Equipment
5.7, 6-speed, black wheels, Firestone Firehawk tires, T-tops.
Condition
One of the two pace cars used in the actual race in 2002, and comes with documentation. Signed by Tony Stewart and Jay Leno. 6812 miles. Mostly just as clean as you’d expect, although the decals are slightly faded and there is a small scratch in the left rear.
Market commentary
2002 was the last year for the Firebird. It didn’t share in the Camaro’s resurrection at the end of the decade, so it and the GTO were the last performance Pontiacs. And the most eye-catching model of the whole fourth generation (1993-02) Firebird lineup was the 2002 Collector Edition, a bright yellow, black-accented WS6 that largely emulated this Daytona pace car. Pontiacs paced the Daytona 500 almost nonstop throughout the 1970s and 1980s. They did it from 2000-03, too, but ’00 and ’03 were Grand Prix and ’01 was an Aztek, so this is the last “cool” Pontiac to pace the race. A disclaimer from Barrett-Jackson clarified that this is a modified vehicle on a reconstructed title so registering it for the road wouldn’t be as simple as a trip to the DMV, but this is nevertheless the kind of car that fourth gen fans would get excited over. Same goes for Pontiac collectors and NASCAR enthusiasts generally. Yet it sold for a surprisingly modest price. Regular old ’02 Trans Ams in this condition have sold for less. A good buy, all things considered.