Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 Gives Competition Fits at Le Mans
As part of NASCAR’s 75th anniversary, Hendrick brought its Camaro ZL1 racer to Le Mans, and left an indelible mark on the iconic race.
With the sixth-generation Camaro set to bow out after the 2024 model year with no clear successor, we are living in some somber times, indeed. But the current-gen model is certainly no slouch, giving us a fantastic base to build on for many years to come, regardless of what happens moving forward. That apparently includes transforming the next-gen NASCAR Camaro ZL1 into a full-blown endurance racer, interestingly enough, as Hendrick Motorsports just proved with an impressive outing at the most recent running of the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The sight of a NASCAR-based Camaro ZL1 running at Le Mans certainly piqued a lot of interest, but it was made possible by the new Garage 56 Innovative Car Class, which a special entry created to help celebrate NASCAR’s 75th anniversary. Thus, Hendrick brought out its next-gen #24 Camaro ZL1 racer so it could run right alongside the typical Hypercar and LMP2 prototypes, as well as the LMGTEs, with three drivers – NASCAR’s Jimmy Johnson, Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller and former Formula One world champion Jenson Button – and the desire to not only finish the race, but also compete with the big dogs.
Amazingly, that’s precisely what it did, much to the surprise of most in attendance. The Hendrick Camaro ZL1 managed to finish the race, as expected, but also gave the competition fits in the process. In fact, the car was set to finish ahead of Corvette Racing’s LMGTE Am-winning #33 Chevrolet Corvette C8.R, but suffered a gearbox issue toward the end that prevented that from happening. Regardless, the team certainly left its mark on this iconic event, as well as in the hearts of fans and the minds of its competitors.
“I know we pissed off some GT cars out there because we were racing them and all of that, but you know what, it’s a race!” said Chad Knaus, Hendrick Motorsports Vice President of Competition. “We were over here to race, and that’s what we did. I think the fans loved it. I think the people in Le Mans loved it when we went down for scrutineering, and I’ve seen nothing but smiles on people’s faces every time they’ve seen that race car.”
Photos: Hendrick Motorsports
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