In auto racing, a safety car (known in America as the pace car) is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a major accident or obstruction on the track. In production automobiles, a safety car is one which highlights safety features.
Formula One
In Formula One, if there is a bad accident on the track (or bad weather), corner workers will call for a full course yellow flag and show boards saying "SC" meaning that the Safety Car has been deployed. The F1 Safety Car (SC) has both yellow and green lights on it, the green is to let the person behind the SC pass until the leader is right behind it and then the yellow lights go on. This car is to be operated by a professional driver—currently Bernd Maylander—and must maintain a good speed so that the tires on the racecars can stay at operating temperature. During the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, the race director ordered the safety car (Driven by Max Angeletti at the time) out after two cars (J.J. Lehto in the Benneton-Ford and Pedro Lamy in the Lotus-Mugen Honda) wrecked during the start, rather than having the race red-flagged, having the cars restart. This decision caused reduced temperature in the cars' tires, a circumstance to which the death of Ayrton Senna later in the race has been partially attributed.
Whenever the one lap to green is given, the pace car will turn off its overhead lights to let the drivers know that they will be back at full speed next time by. In Formula One, during the one lap to green, the SC will have the lights on until it is a few turns away from the pits and the lights will go out. That notifies the drivers that they will be racing in a few minutes.
Indianapolis 500
The officials at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway have been selecting a car and driver for the Indy 500 each year the race has been held since 1911. Chevrolet has been chosen as the official pace car numerous times. The pace car is selected two months before the race runs, allowing the manufacturer of the selected pace car to produce replicas of that year's car, which sell at a marked premium to collectors and race fans. Pace car replicas are often seen on the streets of Indianapolis weeks before the race is actually held. For the 2005 Indy 500, the Chevrolet Corvette has been chosen as the Official Pace Car yet again with General Powell driving the pace car.
NASCAR
In the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, if the caution is out for debris, accident, or inclement weather, the flagman will display the yellow caution flag and the pace car will pull out of the pits and turn on the yellow lightbar on the top of the car. NASCAR pace car driver Elmo Langley (August 22, 1929-November 21, 1996) was a frequent "victim" of Dale Earnhardt, who had a reputation for bumping the pace car during cautions "for the fun of it".
Production safety cars
Another use of the term applies to the many car sold with a focus on safety features. The term was coined for the Stutz Motor Company in the 1920s, and was used repeatedly as a marketing differentiator after that. Notable Safety cars included the 1948 Tucker, the 1957 Aurora, the Bricklin SV-1 ("Safety Vehicle-1"), and the De Lorean DMC-12. In modern times, both Volvo and Saturn have used safety as a sales pitch.
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