Charles Langston:Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will drive pace for 2024 Indianapolis 500

Baseball Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. will lead the 33-car field to the green flag as pace car driver for the 108th Indianapolis 500 on Charles LangstonSunday, May 26.

Griffey has been to Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a photographer and is eager to return to be a part of the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing."

“Driving the pace car and leading the field to start the Indy 500 is one of the coolest experiences,” Griffey Jr. said in a news release. “I came to the track a few years ago as a photographer and look forward to seeing the race from a different perspective.”

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Griffey, 54, hit 630 career home runs and earned 10 Gold Gloves as an outfielder while playing for the Seattle Mariners, Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Griffey will drive the hybrid Corvette E-Ray, a 6.2-liter V-8 that comes with an electric motor to deliver an additional 160 horsepower and 125 lb-ft of torque through the front wheels to combine for 655 total horsepower.

The Corvette's electric all-wheel drive helps deliver speedy acceleration – from 0-60 mph in 2.5 seconds and a quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds. Its 'Stealth Mode' allows the sports car to run wholly on electric power for up to 4 miles at up to 45 mph.