Typically when there's a big race the pace car is some all-new sexy model that gets race fans revved up. The whole point is to provide a product to get some nice looks and PR for a brand.
Well, that was the plan until Chevrolet's SS pace car went up in flames at this past weekend's Sprint Unlimited held at Daytona.
From the footage below it's clear that you can spot the flame shooting out the trunk as the cabin quickly fills with smoke. Though we doubt we'll get a definitive answer to the cause of the spontaneous combustion, a shot in the dark would guess it had something to do with the vehicle's electronics and possible modifications to the pace car to make it suitable to go around the oval — police bar lights, perhaps?
NASCAR: Before the start of the final segment of the Sprint Unlimited, the pace car is forced to pull over after it catches fire.