Curt Cignetti will serve as the pace car driver for the 2026 Indy 500, IndyCar announced Tuesday.
The Indiana Hoosiers football coach earned the honor after leading his team to victory in the CFP National Championship Game last season. Indiana completed the best season in school history and became college football’s first 16-0 team in 132 years.
The Hoosiers beat Miami, 27-21, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens to cap their championship run.
Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and delivered when it mattered most. He was key in a 38-3 win over Alabama in the Rose Bowl. He also led a 56-22 blowout over Oregon in the Peach Bowl.
Under Cignetti’s direction, Indiana has gone 27-2 over the last two seasons. In both campaigns, the Hoosiers earned trips to the College Football Playoff with different quarterbacks.
In 2024, Indiana went 11-2. Their two losses that season came to Ohio State and Notre Dame.
As fate would have it, the two teams played in the national championship game that year.
For his efforts, Cignetti received an extension to make him college football’s highest paid coach over Georgia’s Kirby Smart. In two years, he’s proven what’s possible in the NIL era with good coaching and roster management.
Cignetti will drive the new Chevrolet Corvette ZR1X at this year’s Indy 500 scheduled for Sunday, May 24 (10 a.m. ET, FOX).
