The car was being driven by Jack Aitken, a British former F1 reserve driver for Williams, at the start of the race.Īll the hypercars were chasing Toyota Gazoo, which has won the overall title the last five years. 31 Cadillac was involved in an opening-lap crash at the same time France was celebrating a stock car circling the Circuit de la Sarthe. Penske is coming off wins in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 last month - a first time sweep - and currently holds both the NASCAR Cup title and Ind圜ar championship.Ĭhip Ganassi had a pair of Cadillacs racing for the overall win with a lineup that included six-time Ind圜ar champion Scott Dixon, and Action Express Racing, a team supported by NASCAR and IMSA owner Jim France, also had a Cadillac.įrance’s start to the race got off to a mixed start, though, when the No. It brought Roger Penske to Le Mans with three Porsches as the 86-year-old attempts to win his first ever Le Mans. The top class of sports cars from the United States were permitted to compete this year under a convergence of rules that created a new hybrid hyperclass that has brought manufacturers flocking to IMSA and the World Endurance Championship as a means to showcase their hybrid and electric technology. But from James as the official starter, to future NASCAR Hall of Famer Johnson, the race had a heavy American feel. Even so, the Hendrick crew set a goal of at least finishing the race, and maybe even beating cars from other classes.įerrari’s two-car effort led the field to green in a celebration of Le Mans’ 100th running, marked by a military flyover of jets leaving plumes of smoke in the colors of the French flag.

That put the car 39th for the start, but because NASCAR is running its second-year Next Gen car in the specialized “Innovative Car” class designed to showcase technology and development, the entry is not competing against any other cars.

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