49ers coach Jim Harbaugh to drive Indianapolis 500 pace car

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh was tapped to drive the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

Harbaugh already has ties to IndyCar racing and Indianapolis. He’s a co-owner of the Panther Racing team, which has two drivers in the 500: J.R. Hildebrand and Townsend Bell.

Driving the Chevrolet Corvette to lead the 33-car field at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is “a tremendous thrill,” Harbaugh said in a statement Tuesday night.

Harbaugh, 49, got the racing bug attending the Indy 500 as a child. He later played four seasons as quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts in 1994-97 as part of his 14-year career as an NFL player. Harbaugh wore No. 4, the same number on Hildebrand’s car.

Harbaugh led the 49ers to the NFC Championship last year but lost in the Super Bowl in February to the Baltimore Ravens, who are coached by his brother, John Harbaugh.

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