clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Indy 500 2013: Jim Harbaugh set to drive the pace car

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh will man the pace car for Sunday's Indianapolis 500. We take a look at some of his comments in advance of the big race.

By David Fucillo
@njfix on Twitter

The San Francisco 49ers return to OTAs next week, but the players and coaches are enjoying some time off before then. 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh will be enjoying his weekend in Indianapolis at the Indianapolis 500. Coach Harbaugh will be serving as the driver of the pace car for today's Indy 500.

Coach Harbaugh has his Indianapolis connections given his extensive time with the Colts. Additionally, Coach Harbaugh is a part owner of Panther Racing. J.R. Hildebrand is their driver and he will be starting today's race in the 10th position.

Here's a great shot of Coach Harbaugh as he prepares to take practice laps.

Coach Harbaugh was involved in a press conference on Saturday. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was kind enough to provide a transcript of his comments to the media. The highlight had to be this one:

Q: Do you have some sort of restaurant you like to go to, a sort of place in Indianapolis you like to spend time

HARBAUGH: No. I like to go to the Cracker Barrel (Laughter) because there are no Cracker Barrels in California. So that's the one thing that I really -- California does not have a Cracker Barrel. I live by Eagle Creek when I lived here in town, over off of 38th Street there was a great Cracker -- I ate there four days a week, so I really miss it. (Laughter)

And I buy my pants here. Every year I buy my clothes for the year. Also, on 38th Street, the Wal-Mart over there, Dickies khakis. I just like getting them here in Indianapolis. And Dickies, the working man's khaki; I like it. And when I come to the Combine, I always stop there and get a few extra sets.

I assume at some point we'll see Coach Harbaugh doing endorsements for Dickies. He is a pretty low key guy, so this might be as far as any endorsement goes. The pops for Dickies and Cracker Barrel is rather amusing.

Panther Racing has done well with numerous second place finishes in recent years. Keep an eye out for Hildebrand on Sunday. We'll have other content, but this can operate as a sort of Indy 500 open thread. We'll try and get some pictures of Coach Harbaugh in the pace car Sunday morning.

Next Up In San Francisco 49ers News