GM Vice President Mark Reuss might have some explaining to do about why the company car is all banged up. (via Road & Track) Crashes in IndyCar have become a part of life, for better or worse. Crashes on the pace lap are a lot more rare. A crash involving the pace car — on the pace lap — is a whole other type of absurdity. Such was the case at the Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, and even with the benefit on context, there’s little about this story that isn’t silly. The pace car in Detroit was a beauty of a Corvette ZR1 priced at a cool $120,000 and it has surely devalued since hitting the track and heading straight into the wall. All airbags appeared to deploy and no one was injured in the incident. That’s the good, and most important, news. The bad news is, well, how poorly this all looks. The cost to repair the car remains unknown at the moment, but considering the driver was General Motors Vice President Mark Reuss, we can assume he’ll at least get a discount at the shop — or at the least get the damage taken out of his paycheck. From an optics standpoint this has got to be a bit of a nightmare for GM. It’s not enough that their VP crashed their car on national television in the city where the company is based, Reuss happened to spin into the wall underneath a banner promoting Chevrolet cars. The best thing to do here might just be to own it. Say the car spun out on a racetrack and emphasize that Corvettes should be driven responsibly. Focus on the safety features here working properly and show what steps the company is taking to improve upon that. Or just own this as a stupid mistake from a celebrity driver on a professional course. Either way, there’s no escaping the blame. Story continues – – – – – – Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at blakeschuster@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! More from Yahoo Sports: • Serena aces inappropriate Trump question • Don’t underestimate KD’s difficult postseason journey in second season with Warriors • Why the Chiefs’ backup QB declined endorsement money • Cubs’ weird win over Mets still leaves reason to worry<doc-sep>DETROIT – Sunday's Verizon IndyCar Series race began with a bang. Only moments before the green flag flew on Dual 2 of the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday, the pace car slammed into the Turn 2 wall. As the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, a car valued at around $123,000, entered the second turn on the streets of Belle Isle, the back end swung out and it slammed front first into the concrete wall. More:Pace car crashes happen — even to the best of drivers Mark Reuss, General Motors Executive Vice President of Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain, was behind the wheel of the car, while IndyCar official Mark Sandy was in the passenger seat where the airbag deployed. Both were taken to the infield care center where, according to IndyCar, they were each checked and cleared. Chairman of the Detroit Grand Prix, Bud Denker, confirmed the report, saying Ruess and Sandy escaped with no major injuries, though Reuss was "obviously disappointed in what happened." In a statement, Chevrolet said, "It is unfortunate that this incident happened. Many factors contributed, including weather and track conditions. The car’s safety systems performed as expected." Reuss is far from an inexperienced pace car driver. In fact, he has driven the pace car on the streets of Belle Isle on multiple occasions. According to an IndyCar official, he has been trained and attained certification to drive high-performance cars such as the Corvette ZR1. Insider:After so many close calls, Ryan Hunter-Reay savors that winning feeling Sunday's race runner-up and Verizon IndyCar Series championship leader Will Power said the turn that fooled Reuss is particularly tricky, and that an accident like that could have happened to almost anyone. "I felt really bad for whoever was in the pace car," Power said after finishing second to Ryan Hunter-Reay. "It's very easy to do as you go over that crest, and the traction control must have been turned off. So yeah, I felt — it wasn't really his fault. It's just such a bad corner. Like it's very easy to do." With Sunday's slip-up, Reuss joins a bigger club than most would expect. The list of those who have crashed or spun a pace car is lengthy and features some notable members, including Arie Luyendyk and Johnny Rutherford. Luyendyk lost control of his car in the rain at at Toronto in 2014. Rutherford wrecked the pace car at Texas in 1999. "You know, that's racing, right?" Power said. "I've seen plenty of pace car crashes. Like I've seen plenty of people coming off in the wet and crash. It's not abnormal." While the start of the race was delayed more than 30 minutes to clear the track of debris, pace car crashes have had far worse results. Perhaps the most infamous incident occurred ahead of the 1971 Indianapolis 500. Eldon Palmer, owner of an Indianapolis-area Dodge dealership, nearly killed hobbyist photographer Russ Lake when the brakes on the Dodge Challenger he was driving locked up and rammed into a camera stand at nearly 60 mph. Doyel: The most infamous pace car in Indy 500 history Lake estimated he fell about eight feet and limped away with a broken leg and hip and was hospitalized for six weeks. Suffice to say, while it was a bad weekend for Chevrolet — what with its pace car wrecked and a pair of Honda drivers crowned Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix champions on its home turf — it could have been a lot worse. Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter and Facebook: @jimayello.<doc-sep>
Detroit — In a highly unusual occurrence in auto racing, the second race of the Detroit Grand Prix was delayed Sunday when the Corvette ZR1 pace car spun at the start of its first lap and struck a portion of the wall of the Raceway on Belle Isle, with considerable force. Debris on the track just after Turn 2 and the need to use the backup pace car resulted in a delay from the 3:50 p.m. scheduled starting time. IndyCar series cars, which had lined up behind the pace car in 12 rows, were brought to a stop on the track and then returned to the pits. The driver of the pace car, Mark Reuss, leads the design, engineering, safety, quality, research and development, advanced vehicle technology and program management of General Motors. Reuss, who got out of the car to assess the damage, had been driving with IndyCar official Mark Sandy. Neither Reuss nor Sandy were injured in the crash, a GM spokesman said. "I saw him (Reuss) after and talked to him and he's fine," Detroit Grand Prix chairman Bud Denker said. "He told me he was totally OK and just disappointed in what happened." Reuss was apologetic in a Facebook post. "I want to thank you all for your well wishes today. I am ok. I have driven this course many many many times. I have paced this race in the wet, cold, hot, and calm. On Z06's, Grand Sports, and other things. It is never a casual thing for me, but an honor to be asked. Today I let down my friends, my family, Indycar, our city and my company. Sorry does not describe it. I want to thank our engineers for providing me the safety I know is the best in the world." Crews of the racing team gathered around the cars. Some checked the tires for any debris that might have collected from the mishap. "You can only imagine that the social media channels are having a little fun, at the moment," Allen Bestwick, the race announcer for ABC, said on the broadcast. The command to restart engines came at 4:17 p.m., 27 minutes after the scheduled start of the race. After the race, IndyCar driver Will Power was sympathetic to Reuss' mishap. "I felt really bad for whoever was in the pace car," Power said. "It's very easy to do, and the traction control must have been turned off. Wasn't really his fault." Added race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay: "That's a testament to the Corvette and 750 horsepower. I've driven one before and you don't want to jump on the gas. That's a fast car. It's something that can happen and the race hadn't started, so no big deal."