Rick Hendrick and his team, Hendrick Motorsports, have not only dominated the NASCAR circuits but also represented the sport beyond their regional boundaries. While their latest attempts with Kyle Larson to complete the double didn’t come to fruition, the same cannot be said for their Garage 56 entry in the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year.

This was the first time since Bill France Sr entered Le Mans in 1976. Back then, they had two entries. Moreover, this was NASCAR’s 75th anniversary, a monumental occasion to represent NASCAR on a global level. Rick Hendrick and NASCAR set out on an ambitious project and managed to complete it after 24 hours of non-stop racing action.

Apart from Jimmie Johnson driving the #24 NASCAR entry, former Formula 1 champion Jensen Button. He did feature in an interview where he shared his experience of the success story of being part of the special project.

Jenson Button feels Le Mans will have to rename the Garage 56

Garage 56 is a special category innovation class car that was introduced by FIA back in 2012. So it’s not a part of the official competition, as the technical regulations are not imposed on this innovative class race car. Therefore, when NASCAR and Rick Hendrick’s HMS entered Le Mans, there was a different buzz about the project.

This allowed NASCAR to showcase its racing might on the world stage. The 7-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, along with his teammates, Jenson Button, and Mike Rockenfeller, managed a 39th-place finish out of 62 cars and achieved a milestone for NASCAR and HMS. The impact of this move created waves, so much so that the Garage 56 project is now considered to be a NASCAR entry.

“It’s funny actually, because, when you know garage 56 has been around for a long time in Le Mans. But I kind of feel you guys need to change the name of Garage 56, because when they think of Garage 56 now, they think of NASCAR, and I think they always will. Because it was such a special car,” Button said in an interview with FIA via YouTube.

The #24 entry was a replica of something similar to the Next Gen car that runs in the Cup Series. Jenson Button explained how NASCAR DNA was etched in the heart and soul of their Garage 56 entry, he mentioned, “So they did it, and it looked exactly like a NASCAR; it didn’t have a rear wing on it, which we could’ve done it would have been a lot quicker; we still had a rear spoiler. We still had the NASCAR pit crew, and there were many things that were still NASCAR,” Button concluded.

The success of 2023 could lead NASACR and Rick Hendrick and Co. to begin to start featuring at the Le Mans on a regular basis. Given that they have a driver like Kyle Larson in their ranks, a Garage 56 2.0 could well be on the cards. But, surprisingly, even if such an opportunity arrives, Larson would snub the HMS car and get into a competitive race car.

Rick Hendrick’s driver prioritizes winning over everything else

Larson, during his practice runs for his Indy 500 debut, was asked about his future ambitions for competition in an event like Le Mans. He was open to the idea, but only after calling it a time from NASCAR racing. The reporter who asked him the question presumed that his debut attempt at Le Mans would be with HMS in the Garage 56 ride. But to the reporter’s surprise, the 2021 star chose to go a different route.

“Yeah, I mean someday for sure. I would like to do that, as I’m a full-time NASCAR racer that’s pretty impossible to do but you know if whenever my career’s done, yeah I’d give it a go … Well, I would like to do that in a true race car. You know, racing against other competitors and stuff. I think the Garage 56 stuff was really awesome, but they’re not really competing against, you know, other people in the same category of cars. I would like to do that.” Larson replied.

Not sure if NASCAR and Rick Hendrick are preparing for another Le Mans entry. But it will be interesting to see who they line up with, as Larson has already made his intentions clear.