pace car
3
4.5
- noun
- /peɪs kɑr/
- Jargon
:
auto de seguridad
- The first lap begins after the pace car exits the track, signalling the racers to go full speed.
- drive the pace car
Examples
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The pace car is off and the parade laps are underway.
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The pace car pulls off, the green flag is out, and the race is on!
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The pace car is in, and we're ready to race.
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The pace car is about to go off.
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The leading white pace car moves into the number one turn.
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All cars remaining in competition will start single-file behind the pace car.
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The pace car is off, the green flag is out, and we're underway here at California Speedway!
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In addition, Rock will serve as the celebrity pace car driver at the Homestead-Miami Raceway.
Blog text (16) -
The pace car leads the competitors around the track before the race begins.
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As the pace car pulls away, the drivers prepare for the green flag to start the race.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'pace' (speed/rate) with 'car' (vehicle): a car that sets or controls the pace. This noun+noun compounding follows a transparent, compositional pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words can infer (i.e., a car that leads or sets speed in a race).
Etymology
Pace car comes from motor racing, where a car drives in front to set the pace for the other cars before the race or when the track is slow after a crash. The picture of a car leading and 'setting the speed' is why the term means a vehicle that leads and controls the speed of the field.