Jimmie Johnson, Mike Rockenfeller and Jenson Button headline Garage 56 entry’s lineup

That's all no pictures no more in depth info regarding this venture......seriously?

In reply to 759NRNG :

Details are scant. They have not finalized the design of the car, yet, but that information will be coming soon.

759NRNG said:

That's all no pictures no more in depth info regarding this venture......seriously?

No, it's not for sale....I'm gonna restore it.

Youtube has some videos of the Garage 56 Camaro running at VIR and Sebring. They added a bunch of aero improvements and the exhaust sounds way different. Its lighter, more powerful and has better aero than the current "Next Gen" cup car. The Garage 56 car was 10 seconds faster than a cup car at VIR on Full Course.

Chad Knaus is the lead on the car and as most know has the rulebook wide open and finding those grey areas. 

Either way, check out youtube for the Garage 56 updates.

Really surprised Jeff Gordon didn't make the lineup. 

In reply to DirtyBird222 :

I would imagine they need a 4th driver, perhaps he has a chance.

Car looks legit, this is one of the iterations they have tested, not sure if it is the latest or final design.  Seen at the Rolex 24 hr.

DirtyBird222 said:

Really surprised Jeff Gordon didn't make the lineup. 

He is a far better road racer then Jimmie that's for sure. Jimmy even in nascar wasn't very good on road courses. Ofcourse Jeff might be too busy as he's in management at hendrick and being groomed as Ricks replacement.

JesseWolfe said:

Car looks legit, this is one of the iterations they have tested, not sure if it is the latest or final design.  Seen at the Rolex 24 hr.

 

The newer version looks nearly the same but has a huge canard on the 3/4 panel right where the Chevrolet logo is placed. The rear spoiler is also taller on the newer one with a transparent panel above the black portion of the spoiler.

Super excited to see this car perform at the 24. I hope they last the entire race and place well within the GT categories. 

kevinatfms said:

JesseWolfe said:

Car looks legit, this is one of the iterations they have tested, not sure if it is the latest or final design.  Seen at the Rolex 24 hr.

 

The newer version looks nearly the same but has a huge canard on the 3/4 panel right where the Chevrolet logo is placed. The rear spoiler is also taller on the newer one with a transparent panel above the black portion of the spoiler.

Super excited to see this car perform at the 24. I hope they last the entire race and place well within the GT categories. 

I'm interested in how much power it will be making and if they'll really be running Goodyears on it. Outside of NASCAR, do they make a performance tire at all? Like something GRMers would through on a track day toy? I feel like that might be the critical piece in them placing well at all, pending any other issues. 

DirtyBird222 said:

kevinatfms said:

JesseWolfe said:

Car looks legit, this is one of the iterations they have tested, not sure if it is the latest or final design.  Seen at the Rolex 24 hr.

 

The newer version looks nearly the same but has a huge canard on the 3/4 panel right where the Chevrolet logo is placed. The rear spoiler is also taller on the newer one with a transparent panel above the black portion of the spoiler.

Super excited to see this car perform at the 24. I hope they last the entire race and place well within the GT categories. 

I'm interested in how much power it will be making and if they'll really be running Goodyears on it. Outside of NASCAR, do they make a performance tire at all? Like something GRMers would through on a track day toy? I feel like that might be the critical piece in them placing well at all, pending any other issues. 

They supply the sole lmp2 tire in wec.

DirtyBird222 said:

kevinatfms said:

JesseWolfe said:

[...]

I'm interested in how much power it will be making and if they'll really be running Goodyears on it. Outside of NASCAR, do they make a performance tire at all? Like something GRMers would through on a track day toy? I feel like that might be the critical piece in them placing well at all, pending any other issues. 

Yes.  I think the Supercar3 is the main tire in that range?  Did pretty well on the factory supported (as it happens) Camaro that competed in OneLap last year.  The ZL1 Camaro finished in 11th overall, and while it didn't do "great" on the wet skidpad (50th [of 84] on there, although they did beat a well-shoed GT500)... it did notch 7th place on the dry skidpad.

only trick is, that it's oriented to bigger/heavier cars... and as such is primarily available in 18inch and bigger diameters, and 245+ widths.

Learn something new everyday. Thanks for the info. 

NASCAR just posted a youtube short of the updated car with headlights and a wiper. 

Interesting to see that they aren't using airjacks and also will be using the traditional NASCAR style refueling setup. 

They claim they have matched gtd times now but mind you this car is making a lot more power then a gt3 car. And for that matter at some tracks Daytona in particular a trans am ta1 car was almost as fast as a gtlm car.

I wonder if the hope here is to eventually mash NASCAR and other IMSA series together while using the same chassis? They already sorta do that with the normal NASCAR setups on road courses, but perhaps this a step closer to that end. 

Even if the cup cars just used endurance races as testing grounds or a specific class limited in field size, I wonder how other teams would feel about even a small group of such cars on track with GTP and GT3 cars? 

As someone who used to watch NASCAR alot and loved watching the road courses, but hasn't watch an entire race in probably a decade, I'm genuinely pretty impressed with how many road courses are in the current season. This Le Man entry has to be more than just a one off. 

I think they are just trying to prove that the Grand-Am Tube Frame Prototype was far superior than people thought. 

A cross-over race doesn't seeem out of the realm of possibilities for the circus that NASCAR is. 

I'm disappointed in GM and Chevrolet. How can they choose 3 old white guys as the driver line up?

Diversity, and Inclusion these are huge in corporate America right now and they get shoved in employee's faces weekly. There is no excuse for not choosing a more exciting diverse driver line up.

bruceman said:

I'm disappointed in GM and Chevrolet. How can they choose 3 old white guys as the driver line up?

Diversity, and Inclusion these are huge in corporate America right now and they get shoved in employee's faces weekly. There is no excuse for not choosing a more exciting diverse driver line up.

 

Seriously?

Want my honest opinion? (No? Well, Im posting it anyway)

They need to think about WINNING and not diversity. What non-white guy or what female would be better for this (and available)?

Equality is great, but if the best available happens to be three white dudes then that's what they need to go with. I know, they arent going to get an overall win, and they may not even be able to get any sort of podium being they are a G56 car (I dont know how it works, honestly, for that class), but they need to think about a good showing in the race.

Garage 56 is in a class of 1 so they win whoever is driving.

The only good showing Chevrolet is concerned about is with Corvette. Most likely this is all about NASCAR swinging its dick on the international scene.

Then Nascar wants the best possible for their showing.

To heck with diversity, you go with the best. Be it names that will garner the attention or just great road course drivers. They did that.

Not only did they choose three great drivers, but think of the world-wide publicity they'll get having Button on the team.

DirtyBird222 said:

A cross-over race doesn't seeem out of the realm of possibilities for the circus that NASCAR is. 

After watching the Clash last night the bold highlighted text is the perfect description of what i saw. What a freaking joke that broadcast was.

I read that Rockenfeller was able to put down a better time than the new GT3 vette during practice at Daytona.

Garage 56 Camaro, Daytona Test Wrap-up

some interesting discussion of the car here (link with timestamp to Garage56 stuff):

also gives a little better idea of the how/why of Jimmy Johnson & Mike Rockenfeller being "drop in" drivers for this effort.

In reply to kevinatfms :

I don't know what it looked like on tv but in person the Clash was the most fun I've had at a NASCAR race in 30 years. So many people  complained they wanted more short tracks like local Saturday night races and they really nailed it. The entertainment wasn't my thing but the racing went well. They only thing I would have changed was that they tended to throw caution flags a bit prematurely. 
 

I am a little disappointed they didn't go with all NASCAR drivers for the Garage 56 line up. If the point is to get recognition for your people why get drivers from elsewhere?  

In reply to Wally (Forum Supporter) :

It IS endurance racing, after all.  Not a lot of NASCAR drivers are used to racing around the clock and all that entails.  Especially dealing with classes of cars that are MUCH faster in a straight line, brake MUCH better, and get through a turn faster as well.  Most of them have only had to deal with cars that are incrementally faster, under well lit conditions.

I could see how the FIA and ACO would want drivers with a certain pedigree for endurance racing as well. 

In reply to racerfink :

There are a number of recently retired drivers with experience at Daytona and Sebring. The FIA has some amusing ideas on licensing but that's a rant for another time. 

Specs for the car were revealed recently. The highlights are less weight, more tire, more aero, and more fuel.

stafford1500 knows spoilers better than I do.  plus, other #reasons... I've generally kept this opinion to myself.

butt

it feels "taped on" that they're limiting the rear VortexGenerator panels to stop at the top of the rear quarter panels.  Instead of bringing them up to match the trunk spoiler there, gaining a bunch of area and then not having to run an extra 2" of spoiler height.

I reckon there's a possibility there's beneficial interaction between the VG that comes off those rear flaps that possibly benefits evacuation of the rear diffuser.  but, it ends up looking like they haven't done a comprehensive analysis of available configurations (see some of the things autox cars have been doing with spoilers, including the pink panther).

I wonder if the real reason they're doing that is "not dilute" the "NASCAR DNA" and "stock cars have spoilers" look.

Either way, it ends up being a "nails on chalkboard" thing for my aero-brain, without better information.

In reply to sleepyhead the buffalo :

I'm not an aero guy, so maybe more educated voices will chime in, but it looks to me like there's a clear vertical element that runs down the rear window toward the rear decklid spoiler. So air over the roof gets directed down to the rear spoiler, and air that runs down the side of the car gets directed over the vortex generators but there's very little mixing of the two?

By connecting the VG to the rear spoiler, I wonder if that laminar air flow would be disrupted and drag increased?