But from James as the official starter, to future NASCAR Hall of Famer Johnson, the race had a heavy American feel. “As long as they can keep me in the car, I’ll take it.”įerrari's two-car effort led the field to green in a celebration of Le Mans' 100th running, marked by a military flyover of jets leaving plumes of smoke in the colors of the French flag in front of French President Emmanuel Macron. One of the slow zones, it was a very crowded area with the fans – they were waving at me so I was waving back. “It was incredible,' Johnson said after his nearly hour-long stint.

Even so, the Hendrick crew set a goal of at least finishing the race, and maybe even beating cars from other classes. That put the car 39th for the start, but because NASCAR is running its second-year Next Gen car in the specialized “Innovative Car” class designed to showcase technology and development, the entry is not competing against any other cars. His qualifying lap was rewarded when race officials decided the “Garage 56” entry would not start last in the field as planned the Chevy was moved ahead of the 21 entries in the GTE class because of the speed discrepancy. The NASCAR effort has wowed all week - its V8 engine growls and is far louder than any other entry in the 62-car field - and Rockenfeller qualified it more than three seconds faster than the entire GTE AM class. The race marked the first time since 1976 NASCAR had a presence at Le Mans. 24 Camaro fielded by Hendrick Motorsports with a lineup of seven-time NASCAR champion Johnson and 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button. German driver Mike Rockenfeller, a two-time Le Mans winner, started the twice-around-the-clock event in the No. The wait ended Saturday afternoon when NBA superstar LeBron James waved the French flag then gave the command, “Pilotes, demarrez vos moteurs,” to start the race. Jimmie Johnson tossed branded NASCAR 75th anniversary shoelaces to the fans, all eager to see the entry now dubbed “Le Monster” attempt the most iconic endurance race in the world during the centenary celebration of the event.

LE MANS – The crowd chanted “USA! USA!” as NASCAR's driver lineup for the 24 Hours of Le Mans passed through the city center atop a convertible Chevrolet Camaro.

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