The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the Mount Rushmore of racing history. One of the most prestigious races in history, Le Mans is motorsports’ ultimate test of endurance. The France family, who founded NASCAR, always wanted to be a part of the most elite sporting event on the planet. Now, that ‘dream’ seems like it is finally coming to fruition, owing it to Rick Hendrick and NASCAR, which has got everyone excited.

Planning to make an appearance in this year’s Le Mans, NASCAR has collaborated with Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet to get a non-playing vehicle into the ranks. The introduction of Next Gen cars has been pivotal in opening up this great opportunity. HMS Owner Rick Hendrick is one of the leading figures in this project and, in an interview, has spoken about the excitement around this initiative.

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The three pioneers of NASCAR, Hendrick, Goodyear, and Chevrolet laid the stepping stones for the exciting idea. The latest reports from The San Diego Union-Tribune reveal Rick Hendrick’s words on the prestigious participation.

Speaking about the preparations en route to France, Hendrick told AP, “When we said we’re gonna do it, I said, ‘Look, we can’t do this half-a**ed. I want to be as sharp as anybody out there. I don’t want to be any less than any other team here. And just to see the reaction from the crowd, people are so excited about this car. My granddaughter has been sending me all these TikTok things that fans are making about NASCAR being at Le Mans.”

Hendrick then adds a few words to express his awe at the opportunity as well. “If you’d have told me I’d be racing at Le Mans and Indianapolis within the same year, I’d never have believed you. But we’re doing both and we’re going to do it right.”

“It’s like a shame to go through all this and do all this, and then Sunday it’s done. It’s just really special to be here.” After multiple decades of delivering continuously in NASCAR, Hendrick exemplifies the saying, When preparation meets opportunity,

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Since the race happens in France, it is only symbolic that NASCAR was founded by a man named Bill France Sr. The founding figure of NASCAR is responsible for the introduction of stock car racing in the country. Carrying forward his dreams and history comes his son and current NASCAR Chairman Jim France. The family has been waiting since 1962 to see one of their cars present at Le Mans, and now the wait has come to an end.

France talks about the nerves as he treads on his father’s path. “Dad’s vision, to be able to follow it, it took awhile to follow it up, and my goal was to outdo what he accomplished, I just hope we don’t fall on our a**.”

The mission to get a NASCAR vehicle in was of France for a start. Looking for contributors, he chose the three supreme organizations from three aspects of the sport. France’s plan? To convince them to create a car that could finish Le Mans. Although the 62-car race will not be graced by the highly anticipated Camaro ZL1, it has been brought in to create a collaboration between NASCAR’s 75th anniversary and Le Man’s 100th. One of the most interesting features of the project is the driver’s lineup for Garage 56. They have got 7-time champion Jimmie Johnson, 2010 Le Mans victor Mike Rockenfeller, and the 2009 Formula 1 champ Jenson Button. Star-studded, to say the least.

Garage 56 comes as a breath of fresh air to NASCAR. A project with great reach on a global level and a state-of-the-art vehicle to back it up, NASCAR has aced it out here in France.

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