“This Is a Proper Racecar!”: Jenson Button Blown Away by NASCAR’s First Le Mans Entry as He Takes It for a Spin

It wouldn’t be unfair to say that the worlds of Formula 1 and NASCAR are poles apart. On the one hand, F1 as a racing series is considered to be the pinnacle of engineering and technology. While, on the other end of the coin, NASCAR’s massive popularity has quickly been waning. But everything said and done, NASCAR isn’t really liable to be written off. Even though both disciplines vary considerably on paper, at the end of the day, both of them are sheer speed. On the eve of the world of F1 and NASCAR colliding on the historic patch of tarmac we’ve come to know as Le Mans, the entire racing community was served with an eye-opener.

On the 10th of June, we’ll have the 91st running of the storied 24hrs of Le Mans. Now, in the past, we’ve seen Formula 1 royalty grace the biggest stage in endurance racing, and even conquer it. However, this time around, F1 and NASCAR will team up to give us a blockbuster showing. It has been announced that 2009 F1 champion, Jenson Button will team up with 7x NASCAR champion, Jimmie Johnson and Mike Rockenfeller to race the Garage 56 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at Le Mans. And if you thought NASCAR is just a passover in front of F1, Jenson Button has something that’ll change your minds.

How NASCAR blew Jenson Button’s mind?

On the Dale Jr Download show, Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat down with Johnson to discuss this new alliance. While talking about how NASCAR is compared to F1, Earnhardt asked the 47-year-old about the Chevy that will run its race in June. Johnson said, “I think it’s been overwhelming. A lot of positivity.”

And this is a project that has been christened and approved by a bona fide F1 legend. “Jenson [Button], he’s a hoot. He hopped in the car when we were at Sebring, testing, couple of weeks ago and he was like, ‘this is a proper race car, this thing’s awesome!’,” said the NASCAR legend.

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Drivers in the past have shown their affection for the sport of NASCAR. But Jenson Button has gone that extra mile to get that esprit de corps going on.

Jenson Button leaps across the pond to support future teammate

Endurance racing is no mean feat. It is probably that one racing discipline where you absolutely have to get along with your teammates. That being said, Jenson Button will leave no stone unturned to get acquainted with his Garage 56 teammate Jimmie Johnson before the big race in June.

Button was off to the races with his family. He cheered on for Jimmie Johnson as he participated in the 65th edition of the Daytona 500 earlier today. What’s more? It would appear that his kids were as enthusiastic as him on this historic occasion. He put an Instagram story up before the race of his kids, captioning it, “Kids are ready for @nascar Daytona 500!”

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Will this NASCAR x F1 collab bear fruit at the 2023 24hrs of Le Mans?