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That time we lapped Indy with Tony Kanaan in a Corvette Z06

We're here in Indianapolis, IN, attending this weekend's 99th running of the Indy 500. The big event happens tomorrow, but the city is buzzing today with all sorts of pre-race festivities. For us, that means checking out Indianapolis Motor Speedway a day early, and getting a hot lap around the racetrack in the official Indy 500 pace car – a 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Our driver for the occasion is IndyCar racer Tony Kanaan, who won the Indianapolis 500 in 2013. Of course, he'll be competing tomorrow, leaving pace duties to none other than Jeff Gordon. Check out our minute-and-a-half-long lap of the Indy 500 track in the video above, where Kanaan hugs the wall in true race style, getting the Z06 past 150 miles per hour on the back straight. Stay tuned for more Indy 500 coverage later this weekend.

GM says its electric pickup truck is 'in development'

GM President Mark Reuss just reiterated the company's support for an electric pickup project. He also claimed that GM is going to be selling its future electric cars at "very average transaction prices" during the same conference with Wall Street analysts. Previously, Mary Barra informed the world of GM's electric pickup truck aspirations, but didn't tell us anything else. Reuss says the truck is already in development, though, according to a Wards Auto report. "We will have a complete electric lineup, including a pickup truck that's in development," Reuss said. This comment marks the second time GM has gone on the record about its intentions to bring an electric pickup to market. Additionally, Reuss said GM's third-generation global EV platform will be used to help develop the electric pickup. This platform was recently announced to underpin at least 20 new EVs from GM in the future — the platform itself is slated to be unveiled in 2021. Of course, this platform will be flexible and modular to allow various body styles to be used with it, a truck being one of those. Reuss still hasn't said what GM brand the pickup will be sold under, or what class of truck it will be. GM thinks this new platform is also going to be what helps it drive down the cost of building EVs. "We'll reach parity a lot sooner than people think," Reuss said comparing EVs to traditional gas-powered engines. "We're driving down the cost of batteries and the whole EV in general." As for electric pickups, Ford is also deep in development of its own electric F-150. However, neither of these truck projects have official timelines on them, so we can't say when they'll hit the market. For now, the cross-town rivals are both in development with their respective electric pickups. Even further across town is Rivian (in which Ford just invested half a billion dollars), a company that says its electric R1T pickup is right around the corner, with the official due date being end of 2020 for the time being. Green Chevrolet GMC Green Culture Green Driving Truck Electric Future Vehicles

Kurt Busch to shake and bake (again) in Ricky Bobby car at Talladega

Kurt Busch will channel Ricky Bobby for another NASCAR race, this time driving a Wonder-sponsored Chevrolet SS, in this weekend's Camping World RV Sales 500 at the Talladega Motor Speedway. Unlike past tie-ins, though, there's actually an element of sponsorship here (the "Me" car was done when Busch was running on a team without sponsorship).
It was arranged by Flower Foods, the new owner of the Wonder brand. Wonder was part of the bankrupt Hostess company, which temporarily exited the US market 2012, and set off the Great Twinkie Shortage.
Busch has made something of a habit of channeling characters from famous racing movies, most recently running Tom Cruise's City Chevrolet livery from Days of Thunder in a Nationwide Series race earlier this year. Busch kicked off his movie-inspired antics, though, at Talladega in 2012, when he raced El Diablo's ("It's like... Spanish for like a fighting chicken") "Me" car complete with a cougar on the hood. He even went so far as to channel the lovable idiot that is Ricky Bobby during the race, dropping a few catchphrases about macchiatos and slingshots.