Mercury Pace Car Starting the 1957 Indianapolis 500 Race

01

Artifact Overview

This photograph shows the Mercury pace car at the start of the 1957 Indianapolis 500. Pace cars head the pack of race cars for the first unscored lap. They pick up speed around the track before pulling off the course. Racers used this lap to warm up their cars' engines and tires before speeding off on a "rolling start."

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

May 1957

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

84.1.1660.P.833.111697.77

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 4 in
Width: 4.875 in