“I Don’t See This Dying Out” – Hendrick Motorsports Insider on the Future of NASCAR’s Superhit Garage 56 Program

Leading up to this year’s Le Mans race, there were many who doubted the Garage 56’s potential. There were those who wondered if a racecar from NASCAR would be able to compete or if it’d be able to finish the race. The green flag dropped and 24 hours after that, the checkered flag waved, leaving all doubts clear and all critics silent. Garage 56 was an instant hit.

However, just as the race was over, a new kind of doubt began creeping in even into the minds of the fans, the admirers, and those directly involved with the project. Was this it for Garage 56? Will this absolute beast of a racecar take part in more races in the future?

So far, there have been no answers to those questions, at least officially. But recently, Greg Ives, the former crew chief of Hendrick Motorsports, who also served in that role for the Le Mans program, had some encouraging things to say.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Greg Ives on the future of Garage 56

Speaking in a recent interview with SiriusXM, Ives claimed that as far as Garage 56’s future at Le Mans goes, he doesn’t necessarily see it coming back to France for that race. But considering IMSA’s influence in the program and the fact that John Doonan was the head of it, there could be something in the future, a vision Ives is unaware of.

“I don’t know where that falls in line. Does that do something for the Rolex 24-hour race? I’m not sure. I really didn’t get into all that, or the politics behind that. I was mainly focused on what we had going on,” he described. “I don’t see this dying out. I definitely see there’s a future somewhere along the lines.”

“I don’t know the timeline, or when or where. But you see the success, the durability, the drivers being a part of something bigger than just a 3-4 hour set lap race and try to put a little bit more endurance into it.”

 

Jenson Button claimed even F1 can learn from NASCAR and the Garage 56 program

Button who was part of the driver’s lineup alongside Mike Rockenfeller and Jimmie Johnson, described his thoughts on the “amazing experience” with NASCAR’s foray into Le Mans.

“Le Mans is awesome; in the hundredth year, we took a NASCAR stock car racing, and it was quick as well. An amazing weekend, an amazing achievement by the whole team,” he said as per Motorsport Magazine. The Formula 1 champion also claimed that considering what Hendrick Motorsports and NASCAR were able to achieve, F1 should be able to learn a thing or two from it.

“You see why Hendrick and Chevy have won so many championships in NASCAR, they work very hard, but they also have fun while they do it as well, which is awesome. I think even F1 teams can learn from how they go about their racing,” Button added.

As mentioned before, currently, there’s nothing concrete about where the Garage 56 Camaro will race next. But one thing’s pretty clear and concrete, wherever it goes, it will raise the bar and compete almost certainly for the win.