Is NASCAR considering another attempt at the 24 Hours of Le Mans? NASCAR Hall of Famer Jeff Gordon hinted on The Today Show that the possibility of a return to the historic endurance race in France is not out of the question.
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“It is a huge challenge,” Gordon said. “You have to understand 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.”
When it entered the 2023 Le Mans Classic, the NASCAR Garage 56 entry proved formidable against other types of race cars — primarily sports cars. It finished 39th in the 62-car field. While that may sound like a poor showing, it wasn’t.
The Le Mans race started well for NASCAR Garage 56 in 2023
At one point, the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 — the Garage 56 entry at Le Mans — led all the cars in the GTE class before suffering serious driveline issues that required repair. This cost the team an hour of on-track time.
Had that incident not happened, it’s quite likely the No. 24 and its three drivers — Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson, and Mike Rockenfeller — would have finished much higher. But while there may have been some disappointment at the 39th-place showing, the team did achieve its primary goal when it started the race. That was to finish the race.
The U.S. entry ran 285 laps around the 8.467-mile Circuit de la Sarthe, which equaled about 2,413.095 miles, roughly the equivalent of four Coca-Cola 600s, NASCAR’s longest race on the Cup schedule.
“It makes me proud for our sport,” Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports, had said in a NASCAR media release after the 2023 Le Mans.
“The last thing I’d want to do is for us to come over here and fall on our nose. That’s what I was worried about. From the very beginning with Chad [Knaus] and Greg [Ives], I said we’ve got to do this right. We don’t spare any expense,” added Hendrick.
He then praised the depth of talent NASCAR possesses across the teams. “Our NASCAR teams can do any kind of race they want to do. I mean, they [have] got the talent, they’ve got the engineers, and they [have] got a lot of smart people and they can do whatever,” said Hendrick in 2023.
Fast forward to this year, when Gordon was asked if NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports might consider another run at Le Mans, he had a telling smile on his face. It is a hint that he likely knows more than he’s letting on.
Did Gordon Drop a Hint About a Return to Le Mans?
“Never say never,” Gordon said. “But I think it would have to take probably a unique class for us to go do it again.”
The 2023 effort marked the first time NASCAR has traveled to and competed in Le Mans since 1976. It also marked the 100th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
If another attempt is on secret drawing boards, don’t be surprised if it happens again in 2026, as that would mark the 50th anniversary of NASCAR’s first effort at Le Mans.
It helps that NASCAR Chairman/CEO Jim France is a huge sports car racing fan and was at the helm of planning for the 2023 effort. “Jim France said, ‘Hey, let’s go do this again and live out this dream that I’ve had and my family has had for many years’,” Gordon added.
To relive the 2023 Garage 56 adventure, check out the new documentary that was released on Thursday on Prime Video.
