The times they are a-changin. Before their official debut at the LA Auto Show on the 19th, both the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid and the Fusion Sport will be performing duties as the official pace cars for the NASCAR Sprint Cup this Sunday. This will be the first time ever that a hybrid will be the NASCAR pace car, almost. The Fusion Hybrid will lead at the starting green flag, and the more powerful non-hybrid Fusion Sport will take over the rest of the pace car duties.

The stock Fusion hybrid is able to get up to 47 miles per hour using it’s electric motors alone, but the green flag lap will be a bit faster than that, so the hybrid fusion will be polluting at least a little bit. But the Homestead-Miami Speedway is 2.3 miles long, and the Fusion hybrid can go 700 miles one one tank of fuel, so the new Fusion could go over 300 laps without making a pit stop.

The hybrid Fusion will be all decked out in leafy-green for the race, but it’s still 100% stock under the hood. The Fusion Hybrid has a 2.5L Atkinson cycle four-cylinder engine paired to high-voltage electric motor. The all-new 2010 Ford Fusion will hit showrooms next spring, but stay tuned for more pricing and spec details as its November 19 debut nears.