For the current generation of fans, when Jimmie Johnson and Rick Hendrick rolled into Le Mans with the Garage 56 project in 2023, it felt like NASCAR kicked the door wide open on motorsport’s biggest global stage. A Cup-style stock car, backed by star drivers, taking on the world’s most prestigious endurance race was something fans had dreamed about.

With Johnson sharing driving duties alongside Jenson Button and Mike Rockenfeller, it was framed as a bold, modern statement: NASCAR belongs here, too. But, as the older lot will know, long before Garage 56 became a reality, one NASCAR legend quietly did it first, crossing the Atlantic and taking American stock car racing to Le Mans when almost no one else dared to try.

When Cale Yarborough took NASCAR to Le Mans

Long before Garage 56 turned heads in 2023, Cale Yarborough was already flying the NASCAR flag on the world’s toughest motorsport stage. In 1981, the three-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion crossed the Atlantic to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, teaming up with Billy Hagan and Bill Cooper in Hagan’s Stratagraph Inc. Camaro.

Originally, the lineup was even more star-studded, with Terry Labonte and David Pearson expected to be part of the effort before plans shifted. Now, this was not a subtle experiment. The Camaro was the biggest car in the field, powered by a massive 6.4-liter all-aluminum “stock-block” V8 producing around 620 horsepower.

Built in Milwaukee and riding on stock car-style suspension, it looked wildly out of place among sleek European prototypes. But on the Mulsanne Straight, it commanded attention, blasting past at nearly 310 km/h (195 mph), shaking the air with a thunderous V8 roar that fans absolutely loved.

For a brief moment, it worked. The Camaro survived the early hours, proving that American muscle could at least hang on raw speed. Then reality hit. After just 13 laps (roughly two hours into the race), disaster struck. Yarborough lost the brakes heading into a critical section of the track and made a split-second decision to stuff the car into the guardrail to avoid hitting spectators. The run was over almost as quickly as it began.

Still, the impact lasted. Hagan returned to Le Mans the following year with a two-car operation, finishing second and third in the IMSA GTO class, with fellow NASCAR drivers Hershel McGriff and Dick Brooks sharing driving duties. Yet Yarborough’s 1981 appearance remains unique.

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When NASCAR visited Le Mans for the first time

Nearly five years before Cale Yarborough’s thunderous Camaro shook the French countryside, NASCAR had already made its first, ambitious attempt to crash motorsport’s most exclusive party. In 1976, Bill France Sr. personally negotiated with Le Mans organizers to create a special category called Grand International, designed specifically to welcome American stock cars into the world’s most grueling endurance race.

NASCAR selected two teams to represent the sport. Hershel McGriff, a West Coast legend, entered as both owner and driver, sharing his Olympia Beer-sponsored Dodge Charger with his son, Doug. The car was classic American muscle. It was big, loud, and powered by a wedge-style V8 that looked completely alien next to the sleek European machinery.

Alongside them was perennial privateer Junie Donlavey, who brought a Ford Torino driven by Richard Brooks and Dick Hutcherson, two drivers well-versed in NASCAR’s brutal grind. The moment carried real symbolism. Bill France Jr. himself waved the starting flag, signaling NASCAR’s official arrival on the global stage.

The grandstands buzzed with curiosity. American stock cars at Le Mans? It sounded outrageous, and that was part of the appeal.

But the reality was far harsher than the hype. McGriff’s Dodge Charger didn’t even make it past the opening laps. On just the second lap, the engine let go, making the Olympia Dodge the first car eliminated from the race, officially classified as “No Result.” Any dream of an American upset vanished almost instantly.

The Donlavey Ford lasted longer and at least showed some resilience, surviving into the night. Still, endurance racing had the final say. After fighting mechanical issues for hours, the Torino finally retired in the 11th hour, ending NASCAR’s first Le Mans experiment without a finish.

It wasn’t the breakthrough Bill France envisioned. But it was a start. NASCAR had knocked on Le Mans’ door, and the echoes would eventually lead to bigger, bolder returns decades later.