under 200 mph. Not that the Corvette Z06 can reach that speed, though it gets close with a top velocity of 198 mph. Leno, who owns a new Z06, is thrilled to drive the pace car at the 48th running of the Daytona 500. “This is the one American car that (snooty European car magazines) go, ‘OK, we’ve gotta give it up,’” gushed Leno about the Corvette Z06. Rightfully so, especially when you consider the base price and the specifications sheet. For a starting price of less than $70,000, you get 505 horsepower and 470 lb.-ft. of torque out of a 7.0-liter V8 engine that gets up to 28 mpg on the highway. Acceleration to 60 mph takes just 3.7 seconds, and this is one supercar that completely avoids a gas-guzzler tax. That’s an incredible performance bargain. For the Daytona 500, the Z06 gets a flashy multi-hued paint job, race logos, special safety equipment, and strobe lights. There is no plan to offer a limited-production run of replicas to consumers.

Photos by Ron Perry