Hendrick Motorsports Legend Delivers Update on NASCAR’s Controversial Le Mans Program Car

The NASCAR 2022 campaign has drawn to a close. However, people behind the scenes at Hendrick Motorsports apparently are focusing on something major for the iconic European endurance race. Recently, a Hendrick Motorsports legend provided an inside scoop on the progress of their upcoming pet project.

The garage manager for the project and Vice President of Competition at Hendrick Motorsports, Chad Knaus, stated, “We wanted to come and establish a baseline of performance. How the car was and how it compared to other series that have raced at this track before. We’re going through troubleshooting. What could go wrong? What will go wrong? How do we adjust? How do we fix it? That’s what we’ve been doing today is just fixing little problems and bringing up our performance as well.”

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Testing has already ensued

The team took out the spec-built car for a two-day long testing period at the Virginia International Raceway. Throughout the test, they gathered massive amounts of on-track performance data. They did so, in order to perfect and fine-tune the required features ahead of its debut at the 24-hour Le Mans race in France. The car being used by the team is a custom Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

However, as much as there is an interest among people for this project, there was also criticism and controversy surrounding NASCAR’s decision to only work with Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet for the project. During a press conference, the driver of Joe Gibbs Racing, Denny Hamlin stated, “Finding out through a press conference is not OK. We have too many people in place, NASCAR has too many executives for that to have slipped through the cracks. Not that it slipped through the cracks, but like, where’s the transparency of it?”

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Earlier this year, Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR announced that they would partner up for the iconic Le Mans race at Circuit de la Sarthe.

Through the joint effort, they planned on building a purpose-built Cup Series car. They made it as per the specifications and requirements of the endurance race. The term Garage 56 is associated with the organizers of Le Mans. This is where the exhibition participant’s cars are located for the duration of the race weekend. Cars participating in this method are not racing for the win or the points. However, they are just an ornamental addition to the races.

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For NASCAR, this would be a good way to increase its publicity in the European market. The drivers taking part would also get to witness the race first-hand. It’s not every day you meet a driver who has also competed in the iconic 24-hour endurance. But this method could be a good chance to also see how the NASCAR Cup Series Next-Gen cars stack up against the usual grid.