Haven’t followed NASCAR’s “Silly Season”? Time to catch up

By Sep 9, 2013, 3:30 PM EDT
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Ryan Newman’s jump to Richard Childress Racing marks the latest driver move in what has been an extremely active ‘Silly Season’ throughout the Sprint Cup garage. And it’s not over yet.

With Newman’s move to RCR, the focus now appears to shift to Furniture Row Racing, which will need a new driver in the No. 78 for 2014.

Also, we’re still waiting on official confirmation for Austin Dillon, who is expected to move up to the Cup level in another RCR entry.

With that in mind, let’s take a quick look back at what’s gone down so far in regards to ‘Silly Season’ – even though we’ll all probably still need a spotter’s guide at Daytona next February:

KEVIN HARVICK
2014 Team: No. 4, Stewart-Haas Racing

After running for RCR for his entire Sprint Cup career, Harvick announced in July that both himself and main sponsor Budweiser will move over to Stewart-Haas starting next year. For SHR, that meant the departure of Newman, with team co-owner Tony Stewart saying at New Hampshire that his team didn’t have the capability of expanding to a fourth car. But soon enough, that would change…

BRIAN VICKERS
2014 Team: No. 55, Michael Waltrip Racing (full-time)

For several seasons, MWR had been splitting the No. 55 between Vickers, Mark Martin and Michael Waltrip. But when the team decided to seek out a full-time driver for the car, Vickers became a prime candidate. His victory at New Hampshire this summer basically sealed the deal, and a short time later, he was officially welcomed back to full-time Cup racing in a multi-year deal that will see him be the sole wheelman of the No. 55.

KURT BUSCH
2014 Team: No. 00, Stewart-Haas Racing

While Stewart was initially recovering from a season-ending sprint car crash early last month, his SHR partner, Gene Haas, made a bold play for Busch, who was in the midst of trying to get the single-car Furniture Row Racing into the Chase at the time (he would). It took Haas some convincing for Stewart to go along with a fourth program, as the three-time Sprint Cup champion was worried about the expansion’s timing. But ultimately, Haas got his man; he’ll fund Busch’s program out of his pocket, with his machine tool business, Haas Automation, serving as The Outlaw’s main sponsor.

KYLE LARSON
2014 Team: No. 42, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

One of the most heralded young guns in a long time, the 21-year-old Larson was going to be a Cup driver sooner or later. EGR has opted for sooner, bringing him in to replace veteran Juan Pablo Montoya next season in the No. 42 car. There’s no question that the California native is super-talented, but there have been quibbles about whether or not he’s truly ready to face the big boys. For his part, Larson is confident that he can do just that. He’ll need the attitude.

A.J. ALLMENDINGER
2014 Team: No. 47, JTG Daugherty Racing

After serving as a part-timer in multiple disciplines this year such as NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide and the IZOD IndyCar Series, ‘Dinger will make his own return to full-time Cup racing next year. While some open-wheel fans may not have been happy about the ex-Champ Car star deciding to keep running in stock cars, it’s still a well-deserved second chance for him after he was suspended, then released from Penske Racing last summer.

RYAN NEWMAN
2014 Team: No. 31, Richard Childress Racing

The Brickyard 400 champion has officially found a new home. Newman will replace the departing Jeff Burton in the No. 31 Caterpillar-backed machine next season after a five-year run with Stewart-Haas. Up to this afternoon’s announcement, rumors had been swirling for weeks about Newman and RCR joining forces.

With throaty roar, NASCAR Next Gen Camaro is taking Le Mans by storm on global stage

Associated PressJun 8, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT
Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
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LE MANS, France — The V8 engine of the NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro has a distinct growl that cannot go unnoticed even among the most elite sports cars in the world at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

When the Hendrick Motorsports crew fired up the car inside Garage 56, NASCAR chairman Jim France broke into a huge grin and gave a thumbs up.

“The only guy who didn’t cover his ears,” laughed seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

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France has been waiting since 1962 – the year his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., brought him to his first 24 Hours of Le Mans – to hear the roar of a stock car at the most prestigious endurance race in the world.

A path finally opened when NASCAR developed its Next Gen car, which debuted last year. France worked out a deal to enter a car in a specialized “Innovative Car” class designed to showcase technology and development. The effort would be part of NASCAR’s 75th celebration and it comes as Le Mans marks its 100th.

Once he had the approval, France persuaded Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear – NASCAR’s winningest team, manufacturer and tire supplier – to build a car capable of running the twice-around-the-clock race.

The race doesn’t start until Saturday, but NASCAR’s arrival has already been wildly embraced and France could not be more thrilled.

“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,” France told The Associated Press. “I just hope we don’t fall on our ass.”

The car is in a class of its own and not racing anyone else in the 62-car field. But the lineup of 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button and Johnson has been fast enough; Rockenfeller put down a qualifying lap that was faster than every car in the GTE AM class by a full three seconds.

The Hendrick Motorsports crew won its class in the pit stop competition and finished fifth overall as the only team using a manual jack against teams exclusively using air jacks. Rick Hendrick said he could not be prouder of the showing his organization has made even before race day.

“When we said we’re gonna do it, I said, ‘Look, we can’t do this half-assed. I want to be as sharp as anybody out there,” Hendrick told AP. “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.”

This isn’t NASCAR’s first attempt to run Le Mans. The late France Sr. brokered a deal in 1976, as America celebrated its bicentennial, to bring two cars to compete in the Grand International class and NASCAR selected the teams. Herschel McGriff and his son, Doug, drove a Wedge-powered, Olympia Beer-sponsored Dodge Charger, and Junie Donlavey piloted a Ford Torino shared by Richard Brooks and Dick Hutcherson.

Neither car came close to finishing the race. McGriff, now 95 and inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in January, is in Le Mans as France’s guest, clad head-to-toe in the noticeable Garage 56 uniforms.

“I threw a lot of hints that I would like to come. And I’ve been treated as royalty,” McGriff said. “This is unbelievable to me. I recognize nothing but I’m anxious to see everything. I’ve been watching and seeing pictures and I can certainly see the fans love their NASCAR.”

The goal is to finish the full race Sunday and, just maybe, beat cars from other classes. Should they pull off the feat, the driver trio wants its own podium celebration.

“I think people will talk about this car for a long, long time,” said Rockenfeller, who along with sports car driver Jordan Taylor did much of the development alongside crew chief Chad Knaus and Greg Ives, a former crew chief who stepped into a projects role at Hendrick this year.

“When we started with the Cup car, we felt already there was so much potential,” Rockenfeller said. “And then we tweaked it. And we go faster, and faster, at Le Mans on the SIM. But you never know until you hit the real track, and to be actually faster than the SIM. Everybody in the paddock, all the drivers, they come up and they are, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ and they were impressed by the pit stops. We’ve overachieved, almost, and now of course the goal is to run for 24 hours.”

The car completed a full 24-hour test at Sebring, Florida, earlier this year, Knaus said, and is capable of finishing the race. Button believes NASCAR will leave a lasting impression no matter what happens.

“If you haven’t seen this car live yet, it’s an absolute beast,” Button said. “When you see and hear it go by, it just puts a massive smile on your face.”

For Hendrick, the effort is the first in his newfound embrace of racing outside NASCAR, the stock car series founded long ago in the American South. Aside from the Le Mans project, he will own the Indy car that Kyle Larson drives for Arrow McLaren in next year’s Indianapolis 500 and it will be sponsored by his automotive company.

“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,” Hendrick told AP. “But we’re doing both and we’re going to do it right.”

Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Fans gather around the NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that is the Garage 56 entry for the 100th 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe (Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

General Motors is celebrating the achievement with a 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition and only 56 will be available to collectors later this year.

“Even though Chevrolet has been racing since its inception in 1911, we’ve never done anything quite like Garage 56,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “A NASCAR stock car running at Le Mans is something fans doubted they would see again.”

The race hasn’t even started yet, but Hendrick has enjoyed it so much that he doesn’t want the project to end.

“It’s like a shame to go through all this and do all this, and then Sunday it’s done,” Hendrick said. “It’s just really special to be here.”