What if NASCAR Wins LeMans Next Year?

[John Rogers]

Well, I saw the first news article and thought it was a joke by the sports car folks making fun of the "new" stock car that NASCAR is now racing what with alloy wheels, low profile tires, center lock hubs and even fuel injection controlled engines? Well, I guess it is a NOT a joke and it appears that NASCAR, IMSA, Goodyear and the huge resources of the Hendricks racing organization it will enter a car for the class for experimental cars which isn't used very often. The latest article I read said the car will have a "slightly modified" NASCAR engine but with batteries and electric motors and since they can go well over 220 MPH if rear end and transmission gears are not restricted such as a test that was done at Daytona a while ago so it would seem a 24hour reliability would be the biggest possible issue? Oh yeah, NO shift lever with a nice round ball but electronic paddle shifters!

The testing has been done with Mike Rockenfeller who is a pretty good driver I would say?

[URY914]

Pigs could fly too.

But it is an interesting effort. How fast is a stockcar if you open up the restrictions and add some go-faster parts? We'll find out.

[KFC911]

Didn't the Cup cars get up to like 212 decades ago at Talladega before they were restricted? Gonna be a LOT faster than that now ....

I bet they don't ride the wall

[Sooner or later]

[JackDidley]

Originally Posted by KC911

Didn't the Cup cars get up to like 212 decades ago at Talladega before they were restricted? Gonna be a LOT faster than that now ....

I bet they don't ride the wall

Rusty Wallace went 216 at Talladega in 2004. That was for a laptime. I read he actually topped out at 228. Its better to hit the wall from 6" away than 30' away. I think inertia comes into play.

[rfuerst911sc]

I applaud the effort . That is a well run and funded organization with some smart folks . I wish them well .

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I applaud the effort . That is a well run and funded organization with some smart folks . I wish them well .

Was thinking exactly the same thing

Would love to work on this project, will be a huge learning and fun experience for the folks involved

[nota]

in 1950 a caddy was 10th over all
entered by https://stevemckelvie.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/briggs-cunningham-and-cadillac-at-le-mans-in-1950/

I actually think a current GT rule car would be faster then a nastycar by the book rule car

[pwd72s]

Don't laugh...On a road course, those "good ole boys" can turn some impressive lap times.

[herr_oberst]

Here's a little something to chew on while you eat your corn flakes tomorrow morning.

1987, 240mph in a Monte Carlo. (I always thought it was a TBird for some reason)

http://p914-6info.net/PDFs/Porsche%20962%20-%20NASCAR%20shootout.pdf

[HobieMarty]

Originally Posted by KC911

Didn't the Cup cars get up to like 212 decades ago at Talladega before they were restricted? Gonna be a LOT faster than that now ....



I bet they don't ride the wall

Here ya go.

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[Jeff Higgins]

By 1987, NASCAR was running 360 cubic inch small blocks and attaining those speeds. Imagine if they had kept with the 7.0 liter limit, and had continued to run the 426 Hemi, the 427 Rat, and the 429 Cobra Jet. Bobby Isaacs did a flying mile at Bonneville in 1971 in his 1970 championship winning K&K Insurance Dodge Charger Daytona. 216 mph. Granted, he wasn't turning, but this was 17 years before Million Dollar Bill set his record. Imagine if they had stuck with unrestricted big blocks, with today's technology.

Back in the heyday of the big block in NASCAR, 6,500-7,000 rpm was seen as doable for a 500 mile race. We saw small block drag motors, like Grumpy Jenkins's Vega and Bob Glidden's Pinto Pro Stock cars spinning to 7,500-7,800. Now we see NASCAR small blocks going 500 miles at 9,000-9,500 rpm. Imagine if they were big blocks... As an aside, the NHRA has mandated a 10,500 rpm limit on the 500 cubic inch pushrod V-8's used in Pro Stock. Prior to that, the top teams were spinning them up to 12,000 rpm. These ain't yer daddy's pushrod motors anymore...

[Tobra]

One of those Daytona Chargers averaged 199 on a lap during testing, in 1969, on 1969 tires.

I seem to recall a Pontiac Tempest giving the Ferraris all they wanted and more back in the 1960's

[CurtEgerer]

There is a zero possibility of NASCAR's Garage 56 entry winning overall. First, since there are, essentially, no rules for a Garage 56 car the ACO is not going to allow a car that could compete with the prototypes for an overall win. Also, the car does not have to qualify - it has already been granted a grid spot. In fact, I'm not sure a Garage 56 entry is even eligible to score a podium or win in the unlikely case where it could. I'd rather see Chevrolet/Hendrick take one of their GT3 Camaros and actually compete.

[HobieMarty]

https://youtu.be/Eb-p7SuYQ9A

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[smadsen]

Originally Posted by nota

in 1950 a caddy was 10th over all
entered by https://stevemckelvie.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/briggs-cunningham-and-cadillac-at-le-mans-in-1950/

I actually think a current GT rule car would be faster then a nastycar by the book rule car

Didn't Junior Johnson & a couple buddies take a Ford Galaxie to Le Mans in about 1964? Don't recall if they made the race, but sure scared the locals watching at the edge of the track when it got to the end of the Mulsanne at full blatt.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by HobieMarty

https://youtu.be/Eb-p7SuYQ9A

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Hellofa video..thanks for posting.

[Jeff Higgins]

There have been NASCAR cars at LeMans in the past. Here are two that competed in the Classic this year. I'm not clear on this, but I believe to qualify for the Classic, a car must have history there.

There are a couple of points in this video where one or the other of these cars shows up on the front straight with RSR's in tow, appearing to be holding them up in the last corner. I'm sure they are. But look at how quickly they just walk away from those poor little Porsches once the track opens up. The difference in acceleration is notable. Far heavier cars, for sure, but better than double the horsepower. The same holds true today. These are pretty serious race cars, irrespective of what one might think of the series. I believe a modern NASCAR car would give a modern RSR a run for its money on a track like LeMans, where their outright power and straight-line speed can be exploited.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Don't laugh...On a road course, those "good ole boys" can turn some impressive lap times.

This... Aussie Supercars

[unclebilly]

I see this as great publicity for Nascar. This combined with the video game move at Martinsville have people talking about NASCAR that hadn’t even given stock car racing a second thought in years.