Literal Pacer: Pacers Pascal Siakam To Drive Pace Car For Brickyard 400

NASCAR is gearing up for a weekend at one of the most iconic tracks on the planet, Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400 — the race's second year back after a hiatus during which the Cup Series raced on the IMS road course, which is great… just not the same — and now we know who will be driving the pace car.

Fittingly enough, it's a Pacer.

Specifically, Indiana Pacers power forward Pascal Siakam.

Siakam gets the nod after a stellar season in which he was named the Eastern Conference finals MVP and he and the Pacers fell just short of an NBA Championship, ultimately losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

"Basketball and motorsports — Pacers and racers — go hand in hand in Indianapolis," Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar President Doug Boles said in a statement, per the Associated Press. "Following the Pacers’ electrifying postseason run, it’s only fitting to have Pascal join us to pace the field as NASCAR’s biggest stars compete to win the In-Season Challenge and add their name to the history books with a win at the Brickyard."

This will be pretty cool, and the Indy crowd is going to eat it up.

Indiana Pacers star Pascal Siakam will lead the field to green behind the wheel of the pace car at the Brickyard 400. (Getty Images)

Siakam will lead the Cup series field to green in a 2025 Chevrolet Blazer EV SS, and that is one heck of an endorsement for that automobile as far as roominess is concerned, with Spicy P squeezing his 6-foot-8 frame in it for a few pace laps around the iconic 2.5-mile track.

The Pacers star won't be the only big name on hand for the weekend. The grand marshal for Sunday's race will be none other than Cookie Monster.

Yes, the puppet of Sesame Street fame.

Hopefully, he doesn't use the command for drivers to start their engines to get political and slam the recent cuts to PBS.