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Safety car

The F1 Safety Car outside of its garage in the pitlane at the 2005 US Grand Prix

In auto racing, a safety car (known in America as the pace car) is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a major accident or obstruction on the track. In production automobiles, a safety car is one which highlights safety features.

Formula One

In Formula One or other road racing events, if there is some incident (such as an accident blocking parts of the track, or very heavy rain) meaning that normal racing cannot continue safely, corner workers will call for a full course yellow flag and show boards saying "SC" meaning that the safety car has been deployed. The F1 Safety Car (SC) has both yellow and green lights on it; the green light allows the driver just behind the SC to pass. Once the race leader is right behind the SC, the yellow lights go on. This car is to be operated by a professional driver—currently Bernd Maylander—and must maintain a good speed so that the tires on the racecars can stay at operating temperature.

The first use of the Safety Car in Formula One was at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix. However, the Safety Car took its place in front of the wrong driver, which placed part of the field incorrectly one lap down. It took several hours after the end of the race to straighten out who the winner actually was.

Formula One did not use the Safety Car again until the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix.

To date, the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix is the only Formula One race to finish behind the Safety Car.

In Formula One, during the one lap to green, the SC will have the lights on until it is a few turns away from the pits and the lights will go out. That notifies the drivers that they will be racing in a few minutes.

Since the start of the 2004 season, the safety car has been a (tuned) Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG. For the 2006 season the new CLK 63 AMG will be used.

The 1973 Canadian Grand Prix was not the only controversy for the Formula One Safety Car. During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the race director decided to order the safety car (Driven by Max Angeletti at the time) out after two cars (J.J. Lehto in the Benneton-Ford and Pedro Lamy in the Lotus-Mugen Honda) wrecked during the start (in a crash that was frighteningly similar to the 1982 crash that killed Riccardo Paletti), rather than put the race under a red flag, and subsequently have the cars restart. This decision caused the temperature in the cars' tires to fall, a circumstance to which the death of Ayrton Senna later in the race was partially attributed.

The use of a safety car has the side effect of pushing all the competitors together, so any time advantage of one car over another that remains on the same lap is virtually eliminated. This "drawing together" effect can make racing more competitive; conversely, it can be viewed as preventing faster drivers and cars from receiving appropriate rewards for their efforts.

Indianapolis 500

The officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have been selecting a pace car and its driver for the Indy 500 each year the race has been held since 1911. The first pace car was a Stoddard-Dayton driven by Carl G. Fisher. Chevrolet models have been chosen as the official pace car numerous times. The pace car is selected two months before the race runs, allowing the manufacturer of the selected pace car to produce replicas of that year's car, which sell at a marked premium to collectors and race fans. Pace car replicas are often seen on the streets of Indianapolis weeks before the race is actually held. For the 2005 Indy 500, the Chevrolet Corvette was chosen as the Official Pace Car yet again, with General Colin Powell driving the pace car for the start.

Automakers compete for the prestige of having one of their models selected as the year's pace car for the publicity. In 1971 it backfired for Chrysler Corporation and local Indianapolis-area Dodge dealers. Eldon Palmer lost control of the Dodge Challenger pace car and crashed into a photography stand, injuring several people. The blame for the crash was never fully determined, as officials realized that an orange cone (or perhaps an orange flag), which was to identify Palmer's braking point, was accidentally removed.

In the last 50 years, the Pontiac Trans Am, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Oldsmobile Cutlass, and Ford Mustang are the only models that have been selected as pace car three or more times.

During the Indy Racing League season, however, Johnny Rutherford is the normal driver of the IRL pace car for all series events. The pace car is deployed for debris, collision, or weather reasons. Since 1993, upon the waving of the yellow flag, pit road is closed until the pace car picks up the leader and he passes the pit entrance the first time, unless track blockage forces the field to drive through pit lane.

NASCAR

In all NASCAR series, if the caution is out for debris, accident, or inclement weather, the flagman will display the yellow caution flag and the pace car will pull out of the pits and turn on the yellow lightbar on the top of the car. NASCAR pace car driver Elmo Langley (August 22, 1929-November 21, 1996) was a frequent "victim" of Dale Earnhardt, who had a reputation for bumping the pace car during cautions "for the fun of it".

Since mid-2004, NASCAR official Brett Bodine drives the vehicle during official race functions during Nextel Cup Series races after a series of controversies over the beneficiary, or "free pass" rule, also known as the "lucky dog" rule.

The beneficiary rule states once the safety car is deployed, the first car not on the lead lap will regain a lap. Initially, the free pass was deployed on the one lap to go signal, then on two laps to go signal, but after controversy, the free pass car will regain his lap once pit road opens. Bodine will signal that car to pass him through radio contact between NASCAR and that team.

Production safety cars

Another use of the term applies to the many car sold with a focus on safety features. The term was coined for the Stutz Motor Company in the 1920s, and was used repeatedly as a marketing differentiator after that. Notable Safety cars included the 1948 Tucker, the 1957 Aurora, the Bricklin SV-1 ("Safety Vehicle-1"), and the De Lorean DMC-12. In modern times, both Volvo and Saturn have used safety as a sales pitch.

External links

• Formula1.com: Safety car
• Indy 500 Pace Cars

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