Keanu Reeves never got to drive the bus in “Speed,” but he’ll more than make up for it this weekend – and he’ll be going a lot faster than 50 MPH.
The “John Wick” star was announced this week as the driver of the No. 92 car for a pair of weekend races in the Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Cup North America series. Based on the street-legal Toyota GR 86, Reeves’ weekend whip is capable of reaching speeds up to 150 miles per hour.
The starting grid will be made up of more than 30 such identical cars, doing laps around the road course format of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He’ll be following in the wheeltracks drivers in Formula One, IndyCar and NASCAR, all of which have held series events at the twisty track that utilizes much of the speedway’s historic oval.
Reeves will drive for Eagles Canyon Racing, joining fellow guest driver Cody Jones, a member of the YouTube content creators Dude Perfect. Practice sessions begin Thursday, with the first qualifying session on Friday and races both Saturday and Sunday.
Reeves is not a professional racer, nor has he had the same kind of success or experience as celebrity drivers like Alfonso Ribeiro, Adam Carolla and Frankie Muniz. But he is an avid motorcyclist and motorsports enthusiast, having produced the 2009 F1 documentary “Braking Point” and participated in motorsports events.
Reeves has competed on-track, however, including the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race in Long Beach, California, in 2009. Reeves won the celebrity category, finishing fourth overall.
The races will be available to watch on the series website.
