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[helicopter whirring]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer speaking French]
[Hindhaugh] Huge anticipation from more than 300,000 fans
packing Circuit de la Sarthe.
They could not have sold another ticket.
Everything is full to the rafters.
Have you seen anything quite like this, this atmosphere like that?
No. It's so special.
[Ickx] I think the crowd is big.
But you have only one centenary at a time, huh?
[Hendrick] That's right.
This centenary, I don't think I... [stutters] ...we will leave with them, huh?
Yeah. [chuckles]
[Hindhaugh] Get ready for the start of the centenary race
of the world's greatest endurance motoring event.
- [Button] Now the nerves come in. - [Rockenfeller] Yeah.
[Hindhaugh] Expectation.
Optimism.
24 hours of Le Mans.
It's absolutely-- It's the best in the world.
- [Rockenfeller] All right. Thank you. - [Johnson] Have a good one.
- I see you at the pit stop, hey? - See you at the pit stop. Yes.
[Button] I'll see you in 24 hours.
[engine starts]
[Hindhaugh] It's 16:00,
and the second centenary of Le Mans endurance racing starts now.
[Ives] Coming in the green here. Coming in the green.
[Hindhaugh] Le Mans 2023 is underway.
[engine revs]
Le Mans is the biggest race in the world.
[Ryan] We've seen it in Steve McQueen movies.
Ford v Ferrari. You know, Matt Damon, Christian Bale.
[Button] It's a 24-hour race pushing man and machine to the limit.
It's about survival really.
[Ryan] 75 years ago, NASCAR is the vision of Bill France.
There's a general stereotype that NASCAR isn't considered
as technologically advanced
or as innovative as other racing series in the world.
[Button] I really do think that the rest of the world
thinks that NASCAR is Days of Thunder.
[Doonan] In 1976, Bill France took a couple of NASCAR stock cars to Le Mans.
[announcer] For the first time American stock cars are going to race here.
One made only two laps... [laughs] ...before it had some sort of mechanical failure.
My dad, he said the fans absolutely loved our race cars.
[Doonan] A seed was planted at that time
and that seed germinated for nearly 50 years.
You're gonna race a NASCAR at Le Mans?
We're gonna do what?
[Johnson] It seemed like a really big idea that was probably unrealistic. [chuckles]
[Button] I was so excited about this project.
Then I drove the car initially.
And I thought I made a massive mistake.
We have one shot and one opportunity to go and make this successful.
Thank you all for everything.
[Doonan] It's when it starts to get real.
- [Hendrick] When we get over there-- - [Ives] Yeah, let's fire.
[Hendrick] It's time to put on a show.
[crowd cheering]
[Billy Crudup] Every summer, for the last 100 years,
the oldest, biggest and most difficult endurance race in the world
is held in this small town of Le Mans, France.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans.
[announcer] 130 miles southwest of Venice is the Circuit of the Sarthe.
It consists of 8 1/2 miles of main roads.
And in the middle weekend of June, the Circuit of the Sarthe becomes
the focal point of interest for the motoring enthusiasts of the world.
[announcer] Three, two, one.
- [gunshot] - [crowd cheering]
[announcer] Drivers run to their cars at the start of
the greatest sports car classic of all: the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.
[Crudup] The race is a grueling, unforgiving endeavor.
[announcer 2] A snarling pack of Ferraris, Fords and Porsches.
All in pursuit of being first lap leader at Le Mans.
[Crudup] The cars are state of the art.
And the fans are as passionate as they come.
Only four times in the race's storied history
have they allowed for a special entry for innovative cars
that fall outside the normal regulations.
[engine revs]
The program is known as Garage 56.
[journalist] Well, good afternoon, everybody.
Uh, from backstage I could hear all the brain cogs grinding
as to what's this group doing together.
[Crudup] Over a year out from the race,
NASCAR announced that their Chevrolet Camaro
would attempt to compete as the 2023 Garage 56 entry at Le Mans.
[journalist] This is going to be a fun, fun ride.
[Crudup] Fulfilling a nearly 50-year dream of NASCAR CEO Jim France.
I went over to Le Mans with my father in 1962.
I was at an age where you get impressed by different things
and sports cars kinda sparked my interest.
My dad went to bat to spread NASCAR brand to the European sports car fans.
[announcer] Early in the race, the first American car has to give up.
You know, my father would've like to finish the race,
so part of our goal this time going over
was to make sure that we beat their record.
The goal is to finish the race and, uh, not be last.
[King] So NASCAR has announced this project
and we're going Le Mans to compete against the world
and the people who have been doing sports car racing
and endurance racing for many, many years.
There are a lot of fears here.
Does the car make it?
Are the drivers good enough?
Is the car fast enough to compete?
It seemed like a strange decision to bring a current cup car to a 24-hour race.
Uh, like... maybe like bringing a knife to a gun fight?
[Crudup] The biggest challenge
is taking a car that's designed to make left turns
on a mile-and-a-half track for three hours
and turning it into a car that can handle an 8.5 mile road course
with 38 turns for 24 hours.
France also needed a team to build and race the car.
And there is no more accomplished team than Hendrick Motorsports.
Hendrick Motorsports is NASCAR's most successful, most powerful team.
I mean, if you were gonna choose a team
that you wanted to finish a 24-hour race with,
this was the team you'd want to choose.
We gonna do this right.
Whatever it takes, we're gonna do it right.
We're not gonna go over there and be embarrassed.
[Crudup] The choice to lead the team was obvious.
The most decorated crew chief in the sport's history.
Chad Knaus.
The Garage 56 project was run by Chad Knaus,
who I would consider to be the greatest crew chief of all time
in NASCAR's premier series.
If you want to make a comparison,
Chad Knaus is like the Bill Belichick or the Nick Saban of NASCAR.
He is ruthless, he is a taskmaster and he is all about winning.
[crowd cheering]
[Crudup] The first step:
travel to France to witness the challenge face-to-face.
[Knaus] So, we went over to Le Mans just to check it out.
And, uh, all that was actually really intriguing and exciting for me
as-as the thing started to tumble
and, uh, the conversations began to become more real.
Our goal is to make 24 hours, but we gotta start the race first.
- [laughing] Yeah. - Right?
We're gonna do everything in proper order, folks.
We're gonna be in some semblance of that right there.
This is team hospitality and team engineering hospitality.
Ah.
- This is Porsche. - Yeah.
[Crudup] For Knaus, the mission was clear.
One year to build a team and a car
that could withstand the grueling conditions of Le Mans.
- Perfect timing, hey? - Pleasure.
So, shit, how are you gonna make this work?
Well-- [laughs]
You coming to the garage?
[Gordon] I really appreciate your hospitality
and this is good for him to see this.
- [Button] Have you raced it? - [Gordon] I've never been.
This is my first time I've ever even been here.
The FIA and the ACO, they drew a line in the sand and said,
"Look, you need to run, uh, about a 354-minute lap time."
Okay. Great.
"We don't want you going over 200 miles an hour down the straightaway."
Okay. Great.
So, well, now we have some criteria. Now we can get to work.
[Crudup] Running a stock car at Le Mans
is like trying to win the Masters with a baseball bat.
[Crudup] The car will have to get lighter, more agile, carry more fuel
and be prepared to race in the rain and total darkness.
[Ives] Saying, "Oh, hey, this has never been done before,
so if you're not going to be able to do it,"
drove a lot of us even further to say, "Hey, we're gonna make this happen."
[engineer] Everybody take a look at the pallet over there.
[laughs] It's what it came with.
[Rockenfeller] Well, there's more to go in there.
[engineer] Brian, how much is that?
- [Brian] It's roughly 200 pounds of steel. - [engineer] Wow. Really? Wow.
[Crudup] The team will be operating an ocean away from home
on a global stage where respect for NASCAR is limited.
And the success of Garage 56 is considered doubtful.
A lot of Garage 56 cars have not finished this race.
We have not had an American Garage 56 car finish the race,
we have also not had a custom built car finish this race.
There is a lot riding on this and there's kind of a rocky history behind it.
NASCAR's had a pretty rough ride, in all honesty.
In Europe and some of the other parts of the world.
This hasn't been taken lightly.
This is the pride of NASCAR, the pride of the US, Chevrolet, Goodyear.
It's gonna be mega. It's gonna be mega.
[Doonan] You know you can bring all the right partners together, uh,
you can have the right race car but when the green flag falls...
For 24 hours you need three drivers and you need experience.
- Hey, man, how ya doing? - [Rockenfeller] Morning, everybody.
- How are you guys? - Good to see you.
Good to see you, man.
The first time I heard about it really, it was at Sebring when it was announced.
Uh, at the press conference.
And I understood that it's a personal thing also for Mr. France.
[Wright] 2,000 pounds. It's gonna be light.
- We will see. - I know.
I heard some rumors that they, you know, are looking for drivers
to develop it from the beginning, to be involved, who is available,
who's not tied properly to a different manufacturer.
Probably with a little more experience ideally.
[crowd cheering]
I mean, two-time Le Mans winner.
I mean are you kidding me?
He's got so much experience in so many different types of race cars.
[announcer] Mike, you've won Le Mans, you've won the 24 hours in Nürburgring.
Now you get a Daytona. You're gonna get a Rolex.
[Rockenfeller] Oh, finally, man.
[Doonan] Uh, you needed someone like Mike.
You needed someone that could dedicate a huge portion of their time
to getting this platform ready to go do what he had done for so many years.
[Rockenfeller] You know, no matter what we get used to
maybe there's one or two buttons we have to change.
But I think as a start, it's nice.
[whirring]
[Rockenfeller] I think the first day in the sim,
was one of the moments where I realized how big this is
because I saw a lot of cameras, a lot of people.
So it was like, whoa, this is...
this is probably the biggest attendance I've ever seen on a simulation day.
[Gordon] This is a pretty good lap too.
Yeah, Mike's doing great.
He's-- He's awesome on this thing.
I'm very impressed.
I expected him not being... having the experience in this car to...
to spend the first couple of laps just finding the limits, spinning, going off.
He's just smooth as glass.
[Rockenfeller] Nowadays, you do so much with simulation.
Um, which for this project was I think crucial, um, because you cannot,
you know, build a car, go testing, rebuild it, go testing.
So you can set your realistic goals nowadays, um, basically on the computer,
try it out and see what the effect is.
Uh, yeah.
The car is a bit more stable, but, um, overall, yeah...
[stutters] ...it's still very difficult to drive, for sure.
- Okay. I jump out. - [engineer] That's good.
[Rockenfeller] The platform movement is...
[Gordon] I can remember him getting out of the simulator,
said, you know, this isn't good enough,
no that's not gonna happen, we can't do this, can't do that.
And I was like, "Whoo." He's a tough guy to please.
[laughs] But he's right.
[Rockenfeller] We realized that it's a long way,
we need to improve stuff,
but there was always a positive atmosphere and we always wanted to make it better.
Better and better every day.
[Knaus] The timetable was ridiculous.
We have one shot and one opportunity to go and make this thing successful.
And if we blew it, it would be lost forever.
[Knaus] Can we get somebody to cut these studs out?
Just because it aggravates the shit out of me.
Watching everyone work together on something so unique and different
and just bringing everything that they had to the table
to try and make it succeed.
It's fascinating to watch and kinda nerd out on it.
[Rockenfeller] An exciting day because a lot of work has been put into this car.
First time, you know, going out there.
Being in the simulator you have some expectations but you wanna feel it.
You know? You wanna hear it.
You wanna smell it.
I think the whole team is super excited.
[Wright] Just getting the car built and on track for the first time is a...
is a major, major milestone.
But you go to the track the first time
you're not really sure how things are gonna go.
[engine revs]
[Wright] Okay, time to play.
[Crudup] Theory and simulation will only take you so far.
With seven months until the eyes of the racing world were on Garage 56,
the true testing began.
[Rockenfeller] Turn one.
[Wright] Copy, turn one.
[Rockenfeller] So the dashboard went black,
engine switched off when I accelerated out of Corner Two.
And now it came back on. It's like a reset.
Okay, it did it again.
[Wright] Fuck.
[on radio] All right, copy.
Let's just see if we can take it slow and then just get it back here to the garage.
[Knaus] It was cold, we had electrical gremlins that were creeping up.
And you realize pretty quickly the complexity of the car,
you realize really quickly that we need to learn more about the car.
[Rockenfeller] So now we found already some weak spots,
unreliability, and, uh, this will go on and go on.
And we will stop more times on the track. That's part of the game.
[all chattering]
[engineer] Let's hope that's it.
[Wright] Whoo!
- [Rockenfeller] All good. - [Wright] Copy.
[thunderclap]
[Knaus] Starting to pick up over here by the garage.
[Crudup] Mother nature brought a quick end to the first test.
NASCAR does not typically race in the rain.
But the team must prepare
for every condition the 24 hours of Le Mans might throw at them.
[engineer] All right, good to go, Rocky.
[Rockenfeller] In Le Mans you can have everything, right?
It's a long track so one part could be dry and the other part could be wet.
So it can be all in one race and you have to be prepared.
I mean, tires are the most important part in every road car.
Race car, for sure.
That's why we are here to improve the product and be ready for Le Mans.
[engineer] Mike, they want you to do the circle.
[Rockenfeller] Okay, the circle again.
[Fantozzi] The goal was to come out of here
with the best wet package that we possibly could.
So we've really leaned on everybody within the corporation, uh,
to be able to design and develop something
just specifically for this vehicle.
In order to make a positive contribution, uh, when we're on the ground at Le Mans.
[engineer] That's three laps complete.
One more lap.
We told you not to get the car wet.
Huh? Yeah, I mean this is... this is shocking.
It didn't have it that bad of a memory from the first run.
- Right. - But once you get used to the other stuff...
We gave you the good stuff now. Yeah.
You're spoiled and then you go out, you're like... [imitating screaming]
[laughing]
No grip.
[Doonan] So when it comes to driver selection
we wanted to retain some NASCAR DNA and NASCAR history.
And Jimmie Johnson to me was the perfect choice for that.
[announcer] There's another seven-time champ.
Jimmie Johnson wins his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
You're not gonna get bigger star power.
You know, very much a staple in our sport.
Jimmie Johnson has retired from full-time NASCAR Cup competition.
And Jimmie Johnson had indicated on a consistent basis that,
"Yes, I want to run Le Mans, I want to race Le Mans."
It just seemed like it would be a natural fit.
[Johnson] As a young boy, and my dad being a mechanic and around racing,
at some point in time he pointed out Le Mans
and the cars looked so cool and they raced for so long.
I thought, "Man, I wanna do that.
I wanna drive one of those cool looking cars for as long as I can.
I wanna do that."
I knew a stock car was potentially coming to Le Mans in 2023.
And all the pieces of the puzzle were there and I got the formal invite.
And I'm honored to be a part of it.
[Kruep] What do you think?
- I'm in a good spot. - Yeah.
And then, they'll have to explain to you,
like, neutral, 'cause you'll have to push a button
and then hit a paddle and...
Which I think you can go to neutral over there
to a reverse over there as well.
[clears throat]
And there's plenty of buttons.
[laughs]
[Johnson] The helmet fan switch again?
[Ives] It should be on the center console. I don't know which number it is.
[Johnson] Found it.
[Crudup] Six months out from Le Mans, the testing continued.
The team was still missing a crucial piece.
The third driver.
[Ives] That's eight timed laps.
He's coming in next lap.
[chuckling] Hey. Know him? That's Jenson.
Oh. Well.
- [Button] Yeah. How ya doing? - [Rockenfeller] Good to see you, man.
- [Button] Hey. How's it going? - [Knaus] Chad Knaus.
- [Button] Hey. Nice to meet you. - My name is Ben Wright. Nice to meet you.
- It's loud. - It is.
- It's fucking awesome. - [all laugh]
You brought your helmet? Ready?
[laughs] Jimmie said, "Did you bring your helmet?"
I said, "Nah, I would just like to come and see what you guys are doing."
[all laughing]
[crowd cheering, applauding]
[King] Jenson Button is the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion.
[cheering]
[Button] We are World Champions!
World Champions!
Whoo!
And Jenson is at a point in his career where he is out of Formula 1
and now he's dabbling in other things just like Jimmie Johnson.
[crowd cheering]
I've known Jenson a long time, but honestly Mike Rockenfeller
has a lot to do with getting Jenson to that test.
[Rockenfeller] It was a coincidence actually.
Um, he shoot me a text, uh, saying "Hey, uh, how was your two cup races?"
So when he texted me I was like, wait a minute.
Jenson? He would be the perfect fit actually.
So, straight away I said, "Okay. My experience was like this"... [mutters]
"But I have a great idea.
What do you think about racing a NASCAR in Le Mans for the Garage 56?"
And, uh, I was like, "Man, that's so cool."
He sent me a photo and, uh... I was like, "Can I come along?
Can I come and see the car?" And he went, "Yeah."
It looks awesome.
- It looks so cool. [chuckles] - [Doonan] Nice. Thanks.
- Fans are gonna love it. - Yeah, I'm... Yeah, they're gonna go nuts.
- They're not gonna care who wins the race. - [Doonan] No.
Although, this car is not built to do 24 hours,
they're built for four-hour races here in the States.
But I'm well up for the challenge doing 24 and I think it's gonna be epic.
Rockenfeller did the egress test for us to get out of the right side.
Typically it's yeah, body facing this way, that leg in, that leg in,
- grab you know here... - Well, I was gonna go head first.
- I mean... - [Kruep] Go ahead. Do it. Do it.
You could push it on. You don't have to pull that.
And then you have to pull that to get off.
- You look pretty... pretty jammed in there. - Yeah. Yeah.
[Kruep] Let's put your helmet on with this.
Just to see where you're at.
[Button] For me, the dream scenario would be to tilt it.
Tilt it which way?
- That way. Okay. - [Button] Just like that. Yeah.
[Kruep] So I think we need to pour a second seat-liner then.
When they get here, which is fine
'cause I think you'll be probably our tallest driver.
So, look, you can get out.
- Look at this guy. Happy birthday. - [Button] Hello, mate.
- Thank you very much. - Good to see you.
- I always love taking a red eye... - You look--
- ...on my birthday. - You look bright-eyed though.
- I figured you might be all banged up. - Um... Coffee.
- Good. - Yeah.
Good, good.
- Yeah, all good, mate. - So, what, 50?
- 50, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. - [laughs]
- I can't remember if I'm older than you. - I'm still behind you.
- Oh, damn. Oh, shit. - I'm 43. Come on.
You can sit in that one if you want, Jimmie.
- Tell me what you think. - [Johnson] I'll go and get my suit.
- I'm wearing it. - [Johnson] Oh-- Oh!
- [Kruep stutters] That really doesn't fit. - [Johnson] No? [laughs]
That one is a little. [stutters] This distance.
Oh, your body is longer, my-my legs are long.
- Okay. - Yeah.
- That distance is really uncomfortable. - But it's--
- I mean it's definitely... - Yep.
- It's definitely tight. - [Kruep] Nice.
- It's like it's been painted on. Yeah. - [both laughing]
[engine revs]
[car approaches]
You guys see a NASCAR on a... on a banking all the time.
I don't. [laughs]
- [Ives] He's excited. - You look so NASCAR.
I know. Look at this.
B5 is...
[Ives] So you'll be getting in next.
About ten minutes for the driver change and tire change,
which should be less than that.
Should give you enough time for about, uh, three to four timed laps.
I'll get dressed now then.
[Ives] All right, we're going to push you. I'll let you know when to pop it.
Ready... Go.
[Button] It's definitely a shock to the system.
The steering, you feel like you've got lots of front grip.
And then as soon as you get into a corner,
you have a massive amount of understeer.
Which doesn't fill me full of confidence on my first run.
Completing lap three. Five to go.
You know, I-I was so excited about this project,
and then I drove the car initially
and I thought I'd made a massive mistake.
That's what I thought.
The-The weird thing is how much the car actually moves around,
you know, even when you're just lightly loaded.
Uh, the-the car is kind of rocking around, which is very strange for me.
Also the brakes.
You know, I'm braking unbelievably early just 'cause I'm working up to it.
I'm so out of my depth.
This is just so different to anything I've driven.
- You hit the brakes... - Oh, okay.
- And it just doesn't slow down, does it? - Told you.
So you get to the corner, you think, "Oh, I'll release the brake now,"
- and then it just keeps going. - Too fast. Mm-hmm.
[Button] I feel like-- Uh, I felt like I'm on the dirt here.
[Crudup] The drivers weren't the only ones stepping out of their comfort zones.
So, 165 inches...
[Crudup] Back in Charlotte,
the Garage 56 pit crew also faced a learning curve.
[crew member] That's crazy. That's so narrow.
Ready. Set. Go.
[King] With a Garage 56 car, you cannot do a NASCAR pit stop.
You have to modify it.
So, the crew had to learn new choreography,
new muscle memory, new rules.
And I think it really speaks to how good of athletes they are
in finding these tiny little advantages everywhere.
[crew member] Better job, Jarius,
finishing with your hands on that left rear.
[Kureczka] Going to Le Mans,
we're looking at potentially 40 pit stops and going 24 hours straight.
So, we want to show the world what we truly do
and put that on the platform.
So, we had to definitely put in the time and effort
to make sure that we were mentally and physically ready.
[wrench whirring]
And the practice itself was just grueling
but the bonding of the team
and those guys coming together as one
and really building a very tight-knit relationship
is what kind of kept everybody driving on the same path.
Now that is a stop.
Way to finish it. Way to finish it.
[Crudup] To look the part for Le Mans,
the black and gray of the test car wouldn't do.
Jim France's dream was more than just finishing the race,
it was to grab everyone's attention while doing it.
Which called for a proverbial new coat of paint.
[press cheering]
[France] Thing that I like the best about the car is
I like the color selection. Number one.
Number two: it-it's just a badass looking race car.
- [onlooker] Look at that, man. My God. - [France chuckles]
Oh, it's a beautiful work of art. The fans will love it.
[shutters clicking]
[Crudup] The next test on the journey to Le Mans was a 24-hour run at Sebring.
A dress rehearsal for the race, which was just 100 days away.
[Ives] I don't know what you're feeling. I just have a plan.
For the first hour and a half,
- we just gotta get the car closer. - Right.
[Doonan] Anybody that's been grounded during sports car racing knows
that there's only one place to truly test the reliability of your car.
And that's at Sebring International Raceway.
It's been said that racing 12 hours at Sebring
is tougher than racing 24 hours anywhere.
We came here with the intent of finding weak points.
And try to make sure that in 100 days,
we are ready to accomplish the goal of finishing the 100th-anniversary race
in what's going to be a very, very competitive field.
[Ives] We will pit this time. Pit this time.
The pit stops. This is brand new for these guys, right?
So this is a great opportunity for us to
continue to refine and just make it better and more efficient.
- [Kureczka] What you got? - [crew member] 12-90.
It's decent. That wheel was stuck a little bit at 12-90.
- Core strength. - What's the goal?
- Protect the car. - Make sure-- Yeah.
Protect the car and don't get a penalty, right?
We're gonna get all core drivers to talk a little bit more
to get their driver changed a little better.
[Button] Driver change is a big one.
Yeah, we can make the car as quick as we want on track.
But driver change is just so far off where they need to be.
You know, we're getting through a mailbox basically.
Trying to get in and out of where everyone else has a door at Le Mans.
So, it's not easy but we're working on it. We're getting better all the time.
I don't know what to say. Honestly, it's so bad,
I've never had something like that happen like that.
And the harder we go, the worse it is.
First set, I thought had less grip, more fall off.
And this one was doing really good until it wasn't.
- And then it was just too big for me. - Yeah.
Okay.
You like it?
See?
Do you like it?
- You like the color? - It's Raptor?
You like Raptor more. Okay.
[laughs]
I know it's not as cool as the Raptor car, but it's still cool, isn't it?
- Yeah, it is. - Good.
I'm glad. All right. Wash your hands.
I'll see ya later, buddy.
[Ives] All right. We're going to run about 32 laps.
Just do your best as you can and we'll get into the night here and see how it goes.
[Rockenfeller] Man, it's beautiful here.
Ooh! The lights are on.
Oh!
[Taylor] That looks nice, like on tracks.
Go, Jenson!
[Rockenfeller] There's a reason probably he won the World Championship.
[Taylor] Yeah. Not bad.
He's not bad.
Really, right now, we're logging miles. That's all we're just trying to do.
We're trying to fatigue the car. And so, you're really focusing on, okay.
How are the brakes working in the cooler temperatures?
How do the lights work? You know, are the drivers able to use their switches well?
Hit the buttons well?
All of the things that you're gonna go through
through a 24-hour race over in Le Mans.
Sounds nice.
Oh... It's amazing.
- The sound and the look-- Yeah. - [Taylor] Down the Mulsanne?
- Yeah. At night? - [Rockenfeller] It's impressive.
- [Taylor] It's so massive. - [Rockenfeller] It's like Jim France says,
"It's hauling ass."
- [both laugh] - Yeah.
And you see it now. I mean look at it.
[Ives] Ten laps complete. Twenty-two to go.
Yeah, we're just plugging along in the middle of the night. Logging laps.
And then things started to change pretty quickly.
[Johnson] Guys, I've got some sparks coming inside the car,
up through the wheel on the left-front.
[Ives] Middle of the night, Jimmie's coming on the back straightway.
He's like, "I think the car's on fire." And everybody's ears perk up immediately.
10-4, you've got sparks coming in on the left-front, is that correct?
Yeah, I definitely have a lot of smoke in the cockpit now. Something's burning.
[Ives] It was like, oh, my gosh. There I ran all the way out to pit road,
a lot of the other guys were running out to pit road with fire extinguishers.
We get it put out and it's like, shoot. Okay, now what?
Everything was covered with fire extinguisher dust.
Everything was covered in smoke. It looked pretty ugly at that point.
[Johnson] The foot box was on fire coming down pit road.
[Knaus] Currently, right now, we've got one race car.
So, we gotta make sure that this horse can continue to run. So, we...
we wanted to look at everything.
[Ives] What we need to do here guys, like we-we're doing, take off, uh...
the rocker, take off everything we can.
Do everything we need to do to fix this. And then we'll assess it from there.
[Rockenfeller] Everybody and... no matter which level on the team,
was, you know, trying to help.
[Knaus] Greg, this is what I think happens.
I think that big ball that you had was up here, right?
'Cause we saw the flap coming off. And it gets down inside to here
and falls down on top of that collector and catches on fire.
Yep.
[Knaus] There was a conversation about maybe, you know,
taking a deep breath and shutting it down at that point.
Well, this whole thing's electrical, right?
- I don't know. - [Button chuckles]
[Knaus] What happens if throttle position sensor goes...
- Yeah, exactly. - ...crazy or something like that, right?
- Yeah. - And he ends up in the airport.
Oh, I think we'll just count this as 24.
What? You gotta be kidding me.
We came here to test. Let's test.
[Ives] We had to change some break lines, inspect the wiring,
get it all cleaned up.
Took maybe a little bit longer than what we would want it to be sitting there,
but we had to do some diligence to make sure the car was safe.
[engineer] All right, we can go back out for a little.
[engineer 2] We got a driver yet?
[Rockenfeller] When everything is smooth, it's always easy to run something.
But when there is a problem,
that's when you see the difference between the good and the bad teams.
And we definitely had a great team.
Whoo-hoo!
[Doonan] When you do that 24-hour test together,
and you're up all night,
and, you know, you see each other at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning...
That was our best one yet.
...it's when it starts to get real.
This is not easy.
This is a very difficult test, perhaps the most difficult test in all of motorsport.
We're driving in day, night, fog.
It was tough, but I loved it.
[Doonan] We solved some things mechanically
that we needed to improve upon.
So we're gonna get home, we're gonna talk about it
and we'll figure out what we need to do.
[Ives] Well, boys and girls, thanks for all the hard work.
So I think everybody's pretty aware of what's happening with the cars.
But I think we may have to do some work.
[chief of staff] I've got April 11th
would be when they pick up the sea freight container.
And then May 18th for when they would load up all the air freight.
Le Mans, there's just so many unknowns and it--
You're in another country, so you don't even know what you can get.
Like, there's no Walmart. There's no Home Depot.
So I have a very long Excel list. [chuckling] Yes.
[Wright] If our goal was to finish the race,
scientific back-to-back testing was a key piece in getting to our Le Mans goal.
[Ives] Rocky, you got a radio check?
[Rockenfeller] Loud and clear. Feels like we need more downforce.
Just running, running, running. Putting mileage on the car.
All the development, you know, we always went back to the simulator.
If that is really happening in a real car, I think it's pretty fast.
Go to the racetrack, come back, validate,
and make sure that we understood what we needed for the next time.
[engineer] We'll get that thing running right.
From one test session to the next, we're really in the window to maximize this car.
[Crudup] Mere weeks remain before shipping out to France.
Cautious optimism ran through the team.
But were they truly prepared?
Don't get over there too far but just kinda stand right there.
Plug your ears, too.
Whoo!
- [Knaus] I told you. - [laughing]
[Knaus] That's not even top speed right there.
This test done in Sebring, our final test.
We wanna come down and do some durability testing.
We had some pit stops. We had some, uh, driver exchanges.
We ran some at night to double-check the lights.
Ran in the rain again.
I think that there are some areas that we need to improve upon still.
Um... But all in all I think we're ready to attack what Le Mans gives us.
[Hendrick] It's starting to hit me a little bit,
what's really getting ready to happen.
We've come a long way with the speed, the durability.
I'm really pleased with what's happened so far.
And when we get over there, it's just, it's time to put on a show.
[Knaus] You're never done working on a race car, it's just time to go race.
So we can work on this thing
till this time next year and still not be ready to go.
Just gotta go do it.
We're gonna go over and try and shine a big light on ourselves
so we can't fall on our ass when we get over there.
It's that DNA that is ingrained in our sport from long before I came along.
[Wright] Taking something like this, where you went from a blank sheet of paper,
and now we're sitting here with a running vehicle.
It is a major, major milestone.
And it's exciting to know that we're gonna take this thing
and go over to Le Mans and run it.
[Crudup] Finally on French soil, after more than a year of work,
the team began a week of carefully choreographed traditions.
The first was unusual and unique to Le Mans.
The car left the circuit for the center of town for scrutineering,
a version of technical and safety inspection on steroids.
Perfect.
[announcer] Crowds are lined up for scrutineering at Le Mans.
At least, I presume they used to do something like this
in the days when cars were raced here for the first time in 1923.
Certainly today it is a highly organized form of chaos.
At Le Mans, you can tell very quickly
the cars which are going to capture the imagination of the crowd.
[whistle blows]
The scrutineering process, for the first timers,
that's where Le Mans becomes very different from anything they ever did,
because tech is in the middle of a city, Friday, Saturday.
And it is packed with fans.
And you spend two or three hours there.
The mechanics don't just take the car, go through tech and come back.
The drivers have to be there.
They have the team photo, and the media are there.
So, it's a show.
- [Ives] Horsepower? - [engineer] Yes.
[Ives] It's 750. Similar miles per hour and lap time as a GT car.
- Crazy car. - Yeah.
- For Le Mans. - Yeah.
[GMB team member] Oh, I absolutely love it. It looks very out of place.
But it is maybe the coolest thing Le Mans has seen in a while.
[GMB team member 2] We were just talking about the aero choices.
But it's gonna be incredible to see it.
That kid's hat.
- [Wright] What? Huh? - [Knaus] A Jimmie Johnson hat.
[Wright] Jimmie Johnson championship hat.
2006.
I'm mic'd, by the way.
- Oh, are you? - Yeah.
There was your warning. I'm mic'd, by the way.
- You're Mike? - Yeah.
He's Mike.
Oh, you're Mike. Okay. I'm sorry. I thought I was Mike.
Jimmie, make sure after the race, if you win, you back it into the wall.
- Crack the back? - [both laugh]
Scrutineering at Le Mans is...
Well, there's nothing like it.
It's massive.
And it's not all just for photos.
You're actually, you know, the car is getting scrutineered.
They're like, "What are we gonna check?"
Yes. First time.
- First time? - [both laugh]
[Button] The driver's race suit and the driver's crash helmet.
We're all getting scrutineered. And you're signing on.
We need to do a very, very...
[Rockenfeller] NASCAR, marriage with the two kids and the house.
- Now the matador. - If you're not first, you're last.
Throw in like a Ricky Bobby quote in there.
[Button] We signed on like Ricky Bobby.
"If you ain't first, you're last."
I think it just showed the atmosphere that is in our team
and how we were enjoying the journey.
- It fits. - [Rockenfeller] My one is too big.
Well, maybe after I've washed it. It's gonna be tight.
I'm not gonna wash it.
I got pockets, though. Oh, you got pockets.
- [Johnson] Why don't I... - Jimmie hasn't got any pockets.
- What am I gonna do with my hands? - You can use mine, buddy.
Let go of me.
What are you dreams for...
Yeah, it's great to be here. You know, Jimmie, Rocky, they're great friends.
[Johnson] To see race fans arrive a week plus before the race
to be there for scrutineering, to get the autographs,
it really has helped me grasp just how special the race is
and what that experience is like.
[shutters clicking]
[Hindhaugh] Welcome, everybody, to Le Mans
for the first on-track action in this centenary 24 hours of Le Mans.
Now this track, it is very different because it's not a permanent racetrack.
[Haven] You know, high speed circuit.
You've got your chicanes on the back straight, the Mulsanne Straight.
Different challenges up and down regardless of what category you're in.
This circuit poses a real challenge.
[Crudup] While Garage 56 turned heads at scrutineering,
the fact remained they had yet to turn a lap on the circuit.
No one knew what to expect.
And few outside the team expected very much at all.
It was the first chance to impress
or fall flat.
Did NASCAR belong at Le Mans?
- [Ives] Got me, Rocky? - [Rockenfeller] I got you loud and clear.
[Ives] We're looking at four total laps here.
Just be ready for anything.
[tires squealing]
[Rockenfeller] Being in the car, driving through the first time,
yeah, I was for sure nervous.
Is it feeling like in the simulator? Is it what we expected?
[Hindhaugh] Boy, does this thing look completely different
than anything else out there.
[Haven] Look, we normally see these cars just going around in circles
turning left and, uh, it's turning left and right.
It looks like he's doing a pretty good job of it.
And from what we've seen so far, it's got some pace.
During the tests, they were really fast. So not a lot of people expected that.
[Hindhaugh] Just watch and listen to this thing.
This is great fun.
It was ahead of most at the GTE class.
So that was a great start.
[Johnson] It's a long, long lap.
And a long straightaway has really allowed me to reflect on what I'm doing here,
what we're doing as a group,
all the time and effort and energy that's been put into this.
[Knaus] Great job, everybody.
We're five seconds faster right now than the next GTE car. That's awesome.
Great job, man. That was awesome.
- [Johnson] That was so fucking awesome. - They did a great job.
- [Johnson] That's so fun. - [Knaus] All right?
- [Johnson] Yeah. - [Knaus] Awesome. Great lap times too.
[shutters clicking]
[Crudup] Photographs, autographs and thousands of fans clamoring
for a piece of motorsport excellence.
Their next chance to witness it,
the Pit Stop Challenge.
Each crew had one chance to knock out the quickest stop they could
for bragging rights throughout the Paddock.
The Garage 56 crew had its eyes on the trophy
and a taste of Le Mans glory.
[crew member] I feel like they've never seen people work out.
- [pants] - [crew member 2] Nope.
They're working out. They were running sprints.
The other teams were watching them and were like,
"What in the world are these guys up to?"
[crew member 3] It's like they've seen bigfoot. [chuckles]
[crowd cheering, whistling]
[Knaus] Seeing our guys practice and... and get ready,
I was like, "These guys are gonna do a pretty good job."
We didn't know what the other people were capable of doing.
We didn't know. We didn't really care.
We just knew what we needed to do and we wanted to perform really well.
All right.
Everybody's gotta be behind the red line other than the five guys doing the stop.
Smooth, guys. Smooth, smooth.
[judge] Five, four, three, two, one.
Go!
- [Knaus exclaims] - [crowd cheering]
[cheers]
[Knaus] Nice, guys.
Nice.
[Doonan] Hey, way to go!
How about that!
It was honestly the best stop we had run in any practice in the States
or any practice in France leading up to it.
And we were at the top of the leaderboard so it was really cool to see.
Here we are shoving a manual jack under this car
and doing pit stops faster than the whole Le Mans field.
NASCAR really earned the respect of all the top teams
who really just have mechanics often doing the pit stops.
[crowd cheering]
[Kureczka] Then it was the waiting game, right?
We're all watching and it's kind of nerve-racking
and it's just this huge deal.
And all the drivers were there, super excited for the guys.
Chad's on the phone with Mr. Hendrick
and he's over there waiting to hear the details.
It was really cool to see the amount of support around everybody there.
- [exclaims] - We won?
[all cheering]
[Rockenfeller] They wanted to win that thing so bad.
And I think the guys were... were just amazing.
- We were so proud of them. - [crew member] Good job, guys.
Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.
And the guys walked down, you know, to the podium carrying the jack.
And I had the drivers separating the fans so the pit crew could get through.
This is bad-ass, you know that?
- [official speaks French] - [crowd cheering]
[Johnson] And to watch the guys in that pressure-packed moment
knock out an 11 second pit stop and podium
against all those lightweight, little cars with airjacks.
Um, yeah, it-it was really a prideful moment for the whole project.
[Moss] Seven, eight months ago, we started this as a brotherhood
and we decided we were gonna give our all
and to be able to see how far we came is just the best thing, for sure.
They beat all of the GTE teams with four jacks.
- Yeah. That was huge. Yeah. [chuckles] - That got everybody's attention.
[chiming, buzzing, whistling]
[Ryan] I don't think there was a lot of talk about Garage 56
and a NASCAR Cup car maybe stealing the headlines,
stealing the show at Le Mans but I think this car really did.
[Crudup] Daylight faded and headlights glared
as the final practice session extended into the night.
[Crudup] Ready or not, soon they'd be racing for 24 hours.
- [Button] All right, buddy? - [Johnson] What's good?
We were just saying you might need a beer after that.
- [chuckles] - I'll definitely take a beer.
- That looked so much better. - Yeah, I mean, just...
uh, I could trust the mirror for a while and then eventually it went shit
so it must be a film that gets on there and it freaks it out.
- So the light was better? Or not? - The... Yeah.
The lights were better. Yeah, it was a little more up and out.
- Good. Okay. - Um, yeah.
But, um, traction control saved my ass.
- Did it? - Mm-hmm. I would have been around.
[Button] Right, homework time.
So is Le Mans everything you dreamed of?
- Me? - [Button] Yeah.
- Yeah. - [Button] Yeah?
- Cheers. - [Knaus] Cheers, Mike.
- One good car. - [Knaus] Congrats, gents.
Great job today.
- You guys are fantastic. Amazing. - [Button] Thank you. Cheers.
The driver parade at, uh, at Le Mans, it's a great atmosphere.
I think it doesn't matter what car you're in
or what team you're driving for, there's so much love.
[cheering]
- [announcer speaking French] - [Johnson] It's the whole city.
I've never seen so many people.
That was way different than a parade. That was... That was like Mardi Gras.
- [siren blaring] - [crowd cheering]
[Johnson] Rocky, you've got 'em going, dude.
- [Rockenfeller] Huh? - You've got 'em riled up.
That's awesome.
[Rockenfeller] That's what you have to do.
[Button] Some people that come to Le Mans they'll be a fan of Ferrari,
they'll be a fan of Porsche, they'll be a fan of Caddy.
But with us, we had no competition so everyone loved us.
[crowd chanting] USA!
[Rockenfeller laughing]
[cheering continues]
[Johnson] Hey, look what I got.
Jimmie, you are bold.
Savoring a moment like that, knowing that, at least in my own head,
I might not ever be here again.
It was awesome. What a... What a highlight and a fun day.
- [Rockenfeller] It's so crazy, isn't it? - [Johnson] It's so crazy.
Start spraying the champagne on them.
[Rockenfeller chuckles] Hey, I tell you what, they will love it.
[Johnson] Oh, you spilled all my booze. [laughs]
[chuckles] Want some?
[chuckles] Yeah, might as well.
It's so bad.
[Johnson] Really foamy. [laughs]
[crowd cheering]
[Ives] You know, obviously, a lot of hard work going into, uh, the last two weeks.
I think we, uh, all are ready for tomorrow,
uh, to-to start.
Uh, this isn't a NASCAR race where you only go three hours.
This is an endurance race.
Don't think you have to man up or woman up
to think you don't have time to just take a 15 minute nap
and it's gonna definitely be worth it in the end so use a chair.
[Crudup] Words of encouragement
could only do so much to settle the nerves.
They'd come to Le Mans to run a race and with any luck, reach its finish.
And no one could know if the months of preparation had been enough.
[announcer 1] We get ready for the start
of the world's greatest endurance motoring event.
[announcer 2] Here at the Circuit de la Sarthe.
24 Hours of Le Mans.
[vendor, in French] Quest France, here you go.
Wonderful.
[announcer 3, in English] A truly massive crowd here.
[in French] It's great to have a NASCAR here, and Button's the driver.
We're huge fans of Jenson Button so it couldn't be any better.
Over the next 24 hours, I'm pulling for NASCAR.
[in English] I came all the way from Texas to see Garage 56 in my first Le Mans race.
It's something that I've wanted to do since I could drive.
[Hendrick] Today's the day.
To showcase what we have.
But now we just have to run 24 hours.
[announcer] Great to see that everybody's in fine fettle this morning.
We have 62 operational cars.
[Knaus] This was it.
This is the culmination of everything we've done.
- What's up, brother? - What's up?
- How you doing? How's it feel? - Wow.
Great, huh?
- I wanna wish you the best of luck. - Thank you.
- Thanks for coming down.
[Knaus] The green flag was gonna fall.
And we have to go for 24 hours straight with that Camaro.
[crowd cheering]
I would go get staged, 'cause it's gonna be chaos down there.
[announcer] It's a huge effort from these manufacturers
to bring all these cars, most of them new racing this season,
to the grid here.
And they are absolutely blown away by the reception from the crowd.
[Rowe-Hook] We would watch the whole, entire pit road
just kind of slowly make its way to the end where we were at.
That was pretty cool to see.
[announcer, in French] The basketball player in the house, LeBron James.
[Button, in English] This is the first time
I've been part of something like this.
We're actually here.
We're gonna race a NASCAR at Le Mans.
It blew my mind, as it blew everyone else's mind at the Paddock.
[crowd chanting] USA!
America's taken over this year.
[Johnson] It really has.
[Hindhaugh] Sixty-two teams have jammed the grid.
300,000 fans here
for the 100th anniversary edition of the 24 Hours at Le Mans.
The moment is at hand.
["La Marseillaise" playing]
[crowd singing in French]
Hey, have fun.
Thank you, you too.
The race is declared wet. I didn't know.
Okay, thank you.
Rocky, have you got me?
Loud and clear.
[in French] Drivers...
...start...
...your...
...engines.
- [Knaus, in English] Yeah, let's fire. - [engine starts]
[Hindhaugh] The engines have roared to life.
We are so close to four o'clock in the afternoon.
1600 hours and the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
[Knaus] I appreciate everybody's hard work,
dedication and determination to get us to this point.
Drivers, go pilot this thing with pride.
Let's service it here with pride.
And let's go out there and get us a 24-hour race in.
Thank you all for everything.
[helicopter whirring]
[official] Garage 56, you are in the group of LMP2s.
Let's stay with them please.
[announcer] The world's oldest active endurance racing event.
[Hindhaugh] The grandstand is packed.
It's 1600 and the second century of Le Mans endurance racing starts now.
Le Mans 2023 is underway.
[announcer, in French] Watch out,
the start with the first attacks from behind. Watch out!
[official, in English] We have started the 91st edition
of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
100 years since the first race took place.
[cheering]
[announcer] So much to watch and best of all,
it's that perpetual treat, the sound.
Magnificent engine though of the Chevrolet Camaro.
[King] This car is so loud.
A lot of the other cars are whizzing by just... [imitates race car]
And then the Garage 56 car...
It's this deep, guttural wail that shakes everything.
[imitates engine noise]
And we were like, "Hell yeah! Go, America! Rah."
[Hindhaugh] Ooh, there's a barrier there.
[announcer] It's a 311 into the barrier on the exit of the first chicane.
[groans, muttering]
[Ives] There... There's a crash exit...
Exit of the chicane. Crash ahead.
Stay right. Stay right.
[Hindhaugh] Coming out of the Daytona Chicane
and has absolutely ruined the front end of that car.
[Knaus] Who would have thought that a 24-hour race
was gonna start out like a-a-a demolition derby?
[announcer, in French] One car off the track! Help!
- [all groaning] - [in English] No.
[announcer 1] Here's the 32.
[announcer 2] Just ahead of the NASCAR there.
[announcer 3] With those slick tires, it is literally like driving on ice.
To throw it away this early on in a 24-hour race, is just absolutely crazy.
Rocky, did you hit any debris?
[Rockenfeller] Uh, I tried to avoid as much as I could.
Tire pressure looks okay all round.
[Ives] We will pit this time. We will pit this time.
Driver change.
[Rockenfeller] Copy.
[Ives] Here in five, four, three, two, one.
Okay, fire when ready.
- [engine revs] - [Ives] Go, go, go.
You're gonna have three GTEs coming up behind you.
Reminder, cold tires, cold brakes.
[Hindhaugh] Jimmie Johnson now behind the wheel of the Hendrick number 24.
- [crew member] Car was good. - [Rockenfeller] Yeah, but we are...
we are missing a bit of straight line and then bit of balance,
um, I think right now.
[engine rumbles]
[Hindhaugh] Twenty-two hours to go.
Feels like we've been really through the wringer already though.
[Knaus] Doing a great job, Jimmie. Doing a great job.
[Hindhaugh] Oh, huge off!
It's absolutely destroyed the right-hand side.
Jimmie, there's big wreck, just for awareness.
[Johnson] Copy.
[Knaus] Watch for debris. Watch for debris.
[Hindhaugh] The Cadillac, number three,
got a whack as well at the top of the hill.
Ricky Taylor, who has crashed into the barrier.
[announcer] That was a massive hit. A massive hit.
There is going to be a slow zone,
uh, exit of Porsche Curves, zone nine, right before start/finish line.
Zone one and zone three off of Tertre Rouge.
[Johnson] Okay, zone one, zone three, slow zones.
Yeah, it's like playing the Hokey Pokey.
We're gonna be making a call on whether to pit you here.
I don't disagree, Greg. You can...
He's been there long enough if you want to make that change.
I think it's acceptable.
We wanted to make sure every driver got an opportunity to get in the car
because we didn't know what was gonna happen.
We could break on the fourth hour and, you know, only one driver get in.
The driver's ready. The tires are ready.
Change. Yeah.
[Ives] Yeah, 10-4. Pitting this time. Driver change.
[Button] You don't want to be thinking too much as a driver.
There's a lot going on and it's about you just relaxing.
Focusing on what you need to focus on.
[Ives] Three, two, one.
Go.
[announcer] Jenson Button, Formula 1 world champion,
gets the honor in a Chevrolet NASCAR Cup car.
[Knaus] Jenson, you're doing a good job.
This whole block of GTE cars that you're catching will be for position.
[Button] We were in a category of one
but we wanted to finish in front of the GTE cars.
So at that moment, it's like,
"Right, this is where we need to make up some time and some positions."
Where are we now? What position are we in the GTEs?
We are, uh, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine.
But we're on the lead lap.
And I love that challenge of hunting cars down.
[Ives] GTE cars are running 3:57s right now.
The 54 is the leader.
Fifty-four is the leader.
[Button] That's pretty good then.
If we can have a couple of seconds on him a lap that's, uh, that's pretty good.
[in French] The #24, the NASCAR. It's Jenson Button.
We're seeing a lot of support
for this #24 team.
[Ives, in English] Need to keep pushing hard on this set of tires.
[Button] What position are we in the GTEs?
[Ives] Uh, looks like second.
You need to have a challenge.
And I loved it.
Feels weird that this could all be over in 18 hours.
[Hindhaugh] It's starting to get just a little bit darker now.
[Button] The best time of the race for me was sunset.
The most difficult time to drive 'cause the sun's in your eyes.
But when night falls, it's a real special feeling.
[Button] Sixty-two cars just shedding, shedding tires, shedding rubber.
It's like a war zone out on track.
There's one racing line but you're overtaking cars all the time.
It's the best moment in a racing car.
Absolutely loved it.
How many more laps till we need to pit, Jessica?
[Rowe-Hook] Seven laps next time by.
[Knaus] With all of these cautions,
you know, unfortunately it caught us in a bit of a pinch.
Last thing we wanna do is just put Jimmie out there at nighttime, right?
Three hours, you good?
I'm good.
We didn't want him out there in just the dark of night.
And we didn't want him out there and the rain to start.
So we're watching the weather and everything looks great,
let's go ahead and drop Jimmie in the car.
Pit this time. Pit this time. [indistinct] unplug and off.
Driver change here.
You got... You got some gaps.
Just-Just get a good rhythm and log some miles right now.
You always enter a race with a strategy.
But rarely do things play out as you would hope.
[Ives] Three, two, one.
Forty-two seconds of fuel.
[Johnson] I've been endurance racing enough,
there's always something that's going to haunt you
and put a little stress in your life.
[Ives] Radio check.
[Johnson] Yep.
[official] We're getting rain reports on track.
We're getting some rain reports on track.
[Rowe-Hook] Okay, it is starting to sprinkle out here on pit road.
Shit.
All right. Make him aware, Greg. We're heading that direction.
There's reports of rain entering turn one and two.
Need your rain light turned on.
[Johnson] I need to turn on my rain lights?
- [Knaus] Yes. - [announcer] Here is more drama.
Spits and spots of rain.
There's heavy rain in the pit lane.
[Johnson] I don't have a ton of wet driving experience.
And sure enough, they put me in. And it just... complete downpour.
It's raining hard out there, Greg, on pit road.
[announcer] It's now coming down much, much harder.
It's pouring.
[Johnson] Yeah, I'm flying off the track.
10-4. Nice and easy through here.
[Johnson] There are seasoned sports car drivers wrecking everywhere.
There were a few very frightening moments out there on track.
But ultimately, in the back of my mind was,
we... I cannot make a mistake.
Very, very difficult for the drivers now. It's becoming a race of survival.
The NASCAR Chevy with Jimmie Johnson
getting round okay but under very, very slow conditions.
[Button] NASCAR, they don't race in the wet.
He had the worse conditions.
And he has the least amount of experience in those conditions.
[Knaus] Make sure you're staying on line, Jimmie.
Make sure you're staying on line.
[Ives] Nice and easy here. You're coming to the worst part of the track here.
[Knaus] We put him out there in the absolute worst possible conditions
we possibly could have for a rookie driver.
And he did flawless. He did amazing.
[Ives] Go hard and pass this car on track now.
[Knaus] You're doing a great job. Class leaders, one straightaway ahead.
Catching up. Good catching. You're doing a great job.
[Johnson] 10-4.
Jimmie did something there that he hadn't done in his life.
He elevated his status.
[Johnson] That was awesome. So much fun.
I mean, there were some really sketchy moments
but all in all, um, I had a great time.
[Ives] We were talking about like, oh, you know,
should have a good transition into the night.
- [Johnson] Yeah. - Get your eyes adjusted.
Somewhere I heard there wasn't rain for an hour at least.
- Or it was like 10%. - No, no.
What's funny is you said "rain light on," and I didn't...
[stammers] I'm like, all right.
Then I came around the corner and it was pouring.
I'm like, okay. Now I get it.
But the nighttime, you can really use, uh, the lateral grip off.
And also the breaking performance is up. So, um... Yeah.
We can be really aggressive right now. Car is-- Car is great.
[announcer 2] There's the Camaro. The NASCAR to Le Mans entry.
And everybody associated with this program is just over-the-moon happy
with how things have been going.
Mike Rockenfeller behind the wheel of the car now.
[Rockenfeller] Racing at night is for me the coolest part.
When you are out there, I always love it, you know.
And you are in your rhythm and you push it to the limit.
[Ives] You're doing a great job. You're making up time.
Keep doing what you're doing.
[announcer 3] Just after 2:00 in the morning, Circuit de la Sarthe.
No shortage of action here.
[King] In the middle of the night at Le Mans, you're tired.
But every single four minutes,
this car wails by.
And everybody's nodding off and then--
Oh, there it is. It's there again.
[Ives] Pit this time. Pit this time. Go get, uh, Jenson down there.
[crew member] Yeah, 10-4. We're ready.
[Rockenfeller] Imagine you jump out of a race car,
you're full of adrenaline and you're pumped up.
It's super difficult to switch off.
And you don't have that much time to rest.
So it's important just to get your rest because otherwise you pay for it later on.
And you need to be focused every time you're in the car.
- Like this? - Yeah, it's like, if you, like...
[physical therapist] How are the belts?
[Rockenfeller] The belts were good.
It's just the right arm I feel a little bit.
- This arm? - Yeah.
I don't know why. It must be the steering or...
It doesn't bother you in the car.
- You just notice it afterwards? - No.
Well, yeah, or while driving. And then you stretch a bit.
But I've never had this, it's just in this car.
Must be something with the shape of the wheel.
Right.
So, I need to be a bit careful now.
Oh, man. I'm tired.
[Hindhaugh] Good morning.
[announcer] Regardless of what happens from here,
what we've seen so far has been truly spectacular.
The Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Camaro putting on a brilliant show
with some of the best drivers in the world.
[Button] Sunrise was
epic.
And it always is at Le Mans.
The cars are covered in rubber, oil,
you know, the windscreen's a bit of a mess
but you don't care.
You've made it through the night. And it's just-- It's a great time.
[Knaus] The drivers kept upping their game.
The next thing you know, we're running like 26th
in front of the whole GTE class and some of the LMP2 cars.
Like, how did this happen?
[announcer] And they're one of the...
In terms of incidents and technical issues,
they're probably one of the cars that's running most like clockwork
out in the entire field.
[Hindhaugh] I mean, take a look at that leaderboard.
The Camaro is outrunning every GTE car in the race.
That's astonishing. So impressive.
You're doing a great job, Rocky. Continue to manage your brakes for us.
Continue to manage the brakes. You're doing awesome.
[Rockenfeller] Yeah. All good.
So, brakes.
Left front's not bad.
You can see both wear indicators.
The right front, the circle is starting to fill in with carbon.
So that means it's getting really, really thin.
So what we're gonna need to do is just kind of monitor and have Rocky,
if he starts to feel the pedal start to get soft or anything like that,
we're just gonna have to change 'em.
[Ives] Five, four, three, two, one.
Stop on the sign.
Are you ready to go?
Go, go.
[Button] The brake's gone to the floor, the brake pedal.
The brake is going to the floor.
[Ives] Skates, skates, skates.
[metal clanking]
[Knaus] The team worked flawlessly.
Boom. Everybody knew exactly what they were supposed to do.
The guys are bringing in the calipers and the rotors from the back of the house
all the way up to the front.
[Ives] Pump up the pedal here. Pump up the pedal.
Nice and slow. Nice and slow.
[Button] All is good.
[Knaus] And it wasn't but a matter of minutes,
we had had it fixed, changed and back out in pit road.
[Ives] Okay. Ready? Go, go, go, go.
Hey, guys. I know that was a pain in the ass but good job doing that.
Good job, everybody. Great work.
Broke the brake bleeder off.
[crew member] Oh, on the left front.
- [Taylor] That's hard to get in there. - [crew member] Yeah.
[crew member 2] Pick up? Or something in the wheel?
[Taylor] No, you know it was fine all the way in.
It must have been on the wheel change.
You guys did an awesome job, so five hours to go.
[Hindhaugh] Hendrick Motorsports,
the innovation car that has gone out and come back again.
The adventure continues for the innovation car,
the number 24 Hendrick Motorsports seventh-gen Cup car.
Jenson Button is driving in the middle at the moment of the GTE arms.
It still looks great and it's still running absolutely brilliantly well.
[engine rumbling]
[Button] Oh, guys. I think we've lost the gearbox.
There's a really bad sound. Really bad.
Looks like the transmission.
His rev lights kept going, uh, there's no drive.
Okay, 10-4. Just manage your pace then here.
[Button] There's no drive in first gear, staying in second.
[announcer] There is drama out on track for the Hendrick Motorsports Cup car.
[Knaus] Jenson, you're saying it's making noise and vibrating?
[Button] Yeah, really badly.
[Knaus] One of the things that is unique to Le Mans,
if your car is out there and it won't run or it won't drive,
they're just gonna move it into a holding area.
And that's where, basically, the car stays until the next day after the race is over.
It's done. Your race is over.
[Button] I'm just going slowly at the moment. Driving in second.
[Ives] It was nerve-racking.
And I was like, "Maybe head on back to the garage,"
because you didn't want to get out of gear and not be able to get back in.
Remember you're in second gear. So try to manage your pace here.
[official] We have a slow car on track approaching MP30.
We have a slow car on track.
[Hindhaugh] Painfully slow for that Camaro.
If Jenson Button can't make it back to pit lane, that's it for the team.
They'd be out of the race,
after all that effort.
[Button] You gotta get it home, right? That's the aim when you have an issue.
But the problem is it was--
I was stuck in second gear on the fastest part of the track.
So, you know, through the Porsche Curves.
And you've got the hypercars coming through there at 130 miles an hour,
and you're doing 30 miles an hour.
Which is kind of scary.
[Knaus] He was able to limp all the way around the racetrack
in second gear, which--
How second gear did not explode and get destroyed,
and allowed us to get to pit road, I have no idea.
[Ives] Bring it to the garage here. We'll skate it in.
[Knaus] The car came into the pit area, got up on skates,
came in, went up on four stands. And it was all hands on deck once again.
[announcer] Bit of a drama for the Hendrick Motorsport Camaro. New gearbox.
[announcer 2] Ooh, okay.
[announcer] That is the first significant delay.
[announcer 3] And possibly a big situation.
That could be a big, big change.
[Rockenfeller] Can we change it? How long does it take?
We never practiced that.
Like, we never did a gearbox change because we never had to.
I had the feeling that we might not make it back out there
because it might take too long.
[Button] That's a shame.
I was also being so much more gentle with it as well on the downshift.
Well, all we can do is try and finish now.
[Gordon] First time I heard that the gearbox issue,
we're gonna be down for,
I think initially an hour and a half or what, some-some big number.
I was like, "Oh, no."
We had to jump in and do what our team does,
which is just battle and fight and claw and get this fixed.
[Hindhaugh] It's all hands on deck down in the Hendrick Motorsport garage.
They're trying to get a fresh gearbox into the Camaro.
Will they have the time?
This could be the end of the road.
Just do me a solid here and just check everything one more time
after what we just did.
Just give everything a once over one more time.
When they called me to-to be ready, jump in the car and go,
it was actually earlier than I thought.
- Sorry, Rocky. - [Rockenfeller] All good.
They got done fast.
[mutters]
[Rockenfeller] I was happy that it was ready.
Hey, Seb.
Nah.
[chattering]
It was Seb Vettel. You could have spoke with him.
- Oh, was it? - He was just on the phone.
He's like, "I thought you were done." I said "Americans don't give up."
- [Johnson laughing] - They don't quit.
- No. The Americans. - They never quit.
They never quit.
That's why they won the Second World War and we lost.
Don't-Don't mess with the Americans.
[Knaus] All right, confirming that. We're gonna get rolling out here.
We're gonna do an install with Mike. We need to make it to the finish.
[Doonan] Nobody panicked.
Never once did anyone think that we're not gonna cross the finish line.
When we pulled back out, the fans went crazy.
[Hindhaugh] There's cheers up and down the grandstands,
because the NASCAR Garage 56 Camaro is back out.
[Doonan] Rocky's right, you know. The Americans won't quit.
And, uh, it was, again, representing NASCAR.
[Hindhaugh] Brand-new gearbox is installed.
They are not going to be denied their run to the finish.
[Knaus] The lap time that Rocky was putting down at the end of the race,
I was like, "Dude, why were you going so fast?"
He was like, "Didn't have anything else to do."
[Rockenfeller] Honestly, I was pushing every lap as much as I could because
that's what you enjoy.
Everything feels normal and good.
Great job so far, guys.
You can be proud of yourselves. That was really good.
Rocky, that's a really good space you're in right there.
Just try to pace. Doing a good job. Nice and smooth.
Rocky went out and ran the fastest lap of the race for our car.
It's a special feeling, especially in this project,
to bring the car to the finish line.
I had the feeling that Jimmie deserved the finish.
[Button] Who better to finish the race than seven-time NASCAR champion?
I mean, it has to be Jimmie Johnson.
[Ives] The bond that these drivers built, Jenson and Rocky came to me.
And it was like, Jimmie's never finished one of these races.
He's never crossed the finish line at Le Mans.
- [Button] You have fun, buddy. - [Johnson] Thank you.
Enjoy the next hour.
- [Johnson] Thank you. - It's gonna be awesome. [laughs]
[Johnson] It was incredible.
You know, the friendship and the relationship I have,
and the experience and them telling me this, and, you know,
the sincerity that I sensed in the moment just meant the world.
I mean, for both of them to also want to have that experience,
but look at me, allow that opportunity to happen, go lobby for it,
take themselves out of the-the opportunity.
Uh, it was really cool.
[Knaus] Radio check here, Jimmie. You got me?
[Johnson] Copy.
[Ives] All right. You can fire. Let's go.
- Go, Jimmie! - [people cheering]
- Look at him there. - [people laughing]
It's going to be good to see Jimmie...
...finish this deal.
I completely agree.
It's very fitting.
[announcer] The NASCAR Garage 56 effort.
After all the cynicism about, you know,
a novelty entry melted away in a nanosecond.
The technology, the team spirit, the attitude, the outlook
have all been warmly embraced here.
And you've flown the flag very proudly.
Really nice work, Jimmie. Really nice work.
Straight and smooth, buddy. Doing awesome.
[Johnson] There was pressure to not make a mistake,
to really get this thing to the finish line.
But at the same time, I couldn't contain my excitement
in knowing that I was going to see a checkered flag at the 24 Hours Le Mans.
[Wright] You see everybody coming in, right? Like, getting ready.
But you have to kind of disconnect yourself from that
and really focus on the task.
We have to make sure this car finishes.
Everybody's starting to congregate together to celebrate this achievement,
all this work over the last year and a half that went into it for this moment.
To see Rick and Jim and the whole team that had this vision
and celebrate that moment was very special.
Something I'll never forget.
[Knaus] Got five more laps, boys.
Everybody is in our garage
and you have a flush of emotions.
When they set the white flag, everybody goes out to where the pit perch is
and they all wave and cheer the cars as they come down for the final lap.
[Hendrick] It was an unbelievable feeling at the end.
Something that I'm always gonna cherish.
It was the pride of our country, the pride of our sport.
And the fact that nobody had a road map to this.
We had to invent it as we went.
And the feeling of accomplishment was so strong.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you.
- Hi. Congratulations to you. Great race. - Thank you so much.
[Rockenfeller] And I only can say thank you. That's all I have, right?
I was doing my part but without the team, without everybody, I--
Yeah, we could have not succeeded.
And you can be proud, I tell you. That was really good.
- [crew member] Thanks. - Thanks a lot.
[Knaus] All right. Final lap, everybody. Final lap.
Should be coming to the flag, my friend.
Enjoy this last lap.
[Johnson] Oh, right on.
[Hendrick] Congratulations, team.
Congratulations, Chad, Greg, everybody.
John, Mr. France.
Great job.
[Johnson] It's been a great journey at Le Mans.
Very thankful for the opportunity.
It was a dream to chase.
It was pretty awesome.
[Hindhaugh] A Herculean effort by the Americans.
They've done it.
They have finished here, completing the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
We did it.
It was an honor being one of your teammates.
- [chuckles] Thank you. - Okay?
Thank you for giving me the opportunity.
[Hendrick] Hey, champ. Congratulations, man.
How does it feel to get the checkered flag here at the 24 Hours of Le Mans?
[Johnson] Uh... This is something special. Thank you, Rick. Thank you, everybody.
Great job, Jimmie. Really proud of you.
Thanks for the opportunity of a lifetime, buddy.
It just all of a sudden felt like a family moment.
All of us were experiencing the same emotion
without even having to communicate that.
You had this bond with these people that, you know, was special.
That will never be recreated in anything else that you do.
NASCAR made a massive impression at Le Mans,
I think bigger than anyone expected.
It's just a shame it's all over.
[Rockenfeller] Being in that garage with those people,
being part of that team,
fulfilling every--
Yeah, it was special.
My bucket's full. My heart is full from this entire experience.
Man, I don't want it to end.
[Doonan] Seeing the look on the faces...
was really gratifying.
- Thank you. No, it's a complete-- - Well,
- you pushed hard to make this happen. - It was-- I know but it was--
- It was all of our effort. - I agree.
[Doonan] And, uh, Jim France.
[crying] I know what it meant to him to recreate what his dad did.
And, uh, he wanted to... [sniffles]
...tell the world what NASCAR's all about.
[cheering]