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Local car club displays world’s only collection of Indy 500 Mustang pace cars

Posted at 6:11 PM, Jun 09, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-10 10:31:04-04

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.– One of the largest car clubs in the area got together Saturday morning to display a set of cars that has never been seen before.

The world’s only set of Indianapolis 500 Mustang pace cars is owned by Marty Mieras, a member of West Michigan Mustang Club, who says he’s been collecting for years.

“I’ve been a car collector for a bunch of years and when you find something, you dream about something, you find a pace car and oh, I’ve gotta have one,” Mieras tells FOX 17.

The pace car sets the pace and position for racers during their warm-up laps for the Indy 500 each May.

“It’s an incredible piece of history,” Mieras says. “The cool part is that there’s only one complete set of pace cars in the whole world and they’re all sitting right here in West Michigan.”

Club President Chris Stawasz tells FOX 17 it took a long time to get this collection together.

“Our members took about 17 years to get this collection together, so very, very rare,” Stawasz says.

The West Michigan Mustang Club started in 1981 with a small show in Grandville and has since grown into the area’s largest car club. Stawasz says their largest show had 250 cars.

The group isn’t just for fun though, the club raises money for local non-profits benefitting veterans and people with disabilities.