The 2023 Le Mans Classic was a historic event for NASCAR. The Garage 56 entry, powered by Hendrick Motorsports, proved itself against other types of race cars and finished 39th in the 62-car field. While the car that was put together deserves to be praised for the effort, the drivers who piloted the striking blue Chevrolet Camaro deserve higher praise.
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The three men behind the wheel of the car were seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, 2009 Formula 1 champion Jensen Button, and 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller. While all three had an illustrious career behind their backs and were capable of greatness on the track, Rockenfeller ended up being a crucial piece of the puzzle.
Jeff Gordon, the Vice Chairman of Hendrick Motorsports, explained how on Rubbin’ is Racing recently. He said, “When I first met him, these were his exact words. I think we were at the simulator, and I had met him briefly prior to this, but this time I really worked with him, and he’s like, ‘It’s not even close. The car is way off. We’re never going to get there, this is going to be embarrassing.”
The strong hint of pessimism hadn’t sat well with Gordon right off the bat. But when he went to Le Mans for the first time and met Rockenfeller again, his opinions changed. The driver had loved the car that they had ultimately developed.
“This guy was on a mission of, ‘We cannot be content. We can never stop getting this car to the absolute best.’ And it’s probably what made him one of the greatest race car drivers of all time, but certainly what made this project, a major factor of making it successful,” Gordon added.
As it turns out, Rockenfeller had just been striving for perfection from the team.
Will NASCAR continue the Garage 56 program in the future?
Gordon hinted on The Today Show that NASCAR might still be interested in making another attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This would be a huge undertaking and present a golden opportunity for the racing promotion to advertise itself on a major platform. But it also cannot be ignored that doing so would be a major challenge for every party involved.
The four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion explained, “It is a huge challenge. You have to understand that with Chevrolet and Goodyear, it takes a lot. And the cars aren’t really designed to go 24 hours, although we did an amazing job with it.” He revealed an all-knowing smile before asking viewers to never say never when it comes to situations like this.
The 2023 attempt was the first time NASCAR traveled to and raced in Le Mans since 1976. It should not come as a surprise if the promotion decides to do it again in 2026.
