Longtime Indiana resident Jeff Gordon longed to drive in the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race.

This afternoon, the NASCAR champion who is retiring at the conclusion of the current stock car season will lead the 33-car field to the green flag as the honorary pace car driver in the Chevrolet Corvette Z06 for the 99th Running of the Indy 500.

"This is as close as I think I'm going to get. What an honor for me to come back on Race Day," Gordon said. "This is my version of the 'double.' ''

After laps as the honorary Pace Car driver, he'll watch a portion of the race with his family and then head to North Carolina to compete in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that evening.

Watch the press conference from the Economaki Press Room at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this morning at 10:30 a.m. E.T.