The Nascar Le Mans Garage 56 test car prototype is headed for the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2023, and the race-prepared Chevy Camaro ZL1 is getting plenty of track time in the meantime, according to Nascar.
The endurance Camaro, which is based on the Nascar Next Gen race cars, underwent testing at Virginia International Raceway on November 15th. The race car will be fielded by Hendrick Motorsports (HMS). The prototype was built by IMSA team Action Express Racing (AER), and its development is being overseen by Chad Knaus, former Cup Series champion crew chief and current VP of Competition for HMS. At the testing session a few weeks ago, the Nascar Le Mans Camaro was driven by Mike Rockenfeller, former Le Mans winner.
‘Huge milestone’: Garage 56 Le Mans project enters next phase with VIR test
Read more: https://t.co/Imk8ZFtLk5#NextGen56 pic.twitter.com/2aonY2ZfOq
— NASCARG56 (@nascarg56) November 16, 2022
“We’re still trying to get it to go,” Knaus said, “and honestly, the way it ran today, I’m actually pleased with the performance of the car. We’ve just got to start to work out some of the bugs.”
Steve O’Donnell, CEO of Nascar, said that the sport is keeping a close eye on the Garage 56 Camaro ZL1 project and possible improvements for the Next Gen race cars. On an episode of Stacking Pennies, a podcast hosted by Cup Series racer Corey LaJoie, O’Donnell said he is optimistic about the Garage 56 project’s influence on the Next Gen cars. “I think there’s gonna be some good things,” he said. “At least from what we’ve seen already in the wind tunnel and a lot of the sim data, it looks really good in terms of getting rid of some of the challenges as we’ve seen, particularly on the short tracks.”
Certainly, the Nascar Le Mans race car will be a testament to the Camaro ZL1’s durability in an endurance race environment. As a reminder, Garage 56 is considered a “showcase” competition slot, and the entry does not compete for points in the championship. Instead, the race car in Garage 56 exists to show off innovation brought to Le Mans, as will be the case with the Next Gen stock car.
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Comments
The point of this NASCAR entry is what, exactly? The article says “…Garage 56 is considered a “showcase” competition slot, and the entry does not compete for points in the championship.” Faster classes at Lemans typically cover 5 times the miles of the longest NASCAR race. NASCAR’s popularity is waning in the U.S. Probably no more competitive than curiosities like the Panoz Delta-Wing coupe.
The point is.clear.
#1 a low cost durable race platform that can help fill the field in the future as cost rise.
#2 a car that could run NASCAR, Australian Super Cup, NASCAR Mexico but also join the world races like LeMans, Sebring, Spa, and 24 at Daytona and 500 Daytona.
Think of this as a series that could race and meet up for a global championship at a fraction of the cost of F1.
The cars would be simple and rely more on actual driver skill vs the car.
There are a number of opportunities that could come from this.
They are not looking to replace F1 but they would like to offer things F1 does not offer now and expand a sedan series for the globe.
With NASCAR interest waning here they want ne markets and new races that will help expand similar racing.
This would easily open the door for American drivers to go global. Also for MFGs to affordably enter global racing.
As it stands now F1 is expensive, difficult to enter as an owner, mfg, or driver. Just ask Michale and Mario Andretti.
Will it work? Not really sure but it has all the tools to draw interest of many and bring in new fans.
There is much to work out.
Their goal now is to go to the 24 and run all 24 hours and run competitive with the other classes. They are not there just to do laps.
They will not place in the race but they can see where they finish and they would like to beat the GT cars.
Many mfgs are watching as this could bring more affordable racing and marketing at a time the economy is very weak.
GM is ditching the Camaro very soon, why go through this with a car that will dissappear from the line up in a couple of years? So there will be no Chevrolet cars in Nascar if the camaro goes away, unless they are EV powered equinox.!!
It appears like a foolish attempt at ???? Who knows what!
Well there is more going on than what they are saying or what you know.
Chevy is not going anyplace.
Don’t mistake silence for inaction.
Can’t think of anything NASCAR has done in the last 20 years that made the sport better. They had made cars safer after all the driver losses but even that has been messed up with latest number of injuries.
Hut, I agree. Nascar has changed soooo much in the cars in the last 5 years alone. They now have so many new rules about everything. It’s enough to make ones head spin.. Maybe they need to go back to the days of “Smokey” and the rest of that bunch. At least back then, you “run what you brung”. It may have not been as safty oriented, but it was Racin’ the way it should be. Nascar seems to be heading in the wrong direction. To many bean counters and CEO’s running the show. Lets get back to Racin’!
hah, those days still exist. You can go and support any local short track on Saturday and watch em run true Super Stocks and Pure Stocks… and the same three guys win every weekend.
I hate most of the changes they have done. But times are much different and things are different today.
Technology has run up costs no matter how you set the rules. The fans have changes outside the south too.
NASCAR need to stop chasing the NFL as no one is going to top them. They need to just worry about their own world.
Sharing cars globally will add more teams drivers and fans and promote stability. This is actually not a bad move.
Even short tracks are a mess anymore. Noise issues in some places. Costs and more are making many tracks fail.
It used to be that you could run a full season in a full size car for what it takes to fund a shifter kart today.
Property values also have killed many tracks like golf courses.
So many haters here, I don’t get it nor do I really care. I like it, alot. It’s a chance to “show the flag”, a V8 powered, big, American racing car on the vaunted LeMan’s racing circuit. And I suspect with Hendrick Motorsports behind this Camaro ZL1, it will perform well. The haters should go back in time to 1969 or so, when a few american teams entered LeMan’s with their 427 cubic inch powered, open sidepipe exhausted, Corvette Stingrays in the 24 Hours of LeMan’s. They did not set the world on fire, but from everything I’ve read, they were a favorite of the French racing fans in the stands every time those big block rat motors passed them by in full song…….
Actually the C5,6,7,8 R all have been big fan favorites in Europe and Le Mans.
The series already have an American sports car by the same manufacturer – Corvette. And whatever the Cadillac version is