A NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro run by Hendrick Motorsports will compete in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans to be driven by a two-time Le Mans winner, an F1 world champion and a seven-time NASCAR champion.
This is not an April Fool’s joke. A next generation of NASCAR chevrolet camaro zl1 will take part in this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, the centenary of the iconic endurance race.
Motorsports fans are already wondering how, and perhaps why, the blunt object that is a NASCAR heavyweight will compete with the low, sharp, lightweight sports cars that dominate the Le Mans race.
Although competing in separate categories, it will be quite a spectacle with the two opposites of the motorsport world sharing the same circuit in the same race.
He garage 56 the entry is scheduled to be approved by the organizers of the Le Mans race, l’Automobile Club De l’Ouest (ACO) in the coming weeks, according to reports abroad.
Garage 56, according to the ACO, “is not part of the official competition and technical regulations do not have to be applied. The idea is to leave as much room for creativity as possible. Garage 56 explores the car technology of tomorrow and beyond.”
The Chevrolet NASCAR entry will be handled by hendrick motorsport, the 14-time NASCAR championship-winning team owned by Rick Hendricks. The car will be driven by the seven-time NASCAR champion. jimmy johnson2009 Formula One World Champion jenson buttonand two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans mike rockefeller.
According to a statement from Hendrick Motorsports, the Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro will race at La Sarthe “virtually unchanged from the Next Gen race car that competes weekly in the NASCAR Cup Series. Among the changes made to prepare the car for an endurance race are working headlights and taillights, a larger fuel cell, carbon brake discs and purpose-built Goodyear Eagle tires.”
The specifications reveal that the Le Mans racer will be 50mm longer than a NASCAR race car and weigh considerably less, tipping the scales at 1,342kg, some 238kg lighter than a standard car (1,580kg).
Le Mans-bound NASCAR track testing began in August last year and has covered almost 6,000km since then.
“From the beginning of this project, it was important to us that the car we bring to Le Mans be a true NASCAR stock car,” NASCAR President and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “While some adjustments have been made to allow the car to compete in a 24-hour endurance race, fans at Le Mans will get the full NASCAR experience.”
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