C7 Corvette practicing as Indy 500 pace car?

Although the C7 Corvette may have gotten snubbed at this year's Super Bowl, it looks like the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will be front and center for some of the brightest lights in automotive racing. These spy shots show Chevrolet engineers testing a Stingray coupe with safety lights added to the front and rear of the car as we normally see on a pace car, and judging by the timing and the history of General Motors pacing the Indianapolis 500, it looks like this Corvette could be getting ready for next month's big race.

We contacted Chevrolet PR, who remained understandably coy on the subject, but we have good reason to believe this is, in fact, the pace car. (We also note the recently-revealed Camaro Convertible Hot Wheels Edition has already been confirmed for race-related duties, yet it hasn't been revealed as the pace car).

Preparing for pace duty, this C7 adds small strobes into the lower grille and a light bar integrated into the rear window opening, and the factory LEDs on the side of the headlights will also be programmed to flash. Judging by the white tape still covering the rocker panels, there could be other changes planned for the car as well. If this is in fact the pace car for the 2013 Indy 500, that would mark the 12th time a Corvette has led the field to the green flag. Either way, we should know soon – the 97th running of the race is Sunday, May 26.