GM executive Mark Reuss crashed a $120,000 Corvette on Sunday. (AP file photo) There’s nothing more American than getting behind the wheel of a monster-horsepower ride and cutting loose. And thus there is nothing more embarrassing than getting behind the wheel of a monster-horsepower ride and banging it straight into a wall. GM vice president of product development Mark Reuss suffered that toxic embarrassment on Sunday prior to Race 2 of the Chevrolet Dual in Detroit Grand Prix. Driving a 755-horsepower, $120,000 Corvette ZR-1, Reuss spun and slammed hard into a wall, causing a 30-minute delay for cleanup. In the immediate aftermath of the wreck, GM issued a statement that sought to deflect a bit of blame onto “weather and track conditions”: Chevrolet statement on the accident that saw a GM exec crash a Corvette pace car prior to the IndyCar race. pic.twitter.com/7Qsp6PMBh6 — Jordan Bianchi (@Jordan_Bianchi) June 3, 2018 Monday, Reuss took to Facebook to offer his own apologies: “I want to thank you all for your well wishes today,” Reuss wrote. “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.” Bad as it was, the wreck still didn’t approach the Eddie Griffin Debacle, when the Hollywood actor wrecked a $1.5 million Ferrari Enzo: Yeah. Maybe most folks should just stick to minivans. – – – – – – – Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook. More from Yahoo Sports: • Cavs star abruptly ends interview: ‘That’s [expletive] up’ • In classy move, Bears sign TE after catastrophic injury • Coach Kerr trolls LeBron at news conference • GM VP’s pace car humiliation in Detroit<doc-sep>A General Motors executive crashed a new Corvette pace car into a wall at the start of an IndyCar race in Detroit this past weekend, delaying the event by a half-hour. GM executive vice-president of product development Mark Reuss spun out on Turn 2 of the Belle Isle racetrack while leading the pack in a 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 on a pace lap ahead of the Detroit Grand Prix, reports Road & Track. Reuss was unharmed, but the incident – which happened on live TV – delayed the start of the event by 34 minutes. Officials had Spanish IndyCar driver Oriol Servia pace the second start. It’s unclear what caused the spin-out, especially considering Reuss is a huge motorsports enthusiast who’s logged several hours on-track and around challenging circuits like the Nürburgring. Some outlets have speculated the stability control may have been turned off. In a statement after the race, Chevrolet blamed the crash on “many factors […] including weather and track conditions,” but R&T points out that while it rained earlier in the day, it was sunny and 21 C at the start of the race, and that the track was dry. Of course, the Corvette’s tires may have been cold.<doc-sep>"We are thankful that there were no serious injuries," General Motors said in a statement. "Both the pace car driver and the series official were taken to the infield care center, where they were checked, cleared and released. It is unfortunate that this incident happened. Many factors contributed, including weather and track conditions. The car's safety systems performed as expected."<doc-sep>NEW A vastly improved search engine helps you find the latest on companies, business leaders, and news more easily.<doc-sep>
The 2018 Detroit Grand Prix of Belle Isle was halted by a crash before the race even started - and it had nothing to do with one of the Indy Car drivers. The race was delayed by 27 minutes after the 2019 Chevy Corvette ZR1 pace car drove into a wall during the parade lap. General Motors executive vice president of global product development Mark Reuss was behind the wheel. Both the driver and passenger Mark Sand, an IndyCar official, were unharmed and exited the vehicle after the incident. "I want to thank you all for your well wishes today. I am ok," Reuss wrote on his personal Facebook page. "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. "Reuss is one of the better-known and well-regarded automotive executives with a genuine love of cars.Will Power, winner of this year's Indy 500, was sympathetic. "It's very easy to do as you go over that crest, and the traction control must have been turned off," Power said. "So yeah, I felt — wasn't really his fault. It's just such a bad corner. Like it's very easy to do ... You know, that's racing, right? I've seen plenty of pace car crashes. Like I've seen plenty of people coming off in the wet and crash, and not abnormal. "Following the 27-minute delay, a backup pace car was brought out, driven by IndyCar veteran Oriol Servià. Ryan Hunter-Reay went on to win the race.