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Jimmy Johnson, Jensen Button, Mike Rockenfeller Tapped for Historic 2023 Garage 56 Le Mans Driver Lineup

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(l-r): IMSA President John Doonan, Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, and 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button and Hendrick Motorsports President Jeff Andrews discuss the Garage 56 initiative and how it feels to be racing in Le Mans this year shortly before the 2023 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA begins at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, January 28, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.
(l-r): IMSA President John Doonan, Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, and 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button and Hendrick Motorsports President Jeff Andrews discuss the Garage 56 initiative and how it feels to be racing in Le Mans this year shortly before the 2023 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA begins at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, January 28, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (FNN) – NASCAR today announced a prestigious driver lineup to pilot its Garage 56 entry in the upcoming 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 100th anniversary of the legendary race.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, and 2009 Formula One world champion Jenson Button will share the driver’s seat of the Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, which is anticipated to be approved for entry by l’Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) in the coming weeks.

The Garage 56 project is a partnership between NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear – the winningest team, manufacturer and tire in the sport’s 75-year history.

“Since the beginning of the Garage 56 project, it has been our goal to partner with the top racers in the world to represent us in Le Mans,” said Jim France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “The lineup of Jimmie, ‘Rocky’ and Jenson is everything we could have dreamed of – three elite drivers who have won at the highest levels of motorsports worldwide. As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of NASCAR, we are honored to have these world-class champions help bring the sights and sounds of a NASCAR race car to fans in Le Mans, and across the world.”

France was honored last year with the 2022 Spirit of Le Mans Award in recognition of his longtime impact in motorsports and his work securing a historic convergence agreement between IMSA and the ACO. The first chicane at Le Mans’ Mulsanne Straight is now called the “Daytona Chicane” and the chicane at Daytona International Speedway – once referred to as “The Bus Stop” – is now called the “Le Mans Chicane.”

Johnson won a record-tying seven NASCAR Cup Series championships and 83 races for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet in his illustrious career. He recently became part owner of NASCAR Cup Series team LEGACY MOTOR CLUB and will race in next month’s Daytona 500. Johnson helped test the Garage 56 car at Sebring in December.

“I’m super thrilled – it’s been at the top of my bucket list to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans someday,” Johnson said. “To have this opportunity come – and to partner with everybody and this driver lineup – is truly an incredible opportunity and one that I am thankful to be a part of.”

Rockenfeller, whose sports car accolades include winning the 2010 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans GT Class, the 2010 ROLEX 24 at Daytona and the 2013 German DTM championship, has served as the lead test driver for the Garage 56 project. He has driven the car at every on-track test and spent countless hours behind the wheel in the simulator.

“It has been a great journey so far with the whole team and project,” Rockenfeller said. “To be involved as a driver from day one until now was already a great honor, and to now have Jimmie and Jenson alongside me as teammates in Le Mans is unbelievable.”

Button had one of the most prolific careers in F1 history finishing with 15 wins and 50 podiums on top of his 2009 World Championship and is widely considered one of the top British drivers of all time.

“As a lifelong racing fan, I have always dreamed of racing certain cars, with and against certain drivers and competing in certain events,” Button said. “In June, a number of those dreams will come true in one event when I get to bring NASCAR to the world stage alongside my pals Jimmie and ‘Rocky’ for the 100th anniversary of the most prestigious race in the world. I’m really looking forward to sharing this journey with NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear, and current and future NASCAR fans from around the world.”

All three drivers will participate in next week’s two-day test at Daytona International Speedway.

Jordan Taylor, who currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Corvette Racing, will serve as the backup driver and help coach the drivers. Taylor won the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro Class and has finished on the podium four times. He is a four-time IMSA champion.

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Garg Doubles Up, Liefooghe Gets Redemption in VP Racing Challenge Race 2 at Sebring Managing Traffic Was Key to Victory in Both Classes

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SEBRING, Fla. – After leading every lap en route to victory in this morning’s first race of a Sunday doubleheader at Sebring International Raceway, Bijoy Garg had a much tougher time in this afternoon’s second 45-minute IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge race.

But the end result was the same, as Garg drove the No. 3 Jr III Racing Ligier JS P320 back into Victory Lane. Despite starting the race from the pole position, Garg surrendered the lead to Dan Goldburg in the No. 73 JDC MotorSports Duqueine D08 on the opening lap.

Goldburg grabbed the advantage just before the full-course caution came out due to a first-lap incident in Turn 1 involving Adrian Kunzle in the No. 54 MLT Motorsports Ligier, Scott Neal in the No. 86 Kellymoss with Riley Ligier and Courtney Crone in the No. 99 Forty7 Motorsports Duqueine. When the green flag flew again 10 minutes into the race, a three-car battle ensued at the front of the LMP3 field that included Goldburg, Garg and Antonio Serravalle in the No. 18 Muehlner Motorsports America Ligier.

Though no positions changed hands, the battle remained close among the three cars through the halfway point of the race. It was particularly close between Goldburg and Garg, who made several runs at Goldburg in traffic before finally making the decisive pass in Sebring’s famed Hairpin (Turn 7) with 15 minutes left in the race.

“I did a pretty big dive bomb, but it worked out and none of us got damage,” said Garg.

Garg then went from hunter to hunted for the next few laps as he navigated traffic with Goldburg in his mirrors, before catching a break when Goldburg spun in Turn 7 with under 10 minutes remaining. Garg went on to win by 4.949 seconds over Serravalle, picking up a Sebring weekend sweep for himself and his Jr III Racing teammates.

“I lost the lead off the start, but I wasn’t too worried,” Garg said. “I knew it all came down to the traffic and just finding an opportunity there, so as long as I stayed with (Goldburg), I was fine. I used some lapped cars, set a pick for him and then got it.

“From there, it’s all about the traffic management, as usual. It’s not easy going to a multi-class. I’m just really happy to come out with the win today.”

Serravalle was one of a number of series newcomers in the 30-car field at Sebring. He had a double podium day with a third-place run in the morning before his runner-up performance in the afternoon for the Muehlner squad.

Goldburg recovered from the spin to finish third for his fourth consecutive podium result to open the VP Racing Challenge season. He will depart the weekend atop both the overall LMP3 championship standings, as well as the Bronze driver standings. He has been the highest-finishing Bronze-rated driver in every race so far.

 

The next event for the VP Racing Challenge is scheduled for July 7-9 at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park as part of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Challenge Chevrolet Grand Prix weekend.

Liefooghe Rebounds for GSX Class Victory in No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW

Gregory Liefooghe started from the GSX class pole in the No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 and led every lap but the last one in this morning’s first 45-minute race.

And while he also started this afternoon’s race from the class pole, it appeared on the opening lap like he might come up empty on the day as he fell from first to fifth at the end of the first lap.

“The start was pretty sporty,” Liefooghe said. “There was two LMP3 cars that crashed right in front of me. I was on the outside, so I kind of got stuck, fell back and almost got collected, so I was really happy to survive.”

He did more than survive. Liefooghe went right to work when the race went back to green following a 10-minute full-course caution period, picking off the cars in front of him, including Luca Mars, who won this morning’s race in the No. 59 KOHR MOTORSPORTS Ford Mustang GT4 but had to make an unscheduled trip to pit lane early in Race 2.

“Unfortunately, Lucas broke down,” Liefooghe said. “I’m not sure what happened to him. We were looking forward to a battle with him and see how we improved our car compared to his since this morning.”

Liefooghe would not be denied in Race 2, especially with Mars out of the picture. He drove away from the field after taking the lead, and took the checkered flag 22.712 seconds ahead of Sebastian Carazo, who finished second in the No. 27 Kellymoss with Riley Porsche 718 GT4 RS CS.

“It just seems like our car was really good on the high-speed stuff,” Liefooghe surmised. “(Turns) 17 and 1 was our strong suit. It felt like we were able to brake a lot deeper than the other competitors and we kind of squeaked by in those two spots on track.”

 

While Liefooghe and Carazo, who also finished third this morning, had podium finishes in both of the day’s races, they were greeted by a new face on the podium at the end of Race 2. Patrick Wilmot came home third in the No. 88 Split Decision Motorsports BMW.

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2023 DAYTONA 200: Josh Herrin Claws Back from Penalty to Snatch Victory

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Josh Herrin (center) celebrates his DAYTONA 200 win at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 11, 2023, 12 years after his last win. Josh Hayes won second place and Cameron Petersen won third. Photo: J. Willie David III/Florida National News.
Josh Herrin (center) celebrates his DAYTONA 200 win at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 11, 2023, 12 years after his last win. Josh Hayes won second place and Cameron Petersen won third. Photo: J. Willie David III/Florida National News.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (FNN) – Josh Herrin rallied back from the 7th position in a ten-lap restart to defeat Josh Hayes by .070 seconds in the 81st running of the DAYTONA 200, the annual single-man motorcycle endurance race.

Josh Herrin started strong and held the lead for most of the race. Two racers crashed out early, but things didn’t really get disruptive until the race got down to less than 10 laps remaining.

The most notable crash of the race was Herrin’s contact with Richie Escalante, who had been keeping up with Herrin for the majority of the race. The contact sent Escalante sliding off the track–and out of the running–with just eight laps to go. Escalante attempted to lift the bike up to get back on it, but there was no chance remaining for him to get back in the race. Seeing his chance of victory lost, he slammed his gloves to the ground as he removed them.

The call of whether the contact was an intentional push or race incident was tricky because when played back in slow motion, the collision looks incidental since Escalante had leaned in a bit too far and then just barely lifted back up at the last second while Herrin went wide in the turn as he was sometimes doing throughout the race. However, when played back in real time, it looks like Herrin intentionally went wide to knock Escalante out. The collision went under review.

Despite the brief break after Escalante’s crash, Herrin regained the lead. With five laps remaining, Teagg Hobbs crashed into Jason Waters, causing a red flag. After the red flag period, Herrin got penalized for his collision with Escalante by dropping six positions to the number seven spot. Five laps were added, making it a 10-lap race for the restart.

Ultimately, Herrin was penalized six positions to start at seventh for the restart. Herrin confessed he wasn’t sure he could make it to the end, given the amount of pain he was in, but he heard the struggling conditions of several other racers, since they couldn’t switch out tires during the red flag period, and give it all he had.

“After 15 years of trying I finally got it right,” Herrin said. “This is by far my favorite event that I ever get to race. It’s the one race a year where we really see the teamwork that goes on.”

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

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PHOTOS: 2023 DAYTONA Supercross: Eli Tomac Matches Richard Petty with Historic 7th Daytona Win

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Eli Tomac crosses the finish line, winning the DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway a record seventh time, matching Richard Petty's record Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.
Eli Tomac crosses the finish line, winning the DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway a record seventh time, matching Richard Petty's record Saturday, March 4, 2023. Webb took second place. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (FNN) – The DAYTONA Supercross brought double the thrills for motocross fans Saturday, always showcasing races for 250SX and 450SX class dirt bikes on motocross legend Rick Carmichael’s insane course.

 

The gates drop to start the 450SX main event race during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

The gates drop to start the 450SX main event race during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

 

This year’s DAYTONA SX was bound to make history in several ways:

-The potential for 450SX legend Eli Tomac, who broke Ricky Carmichael’s DAYTONA SX winning record last year with his sixth win, to match NASCAR legend Richard Petty’s record as the only other athlete to win seven events at the Daytona International Speedway.

-The potential for any one of six rookies–Haiden Deegan, Tom Vialle, Chance Hymas, Talon Hawkins, Caden Braswell, Josiah Natzke–to get their first Daytona victory.

 

 

The 250SX Winners

In the end, this year’s 250SX saw two international winners take the podium and saw: Aussie rider Hunter Lawrence took his first DAYTONA Supercross victory Saturday, with English rider Max Anstie following in second place and Haiden Deegan, who wasn’t quite sure about his supercross career, closed out the DAYTONA Supercross 250SX podium in third place.

 

The 450SX Winners

Eli Tomac speeds through the white sand portion of the Ricky Carmichael-designed DAYTONA Supercross course in the 450SX main event race at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Eli Tomac speeds through the white sand portion of the Ricky Carmichael-designed DAYTONA Supercross course in the 450SX main event race at the Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

 

Florida rain, which began during the 250SX main event, intensified when the 450SX main event race began, making it that much more chaotic. Eli Tomac fought hard and early to steal the lead from Cooper Webb, who began in the lead. The two made contact twice, the first of which saw Tomac lose his footing a little, but he was able to regain the lead. The record is meaningful to Tomac not only for the record’s sake, but his practices didn’t end well–he came out fourth. He was fine the end of the very first 450SX heat, though: he finished first, giving him a bit of a break as the others continued to compete for their spots in the main event.

 

Eli Tomac (#1) gains on Cooper Webb to nab the lead during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Eli Tomac (#1) gains on Cooper Webb to nab the lead during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

 

Cooper Webb won second place while Chase Sexton rounded out the 450SX podium in third place.

 

Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb shake hands after Tomac wins the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Webb took second place. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Eli Tomac and Cooper Webb shake hands after Tomac wins the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Webb took second place. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

 

Chase Sexton crosses the 450SX finish line in third place during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

Chase Sexton crosses the 450SX finish line in third place during the 2023 DAYTONA Supercross at Daytona International Speedway Saturday, March 4, 2023. Photo: Harry Castiblanco/Florida National News.

 

Sexton and Justin “Bam Bam” Barcia traded hits several times throughout the race to attain or maintain dominance, but in the end, Barcia made a miscalculation close to the finish line that knocked him out of the running for top three, and Sexton quickly took his place to nab third.

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Mellissa Thomas is Editor for Florida National News. | mellissa.thomas@floridanationalnews.com

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