‘Le Monster’ takes on Le Mans in NASCAR takeover of iconic race – 104.5 WOKV
LE MANS, France — (AP) — The crowd chanted “USA! USA!” as NASCAR’s driver lineup for the 24 Hours of Le Mans passed through the city center atop a convertible Chevrolet Camaro. Jimmie Johnson tossed branded NASCAR 75th anniversary shoelaces to the fans, all eager to see the entry now dubbed “Le Monster” attempt the most iconic endurance race in the world during the centenary celebration of the event.
German driver Mike Rockenfeller, a two-time Le Mans winner, started the twice-around-the-clock event in the No. 24 Camaro fielded by Hendrick Motorsports with a lineup of seven-time NASCAR champion Johnson and 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button. The race marked the first time since 1976 NASCAR had a presence at Le Mans.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -
The NASCAR effort has wowed all week — its V8 engine growls and is far louder than any other entry in the 62-car field — and Rockenfeller qualified it more than three seconds faster than the entire GTE AM class. His qualifying lap was rewarded when race officials decided the “Garage 56” entry would not start last in the field as planned; the Chevy was moved ahead of the 21 entries in the GTE class because of the speed discrepancy.
That put the car 39th for the start, but because NASCAR is running its second-year Next Gen car in the specialized “Innovative Car” class designed to showcase technology and development, the entry is not competing against any other cars. Even so, the Hendrick crew set a goal of at least finishing the race, and maybe even beating cars from other classes.
Ferrari’s two-car effort led the field to green in a celebration of Le Mans’ 100th running, marked by a military flyover of jets leaving plumes of smoke in the colors of the French flag. But from James as the official starter, to future NASCAR Hall of Famer Johnson, the race had a heavy American feel.
The top class of sports cars from the United States were permitted to compete this year under a convergence of rules that created a new hybrid hyperclass that has brought manufacturers flocking to IMSA and the World Endurance Championship as a means to showcase their hybrid and electric technology.
It brought Roger Penske to Le Mans with three Porsches as the 86-year-old attempts to win his first ever Le Mans. Penske is coming off wins in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 last month — a first time sweep — and currently holds both the NASCAR Cup title and IndyCar championship.
Chip Ganassi had a pair of Cadillacs racing for the overall win with a lineup that included six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, and Action Express Racing, a team supported by NASCAR and IMSA owner Jim France, also had a Cadillac.
France’s start to the race got off to a mixed start, though, when the No. 31 Cadillac was involved in an opening-lap crash at the same time France was celebrating a stock car circling the Circuit de la Sarthe. The car was being driven by Jack Aitken, a British former F1 reserve driver for Williams, at the start of…
Read More: ‘Le Monster’ takes on Le Mans in NASCAR takeover of iconic race – 104.5 WOKV 2023-06-10 15:08:37