INDIANAPOLIS -- Racing icon and NBC Sports analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. will pilot the pace car for the 103rd running of the Indianapolis 500.

Earnhardt has been tapped to drive the 2019 Corvette Grand Sport and lead the field of 33 to the green flag next Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Following his duties in the pace car, Earnhardt will rejoin the NBC team to resume his role as commentator for their first ever live telecast of the race.

“I was already excited to attend my first Indianapolis 500 with NBC Sports, but driving the pace car just takes it to another level,” Earnhardt said in a news release. “The Corvette Grand Sport is an awesome car, and it’s an honor to be asked to lead the field to the green flag.

“I’m proud to be a part of such a prestigious event at a place that means so much to racing history. This will be an experience that I’ll cherish forever.”

If Earnhardt as the pace car driver for a major event at IMS sounds familiar, that's because he drove the 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 pace car at last year's Brickyard 400.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the most popular and respected drivers in American motorsports in recent decades, and he knows all about speed, passion and tradition at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” IMS President J. Douglas Boles said. “We knew he would enjoy his first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge with the NBC Sports team, but driving the Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car will create an even more indelible memory for a lifetime.”

Follow IndyStar Motor Sports Insider Jim Ayello on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook: @jimayello.