Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Great idea to switch rides with Graham Rahal, but likely won’t happen

By Mar 26, 2014, 3:39 PM EDT
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Well, it was a great idea while it lasted.

But it appears the much-hyped “trade” of rides between NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. and IndyCar’s Graham Rahal may be over before it even really got seriously started.

Earnhardt told The Associated Press that while he’s still up for the challenge – where he’d drive Rahal’s sleek open-wheel ride, while Rahal would pilot Junior’s Sprint Cup car in some type of exhibition event – there’s one obstacle that will likely prevent the exhibition.

Namely, the manufacturer of each other’s regular rides.

Earnhardt told the AP that even though he and Rahal are both sponsored by the National Guard, the fact they drive cars powered by different manufacturers is likely going to be difficult, if not downright impossible, to overcome.

Earnhardt’s stock car is powered by Chevrolet, while Rahal’s Indy car is powered by Honda – and both manufacturers go head-to-head, if not wheel-to-wheel, in the IndyCar Series.

It would not be good PR for Honda if Rahal were to beat Earnhardt in Junior’s Chevrolet, nor would it be good for Chevy if Junior were to beat Rahal in his own Honda.

Even if something like this makes sense from a promotional and goodwill value, if you know anything about the uber-competitive nature of the racing business both on and off the racetrack, to quote the late poet Rudyard Kipling, “never the twain shall meet.”

“Well, he drives a Honda, which is more than just a speed bump,” Earnhardt said Tuesday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “If I wanted to drive an Indy car, I’m sure I could get with Penske or somebody who owned a Chevy and take a couple laps somewhere. But it would have been fun to do that with Graham because of the relationship with our sponsor and the history of our families.

“I look forward to meeting him one day, but I think the fact he has a relationship with a different manufacturer is going to make it challenging — if not impossible — for me to drive that particular car.”

Several drivers have switched rides for exhibitions that were well-received. Back in 1991 at Michigan International Speedway, NASCAR’s Bill Elliott took an eight-lap spin in CART’s Eddie Cheever’s open-wheeler and hit 210.5 mph, prompting team owner Chip Ganassi to say of Elliott at the time,  “if he ever decides to come up here (to switch from NASCAR to CART), there’s a car waiting on him.” (see video below at the 1:49.40 mark).

Other more recent swaps have pitted then-Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya vs. NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon, and more recently, NASCAR’s Tony Stewart vs. F1’s Lewis Hamilton.

But while Junior may think it’s a no-go, don’t give up just yet, Rahal and Earnhardt fans. Their respective bosses, Rick Hendrick and Bobby Rahal, aren’t quite ready to douse cold water on the idea.

“I don’t know really if it’s that big of a deal, BMW vs. Chevrolet, Honda vs. Chevrolet,” Hendrick said. “I haven’t talked to Chevrolet. If (Earnhardt) is really serious about doing it, then we need to talk to them. I’m fine with it.

“I think if he wants to do that, it’s fine. Not race, but get out and just play. Bobby is a good friend of mine, and I’ve known him for a long time and I think those kind of things are good for our sport and for the open-wheel guys, too. We have the same sponsors, so it all kind of works.”

The elder Rahal, who won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and was a three-time CART champ, also competed in one NASCAR Winston Cup event in his career (crashed in 1984 at Riverside, completed just 44 of 119 laps), agreed.

“We aren’t promoting Honda and we aren’t promoting Chevrolet,” Rahal said. “We’re promoting National Guard, so I think it should be about the sponsor and there shouldn’t be an issue with the cars.”

Even though Earnhardt thinks otherwise, the younger Rahal is hoping something can still work out.

“Media-wise, for sponsor exposure, I think it would be tremendous for (National Guard),” Graham Rahal said. “But I also thought it would be something that would be fun to do.

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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vONswGXBCUg&w=420&h=315]

 

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.”