1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:00:09,885 --> 00:00:12,430 [helicopter whirring] 4 00:00:13,222 --> 00:00:14,932 [crowd cheering] 5 00:00:17,351 --> 00:00:20,062 {\an8}[announcer speaking French] 6 00:00:27,027 --> 00:00:31,740 [Hindhaugh] Huge anticipation from more than 300,000 fans 7 00:00:31,741 --> 00:00:33,533 packing Circuit de la Sarthe. 8 00:00:33,534 --> 00:00:36,244 They could not have sold another ticket. 9 00:00:36,245 --> 00:00:39,123 Everything is full to the rafters. 10 00:00:40,332 --> 00:00:42,959 Have you seen anything quite like this, this atmosphere like that? 11 00:00:42,960 --> 00:00:44,295 No. It's so special. 12 00:00:47,882 --> 00:00:49,257 [Ickx] I think the crowd is big. 13 00:00:49,258 --> 00:00:52,177 {\an8}But you have only one centenary at a time, huh? 14 00:00:52,178 --> 00:00:53,094 {\an8}[Hendrick] That's right. 15 00:00:53,095 --> 00:00:56,014 {\an8}This centenary, I don't think I... [stutters] ...we will leave with them, huh? 16 00:00:56,015 --> 00:00:57,391 Yeah. [chuckles] 17 00:00:57,975 --> 00:01:01,436 [Hindhaugh] Get ready for the start of the centenary race 18 00:01:01,437 --> 00:01:04,857 of the world's greatest endurance motoring event. 19 00:01:08,402 --> 00:01:10,821 - [Button] Now the nerves come in. - [Rockenfeller] Yeah. 20 00:01:11,614 --> 00:01:12,864 [Hindhaugh] Expectation. 21 00:01:12,865 --> 00:01:14,200 Optimism. 22 00:01:15,576 --> 00:01:17,160 24 hours of Le Mans. 23 00:01:17,161 --> 00:01:20,831 It's absolutely-- It's the best in the world. 24 00:01:21,582 --> 00:01:23,917 - [Rockenfeller] All right. Thank you. - [Johnson] Have a good one. 25 00:01:23,918 --> 00:01:26,377 - I see you at the pit stop, hey? - See you at the pit stop. Yes. 26 00:01:26,378 --> 00:01:28,172 [Button] I'll see you in 24 hours. 27 00:01:29,673 --> 00:01:30,673 [engine starts] 28 00:01:30,674 --> 00:01:32,801 [Hindhaugh] It's 16:00, 29 00:01:32,802 --> 00:01:36,680 and the second centenary of Le Mans endurance racing starts now. 30 00:01:37,848 --> 00:01:39,934 [Ives] Coming in the green here. Coming in the green. 31 00:01:41,101 --> 00:01:43,562 [Hindhaugh] Le Mans 2023 is underway. 32 00:01:52,822 --> 00:01:53,948 [engine revs] 33 00:02:06,961 --> 00:02:09,672 Le Mans is the biggest race in the world. 34 00:02:11,131 --> 00:02:13,717 [Ryan] We've seen it in Steve McQueen movies. 35 00:02:14,635 --> 00:02:18,388 Ford v Ferrari. You know, Matt Damon, Christian Bale. 36 00:02:18,389 --> 00:02:23,435 [Button] It's a 24-hour race pushing man and machine to the limit. 37 00:02:23,978 --> 00:02:25,896 It's about survival really. 38 00:02:32,152 --> 00:02:36,197 [Ryan] 75 years ago, NASCAR is the vision of Bill France. 39 00:02:36,198 --> 00:02:38,950 There's a general stereotype that NASCAR isn't considered 40 00:02:38,951 --> 00:02:40,285 as technologically advanced 41 00:02:40,286 --> 00:02:44,205 or as innovative as other racing series in the world. 42 00:02:44,206 --> 00:02:46,207 [Button] I really do think that the rest of the world 43 00:02:46,208 --> 00:02:49,587 thinks that NASCAR is Days of Thunder. 44 00:02:51,046 --> 00:02:56,635 [Doonan] In 1976, Bill France took a couple of NASCAR stock cars to Le Mans. 45 00:02:57,344 --> 00:03:00,847 [announcer] For the first time American stock cars are going to race here. 46 00:03:00,848 --> 00:03:05,394 One made only two laps... [laughs] ...before it had some sort of mechanical failure. 47 00:03:07,563 --> 00:03:11,191 My dad, he said the fans absolutely loved our race cars. 48 00:03:12,359 --> 00:03:14,110 [Doonan] A seed was planted at that time 49 00:03:14,111 --> 00:03:18,073 and that seed germinated for nearly 50 years. 50 00:03:20,367 --> 00:03:21,911 You're gonna race a NASCAR at Le Mans? 51 00:03:25,039 --> 00:03:26,081 We're gonna do what? 52 00:03:27,791 --> 00:03:32,253 [Johnson] It seemed like a really big idea that was probably unrealistic. [chuckles] 53 00:03:32,254 --> 00:03:34,005 [Button] I was so excited about this project. 54 00:03:34,006 --> 00:03:35,715 Then I drove the car initially. 55 00:03:35,716 --> 00:03:37,800 And I thought I made a massive mistake. 56 00:03:37,801 --> 00:03:40,929 We have one shot and one opportunity to go and make this successful. 57 00:03:40,930 --> 00:03:42,138 Thank you all for everything. 58 00:03:42,139 --> 00:03:44,057 [Doonan] It's when it starts to get real. 59 00:03:44,058 --> 00:03:46,392 - [Hendrick] When we get over there-- - [Ives] Yeah, let's fire. 60 00:03:46,393 --> 00:03:47,728 [Hendrick] It's time to put on a show. 61 00:03:49,730 --> 00:03:50,648 [crowd cheering] 62 00:04:15,965 --> 00:04:18,800 {\an8}[Billy Crudup] Every summer, for the last 100 years, 63 00:04:18,801 --> 00:04:22,470 {\an8}the oldest, biggest and most difficult endurance race in the world 64 00:04:22,471 --> 00:04:25,891 {\an8}is held in this small town of Le Mans, France. 65 00:04:26,475 --> 00:04:28,852 The 24 Hours of Le Mans. 66 00:04:31,730 --> 00:04:35,943 [announcer] 130 miles southwest of Venice is the Circuit of the Sarthe. 67 00:04:37,027 --> 00:04:40,155 It consists of 8 1/2 miles of main roads. 68 00:04:40,864 --> 00:04:44,075 And in the middle weekend of June, the Circuit of the Sarthe becomes 69 00:04:44,076 --> 00:04:47,830 the focal point of interest for the motoring enthusiasts of the world. 70 00:04:48,622 --> 00:04:51,749 [announcer] Three, two, one. 71 00:04:51,750 --> 00:04:52,834 - [gunshot] - [crowd cheering] 72 00:04:52,835 --> 00:04:54,794 [announcer] Drivers run to their cars at the start of 73 00:04:54,795 --> 00:04:58,257 the greatest sports car classic of all: the Le Mans 24 Hour Race. 74 00:05:02,678 --> 00:05:06,931 [Crudup] The race is a grueling, unforgiving endeavor. 75 00:05:06,932 --> 00:05:09,767 [announcer 2] A snarling pack of Ferraris, Fords and Porsches. 76 00:05:09,768 --> 00:05:12,896 All in pursuit of being first lap leader at Le Mans. 77 00:05:13,814 --> 00:05:15,441 [Crudup] The cars are state of the art. 78 00:05:17,818 --> 00:05:21,447 And the fans are as passionate as they come. 79 00:05:24,783 --> 00:05:27,744 Only four times in the race's storied history 80 00:05:27,745 --> 00:05:32,081 have they allowed for a special entry for innovative cars 81 00:05:32,082 --> 00:05:34,877 that fall outside the normal regulations. 82 00:05:35,461 --> 00:05:36,627 [engine revs] 83 00:05:36,628 --> 00:05:40,382 The program is known as Garage 56. 84 00:05:45,888 --> 00:05:47,472 [journalist] Well, good afternoon, everybody. 85 00:05:47,473 --> 00:05:50,558 Uh, from backstage I could hear all the brain cogs grinding 86 00:05:50,559 --> 00:05:53,062 as to what's this group doing together. 87 00:05:53,812 --> 00:05:55,646 [Crudup] Over a year out from the race, 88 00:05:55,647 --> 00:05:57,857 NASCAR announced that their Chevrolet Camaro 89 00:05:57,858 --> 00:06:03,654 would attempt to compete as the 2023 Garage 56 entry at Le Mans. 90 00:06:03,655 --> 00:06:06,616 [journalist] This is going to be a fun, fun ride. 91 00:06:06,617 --> 00:06:11,580 [Crudup] Fulfilling a nearly 50-year dream of NASCAR CEO Jim France. 92 00:06:12,581 --> 00:06:16,418 I went over to Le Mans with my father in 1962. 93 00:06:17,044 --> 00:06:21,047 I was at an age where you get impressed by different things 94 00:06:21,048 --> 00:06:23,425 and sports cars kinda sparked my interest. 95 00:06:24,468 --> 00:06:30,057 {\an8}My dad went to bat to spread NASCAR brand to the European sports car fans. 96 00:06:30,557 --> 00:06:33,936 [announcer] Early in the race, the first American car has to give up. 97 00:06:34,436 --> 00:06:37,396 You know, my father would've like to finish the race, 98 00:06:37,397 --> 00:06:39,524 so part of our goal this time going over 99 00:06:39,525 --> 00:06:41,859 was to make sure that we beat their record. 100 00:06:41,860 --> 00:06:46,281 The goal is to finish the race and, uh, not be last. 101 00:06:47,032 --> 00:06:48,950 [King] So NASCAR has announced this project 102 00:06:48,951 --> 00:06:52,870 and we're going Le Mans to compete against the world 103 00:06:52,871 --> 00:06:55,081 and the people who have been doing sports car racing 104 00:06:55,082 --> 00:06:58,334 and endurance racing for many, many years. 105 00:06:58,335 --> 00:07:00,003 There are a lot of fears here. 106 00:07:00,838 --> 00:07:01,963 Does the car make it? 107 00:07:01,964 --> 00:07:03,172 Are the drivers good enough? 108 00:07:03,173 --> 00:07:05,425 Is the car fast enough to compete? 109 00:07:06,301 --> 00:07:12,890 It seemed like a strange decision to bring a current cup car to a 24-hour race. 110 00:07:12,891 --> 00:07:15,686 Uh, like... maybe like bringing a knife to a gun fight? 111 00:07:17,938 --> 00:07:19,313 {\an8}[Crudup] The biggest challenge 112 00:07:19,314 --> 00:07:22,024 {\an8}is taking a car that's designed to make left turns 113 00:07:22,025 --> 00:07:24,486 {\an8}on a mile-and-a-half track for three hours 114 00:07:25,279 --> 00:07:30,533 {\an8}and turning it into a car that can handle an 8.5 mile road course 115 00:07:30,534 --> 00:07:34,037 {\an8}with 38 turns for 24 hours. 116 00:07:34,705 --> 00:07:38,332 {\an8}France also needed a team to build and race the car. 117 00:07:38,333 --> 00:07:42,421 {\an8}And there is no more accomplished team than Hendrick Motorsports. 118 00:07:44,464 --> 00:07:48,677 Hendrick Motorsports is NASCAR's most successful, most powerful team. 119 00:07:50,512 --> 00:07:52,263 I mean, if you were gonna choose a team 120 00:07:52,264 --> 00:07:55,266 that you wanted to finish a 24-hour race with, 121 00:07:55,267 --> 00:07:56,852 this was the team you'd want to choose. 122 00:07:58,103 --> 00:07:59,312 We gonna do this right. 123 00:07:59,313 --> 00:08:01,063 Whatever it takes, we're gonna do it right. 124 00:08:01,064 --> 00:08:03,859 We're not gonna go over there and be embarrassed. 125 00:08:06,069 --> 00:08:08,197 [Crudup] The choice to lead the team was obvious. 126 00:08:08,697 --> 00:08:11,532 The most decorated crew chief in the sport's history. 127 00:08:11,533 --> 00:08:12,618 Chad Knaus. 128 00:08:14,161 --> 00:08:17,580 The Garage 56 project was run by Chad Knaus, 129 00:08:17,581 --> 00:08:21,042 who I would consider to be the greatest crew chief of all time 130 00:08:21,043 --> 00:08:22,710 in NASCAR's premier series. 131 00:08:22,711 --> 00:08:24,630 If you want to make a comparison, 132 00:08:25,172 --> 00:08:28,592 Chad Knaus is like the Bill Belichick or the Nick Saban of NASCAR. 133 00:08:29,384 --> 00:08:33,597 He is ruthless, he is a taskmaster and he is all about winning. 134 00:08:34,139 --> 00:08:36,516 [crowd cheering] 135 00:08:37,392 --> 00:08:38,601 [Crudup] The first step: 136 00:08:38,602 --> 00:08:41,855 travel to France to witness the challenge face-to-face. 137 00:08:42,522 --> 00:08:45,234 [Knaus] So, we went over to Le Mans just to check it out. 138 00:08:45,734 --> 00:08:49,362 And, uh, all that was actually really intriguing and exciting for me 139 00:08:49,363 --> 00:08:51,614 as-as the thing started to tumble 140 00:08:51,615 --> 00:08:54,076 and, uh, the conversations began to become more real. 141 00:08:54,868 --> 00:08:58,746 {\an8}Our goal is to make 24 hours, but we gotta start the race first. 142 00:08:58,747 --> 00:08:59,873 {\an8}- [laughing] Yeah. - Right? 143 00:09:00,707 --> 00:09:03,126 We're gonna do everything in proper order, folks. 144 00:09:03,794 --> 00:09:06,170 We're gonna be in some semblance of that right there. 145 00:09:06,171 --> 00:09:09,048 This is team hospitality and team engineering hospitality. 146 00:09:09,049 --> 00:09:10,091 Ah. 147 00:09:10,092 --> 00:09:11,885 - This is Porsche. - Yeah. 148 00:09:12,928 --> 00:09:14,888 [Crudup] For Knaus, the mission was clear. 149 00:09:15,430 --> 00:09:17,807 One year to build a team and a car 150 00:09:17,808 --> 00:09:20,894 that could withstand the grueling conditions of Le Mans. 151 00:09:21,478 --> 00:09:22,812 - Perfect timing, hey? - Pleasure. 152 00:09:22,813 --> 00:09:24,815 {\an8}So, shit, how are you gonna make this work? 153 00:09:25,399 --> 00:09:26,607 {\an8}Well-- [laughs] 154 00:09:26,608 --> 00:09:28,068 {\an8}You coming to the garage? 155 00:09:29,653 --> 00:09:31,696 [Gordon] I really appreciate your hospitality 156 00:09:31,697 --> 00:09:33,030 and this is good for him to see this. 157 00:09:33,031 --> 00:09:34,740 - [Button] Have you raced it? - [Gordon] I've never been. 158 00:09:34,741 --> 00:09:36,702 This is my first time I've ever even been here. 159 00:09:45,002 --> 00:09:48,379 {\an8}The FIA and the ACO, they drew a line in the sand and said, 160 00:09:48,380 --> 00:09:52,008 {\an8}"Look, you need to run, uh, about a 354-minute lap time." 161 00:09:52,009 --> 00:09:52,925 {\an8}Okay. Great. 162 00:09:52,926 --> 00:09:55,136 {\an8}"We don't want you going over 200 miles an hour down the straightaway." 163 00:09:55,137 --> 00:09:56,053 Okay. Great. 164 00:09:56,054 --> 00:09:58,765 So, well, now we have some criteria. Now we can get to work. 165 00:10:04,438 --> 00:10:06,314 [Crudup] Running a stock car at Le Mans 166 00:10:06,315 --> 00:10:09,067 is like trying to win the Masters with a baseball bat. 167 00:10:11,194 --> 00:10:16,575 {\an8}[Crudup] The car will have to get lighter, more agile, carry more fuel 168 00:10:17,367 --> 00:10:20,787 and be prepared to race in the rain and total darkness. 169 00:10:22,789 --> 00:10:25,207 [Ives] Saying, "Oh, hey, this has never been done before, 170 00:10:25,208 --> 00:10:26,709 so if you're not going to be able to do it," 171 00:10:26,710 --> 00:10:30,088 drove a lot of us even further to say, "Hey, we're gonna make this happen." 172 00:10:30,672 --> 00:10:32,631 [engineer] Everybody take a look at the pallet over there. 173 00:10:32,632 --> 00:10:33,924 [laughs] It's what it came with. 174 00:10:33,925 --> 00:10:35,885 [Rockenfeller] Well, there's more to go in there. 175 00:10:35,886 --> 00:10:37,094 [engineer] Brian, how much is that? 176 00:10:37,095 --> 00:10:39,806 - [Brian] It's roughly 200 pounds of steel. - [engineer] Wow. Really? Wow. 177 00:10:41,767 --> 00:10:44,436 [Crudup] The team will be operating an ocean away from home 178 00:10:45,020 --> 00:10:48,774 on a global stage where respect for NASCAR is limited. 179 00:10:49,441 --> 00:10:53,904 And the success of Garage 56 is considered doubtful. 180 00:10:55,614 --> 00:10:58,199 A lot of Garage 56 cars have not finished this race. 181 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,868 We have not had an American Garage 56 car finish the race, 182 00:11:00,869 --> 00:11:04,413 we have also not had a custom built car finish this race. 183 00:11:04,414 --> 00:11:08,834 There is a lot riding on this and there's kind of a rocky history behind it. 184 00:11:08,835 --> 00:11:11,712 NASCAR's had a pretty rough ride, in all honesty. 185 00:11:11,713 --> 00:11:14,965 In Europe and some of the other parts of the world. 186 00:11:14,966 --> 00:11:16,926 This hasn't been taken lightly. 187 00:11:16,927 --> 00:11:21,764 This is the pride of NASCAR, the pride of the US, Chevrolet, Goodyear. 188 00:11:21,765 --> 00:11:23,808 It's gonna be mega. It's gonna be mega. 189 00:11:23,809 --> 00:11:26,852 [Doonan] You know you can bring all the right partners together, uh, 190 00:11:26,853 --> 00:11:30,689 you can have the right race car but when the green flag falls... 191 00:11:30,690 --> 00:11:35,570 For 24 hours you need three drivers and you need experience. 192 00:11:39,282 --> 00:11:41,034 - Hey, man, how ya doing? - [Rockenfeller] Morning, everybody. 193 00:11:41,535 --> 00:11:42,618 - How are you guys? - Good to see you. 194 00:11:42,619 --> 00:11:43,577 Good to see you, man. 195 00:11:43,578 --> 00:11:47,915 {\an8}The first time I heard about it really, it was at Sebring when it was announced. 196 00:11:47,916 --> 00:11:49,333 {\an8}Uh, at the press conference. 197 00:11:49,334 --> 00:11:53,839 And I understood that it's a personal thing also for Mr. France. 198 00:11:54,506 --> 00:11:56,174 [Wright] 2,000 pounds. It's gonna be light. 199 00:11:58,718 --> 00:11:59,845 - We will see. - I know. 200 00:12:00,387 --> 00:12:03,639 I heard some rumors that they, you know, are looking for drivers 201 00:12:03,640 --> 00:12:06,392 to develop it from the beginning, to be involved, who is available, 202 00:12:06,393 --> 00:12:09,311 who's not tied properly to a different manufacturer. 203 00:12:09,312 --> 00:12:11,148 Probably with a little more experience ideally. 204 00:12:16,027 --> 00:12:17,111 {\an8}[crowd cheering] 205 00:12:17,112 --> 00:12:19,363 I mean, two-time Le Mans winner. 206 00:12:19,364 --> 00:12:20,990 I mean are you kidding me? 207 00:12:20,991 --> 00:12:24,201 He's got so much experience in so many different types of race cars. 208 00:12:24,202 --> 00:12:27,746 [announcer] Mike, you've won Le Mans, you've won the 24 hours in Nürburgring. 209 00:12:27,747 --> 00:12:29,915 Now you get a Daytona. You're gonna get a Rolex. 210 00:12:29,916 --> 00:12:31,251 {\an8}[Rockenfeller] Oh, finally, man. 211 00:12:31,793 --> 00:12:33,627 {\an8}[Doonan] Uh, you needed someone like Mike. 212 00:12:33,628 --> 00:12:37,923 You needed someone that could dedicate a huge portion of their time 213 00:12:37,924 --> 00:12:42,929 to getting this platform ready to go do what he had done for so many years. 214 00:12:43,889 --> 00:12:45,764 [Rockenfeller] You know, no matter what we get used to 215 00:12:45,765 --> 00:12:48,309 maybe there's one or two buttons we have to change. 216 00:12:48,310 --> 00:12:51,021 But I think as a start, it's nice. 217 00:12:51,771 --> 00:12:53,440 [whirring] 218 00:13:20,592 --> 00:13:22,385 [Rockenfeller] I think the first day in the sim, 219 00:13:22,886 --> 00:13:25,721 was one of the moments where I realized how big this is 220 00:13:25,722 --> 00:13:28,682 because I saw a lot of cameras, a lot of people. 221 00:13:28,683 --> 00:13:30,100 So it was like, whoa, this is... 222 00:13:30,101 --> 00:13:34,147 this is probably the biggest attendance I've ever seen on a simulation day. 223 00:13:40,195 --> 00:13:41,780 [Gordon] This is a pretty good lap too. 224 00:13:51,790 --> 00:13:52,873 Yeah, Mike's doing great. 225 00:13:52,874 --> 00:13:54,792 He's-- He's awesome on this thing. 226 00:13:54,793 --> 00:13:56,126 I'm very impressed. 227 00:13:56,127 --> 00:14:01,382 I expected him not being... having the experience in this car to... 228 00:14:01,383 --> 00:14:05,511 to spend the first couple of laps just finding the limits, spinning, going off. 229 00:14:05,512 --> 00:14:07,305 He's just smooth as glass. 230 00:14:09,933 --> 00:14:12,184 [Rockenfeller] Nowadays, you do so much with simulation. 231 00:14:12,185 --> 00:14:17,273 Um, which for this project was I think crucial, um, because you cannot, 232 00:14:17,274 --> 00:14:20,776 you know, build a car, go testing, rebuild it, go testing. 233 00:14:20,777 --> 00:14:26,407 So you can set your realistic goals nowadays, um, basically on the computer, 234 00:14:26,408 --> 00:14:29,244 try it out and see what the effect is. 235 00:14:32,747 --> 00:14:34,290 Uh, yeah. 236 00:14:34,291 --> 00:14:38,502 {\an8}The car is a bit more stable, but, um, overall, yeah... 237 00:14:38,503 --> 00:14:41,256 {\an8}[stutters] ...it's still very difficult to drive, for sure. 238 00:14:41,756 --> 00:14:43,090 - Okay. I jump out. - [engineer] That's good. 239 00:14:43,091 --> 00:14:44,383 [Rockenfeller] The platform movement is... 240 00:14:44,384 --> 00:14:46,844 [Gordon] I can remember him getting out of the simulator, 241 00:14:46,845 --> 00:14:48,846 said, you know, this isn't good enough, 242 00:14:48,847 --> 00:14:51,390 no that's not gonna happen, we can't do this, can't do that. 243 00:14:51,391 --> 00:14:53,684 And I was like, "Whoo." He's a tough guy to please. 244 00:14:53,685 --> 00:14:55,103 [laughs] But he's right. 245 00:14:56,271 --> 00:14:58,188 [Rockenfeller] We realized that it's a long way, 246 00:14:58,189 --> 00:14:59,690 we need to improve stuff, 247 00:14:59,691 --> 00:15:04,862 but there was always a positive atmosphere and we always wanted to make it better. 248 00:15:04,863 --> 00:15:06,114 Better and better every day. 249 00:15:08,366 --> 00:15:10,034 [Knaus] The timetable was ridiculous. 250 00:15:10,035 --> 00:15:14,079 We have one shot and one opportunity to go and make this thing successful. 251 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,374 And if we blew it, it would be lost forever. 252 00:15:17,375 --> 00:15:19,251 [Knaus] Can we get somebody to cut these studs out? 253 00:15:19,252 --> 00:15:21,503 Just because it aggravates the shit out of me. 254 00:15:21,504 --> 00:15:26,175 Watching everyone work together on something so unique and different 255 00:15:26,176 --> 00:15:29,595 and just bringing everything that they had to the table 256 00:15:29,596 --> 00:15:31,388 to try and make it succeed. 257 00:15:31,389 --> 00:15:33,433 {\an8}It's fascinating to watch and kinda nerd out on it. 258 00:15:47,781 --> 00:15:52,951 [Rockenfeller] An exciting day because a lot of work has been put into this car. 259 00:15:52,952 --> 00:15:54,995 First time, you know, going out there. 260 00:15:54,996 --> 00:15:58,666 Being in the simulator you have some expectations but you wanna feel it. 261 00:15:58,667 --> 00:16:00,250 You know? You wanna hear it. 262 00:16:00,251 --> 00:16:01,418 You wanna smell it. 263 00:16:01,419 --> 00:16:04,422 I think the whole team is super excited. 264 00:16:05,548 --> 00:16:09,134 [Wright] Just getting the car built and on track for the first time is a... 265 00:16:09,135 --> 00:16:11,345 is a major, major milestone. 266 00:16:11,346 --> 00:16:13,097 But you go to the track the first time 267 00:16:13,098 --> 00:16:15,266 you're not really sure how things are gonna go. 268 00:16:26,653 --> 00:16:27,654 [engine revs] 269 00:16:31,783 --> 00:16:33,284 [Wright] Okay, time to play. 270 00:16:37,747 --> 00:16:41,334 [Crudup] Theory and simulation will only take you so far. 271 00:16:42,377 --> 00:16:46,715 With seven months until the eyes of the racing world were on Garage 56, 272 00:16:47,382 --> 00:16:49,426 the true testing began. 273 00:16:56,683 --> 00:16:57,684 {\an8}[Rockenfeller] Turn one. 274 00:16:58,393 --> 00:16:59,394 {\an8}[Wright] Copy, turn one. 275 00:17:00,645 --> 00:17:02,272 {\an8}[Rockenfeller] So the dashboard went black, 276 00:17:02,939 --> 00:17:07,443 {\an8}engine switched off when I accelerated out of Corner Two. 277 00:17:07,444 --> 00:17:09,821 {\an8}And now it came back on. It's like a reset. 278 00:17:10,822 --> 00:17:12,282 {\an8}Okay, it did it again. 279 00:17:12,782 --> 00:17:13,782 {\an8}[Wright] Fuck. 280 00:17:13,783 --> 00:17:14,700 {\an8}[on radio] All right, copy. 281 00:17:14,701 --> 00:17:17,746 {\an8}Let's just see if we can take it slow and then just get it back here to the garage. 282 00:17:21,499 --> 00:17:25,085 [Knaus] It was cold, we had electrical gremlins that were creeping up. 283 00:17:25,086 --> 00:17:27,963 And you realize pretty quickly the complexity of the car, 284 00:17:27,964 --> 00:17:30,759 you realize really quickly that we need to learn more about the car. 285 00:17:31,593 --> 00:17:34,094 [Rockenfeller] So now we found already some weak spots, 286 00:17:34,095 --> 00:17:37,890 unreliability, and, uh, this will go on and go on. 287 00:17:37,891 --> 00:17:40,851 And we will stop more times on the track. That's part of the game. 288 00:17:40,852 --> 00:17:43,062 [all chattering] 289 00:17:43,855 --> 00:17:45,106 [engineer] Let's hope that's it. 290 00:17:50,028 --> 00:17:51,028 {\an8}[Wright] Whoo! 291 00:17:51,029 --> 00:17:52,906 {\an8}- [Rockenfeller] All good. - [Wright] Copy. 292 00:18:04,626 --> 00:18:06,418 [thunderclap] 293 00:18:06,419 --> 00:18:08,421 {\an8}[Knaus] Starting to pick up over here by the garage. 294 00:18:10,006 --> 00:18:12,926 [Crudup] Mother nature brought a quick end to the first test. 295 00:18:14,427 --> 00:18:17,180 NASCAR does not typically race in the rain. 296 00:18:18,723 --> 00:18:20,182 But the team must prepare 297 00:18:20,183 --> 00:18:24,062 for every condition the 24 hours of Le Mans might throw at them. 298 00:18:39,285 --> 00:18:40,787 {\an8}[engineer] All right, good to go, Rocky. 299 00:18:41,371 --> 00:18:43,413 [Rockenfeller] In Le Mans you can have everything, right? 300 00:18:43,414 --> 00:18:46,918 It's a long track so one part could be dry and the other part could be wet. 301 00:18:47,669 --> 00:18:50,713 So it can be all in one race and you have to be prepared. 302 00:18:52,882 --> 00:18:56,052 I mean, tires are the most important part in every road car. 303 00:18:56,553 --> 00:18:57,678 Race car, for sure. 304 00:18:57,679 --> 00:19:02,016 That's why we are here to improve the product and be ready for Le Mans. 305 00:19:03,017 --> 00:19:05,228 {\an8}[engineer] Mike, they want you to do the circle. 306 00:19:06,145 --> 00:19:08,272 {\an8}[Rockenfeller] Okay, the circle again. 307 00:19:08,273 --> 00:19:10,315 {\an8}[Fantozzi] The goal was to come out of here 308 00:19:10,316 --> 00:19:12,527 with the best wet package that we possibly could. 309 00:19:13,528 --> 00:19:17,155 So we've really leaned on everybody within the corporation, uh, 310 00:19:17,156 --> 00:19:18,949 to be able to design and develop something 311 00:19:18,950 --> 00:19:20,951 just specifically for this vehicle. 312 00:19:20,952 --> 00:19:25,331 In order to make a positive contribution, uh, when we're on the ground at Le Mans. 313 00:19:26,875 --> 00:19:28,542 {\an8}[engineer] That's three laps complete. 314 00:19:28,543 --> 00:19:29,627 {\an8}One more lap. 315 00:19:40,305 --> 00:19:41,931 We told you not to get the car wet. 316 00:19:42,432 --> 00:19:46,060 Huh? Yeah, I mean this is... this is shocking. 317 00:19:46,644 --> 00:19:49,146 It didn't have it that bad of a memory from the first run. 318 00:19:49,147 --> 00:19:51,064 - Right. - But once you get used to the other stuff... 319 00:19:51,065 --> 00:19:52,524 We gave you the good stuff now. Yeah. 320 00:19:52,525 --> 00:19:55,444 You're spoiled and then you go out, you're like... [imitating screaming] 321 00:19:55,445 --> 00:19:56,653 [laughing] 322 00:19:56,654 --> 00:19:57,780 No grip. 323 00:20:02,827 --> 00:20:05,412 [Doonan] So when it comes to driver selection 324 00:20:05,413 --> 00:20:09,583 we wanted to retain some NASCAR DNA and NASCAR history. 325 00:20:09,584 --> 00:20:13,004 And Jimmie Johnson to me was the perfect choice for that. 326 00:20:13,963 --> 00:20:15,881 {\an8}[announcer] There's another seven-time champ. 327 00:20:15,882 --> 00:20:20,345 Jimmie Johnson wins his seventh NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship. 328 00:20:20,970 --> 00:20:22,429 You're not gonna get bigger star power. 329 00:20:22,430 --> 00:20:25,266 You know, very much a staple in our sport. 330 00:20:26,017 --> 00:20:29,937 Jimmie Johnson has retired from full-time NASCAR Cup competition. 331 00:20:29,938 --> 00:20:32,814 And Jimmie Johnson had indicated on a consistent basis that, 332 00:20:32,815 --> 00:20:35,401 "Yes, I want to run Le Mans, I want to race Le Mans." 333 00:20:35,985 --> 00:20:37,946 {\an8}It just seemed like it would be a natural fit. 334 00:20:38,905 --> 00:20:42,824 {\an8}[Johnson] As a young boy, and my dad being a mechanic and around racing, 335 00:20:42,825 --> 00:20:45,285 at some point in time he pointed out Le Mans 336 00:20:45,286 --> 00:20:49,081 and the cars looked so cool and they raced for so long. 337 00:20:49,082 --> 00:20:50,290 I thought, "Man, I wanna do that. 338 00:20:50,291 --> 00:20:52,918 I wanna drive one of those cool looking cars for as long as I can. 339 00:20:52,919 --> 00:20:53,878 I wanna do that." 340 00:20:54,921 --> 00:21:01,093 I knew a stock car was potentially coming to Le Mans in 2023. 341 00:21:01,094 --> 00:21:04,388 And all the pieces of the puzzle were there and I got the formal invite. 342 00:21:04,389 --> 00:21:06,140 And I'm honored to be a part of it. 343 00:21:06,641 --> 00:21:07,684 [Kruep] What do you think? 344 00:21:08,184 --> 00:21:09,894 - I'm in a good spot. - Yeah. 345 00:21:11,562 --> 00:21:13,105 And then, they'll have to explain to you, 346 00:21:13,106 --> 00:21:15,357 like, neutral, 'cause you'll have to push a button 347 00:21:15,358 --> 00:21:17,442 and then hit a paddle and... 348 00:21:17,443 --> 00:21:19,361 Which I think you can go to neutral over there 349 00:21:19,362 --> 00:21:20,989 to a reverse over there as well. 350 00:21:21,990 --> 00:21:23,324 [clears throat] 351 00:21:24,826 --> 00:21:26,160 And there's plenty of buttons. 352 00:21:28,162 --> 00:21:29,497 [laughs] 353 00:21:36,295 --> 00:21:37,755 [Johnson] The helmet fan switch again? 354 00:21:39,215 --> 00:21:42,010 {\an8}[Ives] It should be on the center console. I don't know which number it is. 355 00:21:43,136 --> 00:21:44,137 {\an8}[Johnson] Found it. 356 00:21:49,017 --> 00:21:52,520 [Crudup] Six months out from Le Mans, the testing continued. 357 00:21:53,271 --> 00:21:56,107 The team was still missing a crucial piece. 358 00:21:56,649 --> 00:21:57,817 The third driver. 359 00:21:58,609 --> 00:22:00,028 [Ives] That's eight timed laps. 360 00:22:00,528 --> 00:22:01,779 He's coming in next lap. 361 00:22:04,532 --> 00:22:08,035 [chuckling] Hey. Know him? That's Jenson. 362 00:22:08,036 --> 00:22:09,369 Oh. Well. 363 00:22:09,370 --> 00:22:12,164 {\an8}- [Button] Yeah. How ya doing? - [Rockenfeller] Good to see you, man. 364 00:22:12,165 --> 00:22:13,874 {\an8}- [Button] Hey. How's it going? - [Knaus] Chad Knaus. 365 00:22:13,875 --> 00:22:17,003 {\an8}- [Button] Hey. Nice to meet you. - My name is Ben Wright. Nice to meet you. 366 00:22:17,628 --> 00:22:19,212 - It's loud. - It is. 367 00:22:19,213 --> 00:22:21,506 - It's fucking awesome. - [all laugh] 368 00:22:21,507 --> 00:22:23,008 You brought your helmet? Ready? 369 00:22:23,009 --> 00:22:24,843 [laughs] Jimmie said, "Did you bring your helmet?" 370 00:22:24,844 --> 00:22:27,929 I said, "Nah, I would just like to come and see what you guys are doing." 371 00:22:27,930 --> 00:22:29,015 [all laughing] 372 00:22:32,977 --> 00:22:35,646 [crowd cheering, applauding] 373 00:22:36,272 --> 00:22:40,233 [King] Jenson Button is the 2009 Formula 1 World Champion. 374 00:22:40,234 --> 00:22:42,444 [cheering] 375 00:22:42,445 --> 00:22:44,654 [Button] We are World Champions! 376 00:22:44,655 --> 00:22:45,906 World Champions! 377 00:22:45,907 --> 00:22:46,991 Whoo! 378 00:22:47,867 --> 00:22:51,203 And Jenson is at a point in his career where he is out of Formula 1 379 00:22:51,204 --> 00:22:54,998 and now he's dabbling in other things just like Jimmie Johnson. 380 00:22:54,999 --> 00:22:56,583 [crowd cheering] 381 00:22:56,584 --> 00:22:59,878 I've known Jenson a long time, but honestly Mike Rockenfeller 382 00:22:59,879 --> 00:23:02,507 has a lot to do with getting Jenson to that test. 383 00:23:03,341 --> 00:23:05,008 [Rockenfeller] It was a coincidence actually. 384 00:23:05,009 --> 00:23:10,640 Um, he shoot me a text, uh, saying "Hey, uh, how was your two cup races?" 385 00:23:11,182 --> 00:23:13,726 So when he texted me I was like, wait a minute. 386 00:23:14,227 --> 00:23:16,770 Jenson? He would be the perfect fit actually. 387 00:23:16,771 --> 00:23:21,024 So, straight away I said, "Okay. My experience was like this"... [mutters] 388 00:23:21,025 --> 00:23:23,276 "But I have a great idea. 389 00:23:23,277 --> 00:23:27,490 What do you think about racing a NASCAR in Le Mans for the Garage 56?" 390 00:23:27,990 --> 00:23:29,866 And, uh, I was like, "Man, that's so cool." 391 00:23:29,867 --> 00:23:32,536 He sent me a photo and, uh... I was like, "Can I come along? 392 00:23:32,537 --> 00:23:34,956 Can I come and see the car?" And he went, "Yeah." 393 00:23:35,915 --> 00:23:36,998 It looks awesome. 394 00:23:36,999 --> 00:23:39,251 - It looks so cool. [chuckles] - [Doonan] Nice. Thanks. 395 00:23:39,252 --> 00:23:41,670 - Fans are gonna love it. - Yeah, I'm... Yeah, they're gonna go nuts. 396 00:23:41,671 --> 00:23:43,923 - They're not gonna care who wins the race. - [Doonan] No. 397 00:23:46,050 --> 00:23:48,427 Although, this car is not built to do 24 hours, 398 00:23:49,345 --> 00:23:52,223 they're built for four-hour races here in the States. 399 00:23:52,932 --> 00:23:57,728 But I'm well up for the challenge doing 24 and I think it's gonna be epic. 400 00:24:09,157 --> 00:24:13,285 Rockenfeller did the egress test for us to get out of the right side. 401 00:24:13,286 --> 00:24:17,831 {\an8}Typically it's yeah, body facing this way, that leg in, that leg in, 402 00:24:17,832 --> 00:24:20,542 {\an8}- grab you know here... - Well, I was gonna go head first. 403 00:24:20,543 --> 00:24:22,253 - I mean... - [Kruep] Go ahead. Do it. Do it. 404 00:24:26,924 --> 00:24:28,842 You could push it on. You don't have to pull that. 405 00:24:28,843 --> 00:24:30,802 And then you have to pull that to get off. 406 00:24:30,803 --> 00:24:33,806 - You look pretty... pretty jammed in there. - Yeah. Yeah. 407 00:24:34,307 --> 00:24:36,142 [Kruep] Let's put your helmet on with this. 408 00:24:36,642 --> 00:24:38,019 Just to see where you're at. 409 00:24:41,647 --> 00:24:45,275 [Button] For me, the dream scenario would be to tilt it. 410 00:24:45,276 --> 00:24:46,277 Tilt it which way? 411 00:24:47,445 --> 00:24:49,279 - That way. Okay. - [Button] Just like that. Yeah. 412 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:52,157 [Kruep] So I think we need to pour a second seat-liner then. 413 00:24:52,158 --> 00:24:53,867 When they get here, which is fine 414 00:24:53,868 --> 00:24:57,705 'cause I think you'll be probably our tallest driver. 415 00:24:58,372 --> 00:24:59,582 So, look, you can get out. 416 00:25:01,709 --> 00:25:03,627 - Look at this guy. Happy birthday. - [Button] Hello, mate. 417 00:25:03,628 --> 00:25:05,212 - Thank you very much. - Good to see you. 418 00:25:05,213 --> 00:25:06,838 - I always love taking a red eye... - You look-- 419 00:25:06,839 --> 00:25:08,465 - ...on my birthday. - You look bright-eyed though. 420 00:25:08,466 --> 00:25:10,800 - I figured you might be all banged up. - Um... Coffee. 421 00:25:10,801 --> 00:25:11,718 - Good. - Yeah. 422 00:25:11,719 --> 00:25:12,844 Good, good. 423 00:25:12,845 --> 00:25:14,430 - Yeah, all good, mate. - So, what, 50? 424 00:25:14,931 --> 00:25:17,349 - 50, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. - [laughs] 425 00:25:17,350 --> 00:25:19,392 - I can't remember if I'm older than you. - I'm still behind you. 426 00:25:19,393 --> 00:25:21,938 - Oh, damn. Oh, shit. - I'm 43. Come on. 427 00:25:22,563 --> 00:25:24,565 You can sit in that one if you want, Jimmie. 428 00:25:25,274 --> 00:25:27,567 - Tell me what you think. - [Johnson] I'll go and get my suit. 429 00:25:27,568 --> 00:25:28,944 - I'm wearing it. - [Johnson] Oh-- Oh! 430 00:25:28,945 --> 00:25:31,363 {\an8}- [Kruep stutters] That really doesn't fit. - [Johnson] No? [laughs] 431 00:25:31,364 --> 00:25:33,907 {\an8}That one is a little. [stutters] This distance. 432 00:25:33,908 --> 00:25:36,493 Oh, your body is longer, my-my legs are long. 433 00:25:36,494 --> 00:25:37,494 - Okay. - Yeah. 434 00:25:37,495 --> 00:25:39,412 - That distance is really uncomfortable. - But it's-- 435 00:25:39,413 --> 00:25:41,081 - I mean it's definitely... - Yep. 436 00:25:41,082 --> 00:25:43,041 - It's definitely tight. - [Kruep] Nice. 437 00:25:43,042 --> 00:25:45,627 - It's like it's been painted on. Yeah. - [both laughing] 438 00:25:45,628 --> 00:25:47,713 [engine revs] 439 00:25:51,467 --> 00:25:53,469 [car approaches] 440 00:25:58,266 --> 00:26:00,725 You guys see a NASCAR on a... on a banking all the time. 441 00:26:00,726 --> 00:26:02,603 I don't. [laughs] 442 00:26:05,231 --> 00:26:06,731 - [Ives] He's excited. - You look so NASCAR. 443 00:26:06,732 --> 00:26:07,983 I know. Look at this. 444 00:26:07,984 --> 00:26:09,819 B5 is... 445 00:26:10,611 --> 00:26:12,445 [Ives] So you'll be getting in next. 446 00:26:12,446 --> 00:26:14,990 About ten minutes for the driver change and tire change, 447 00:26:14,991 --> 00:26:16,157 which should be less than that. 448 00:26:16,158 --> 00:26:19,328 Should give you enough time for about, uh, three to four timed laps. 449 00:26:20,037 --> 00:26:21,038 I'll get dressed now then. 450 00:26:30,881 --> 00:26:33,426 {\an8}[Ives] All right, we're going to push you. I'll let you know when to pop it. 451 00:26:36,470 --> 00:26:37,471 {\an8}Ready... Go. 452 00:26:44,729 --> 00:26:46,564 {\an8}[Button] It's definitely a shock to the system. 453 00:26:47,356 --> 00:26:50,484 {\an8}The steering, you feel like you've got lots of front grip. 454 00:26:51,485 --> 00:26:53,611 {\an8}And then as soon as you get into a corner, 455 00:26:53,612 --> 00:26:55,740 {\an8}you have a massive amount of understeer. 456 00:26:56,907 --> 00:27:00,870 {\an8}Which doesn't fill me full of confidence on my first run. 457 00:27:02,997 --> 00:27:05,207 {\an8}Completing lap three. Five to go. 458 00:27:08,002 --> 00:27:10,128 You know, I-I was so excited about this project, 459 00:27:10,129 --> 00:27:11,588 and then I drove the car initially 460 00:27:11,589 --> 00:27:13,841 and I thought I'd made a massive mistake. 461 00:27:14,675 --> 00:27:15,675 That's what I thought. 462 00:27:15,676 --> 00:27:19,346 {\an8}The-The weird thing is how much the car actually moves around, 463 00:27:19,347 --> 00:27:21,681 {\an8}you know, even when you're just lightly loaded. 464 00:27:21,682 --> 00:27:26,519 {\an8}Uh, the-the car is kind of rocking around, which is very strange for me. 465 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:27,812 {\an8}Also the brakes. 466 00:27:27,813 --> 00:27:31,566 {\an8}You know, I'm braking unbelievably early just 'cause I'm working up to it. 467 00:27:31,567 --> 00:27:33,568 I'm so out of my depth. 468 00:27:33,569 --> 00:27:36,697 This is just so different to anything I've driven. 469 00:27:37,740 --> 00:27:38,948 - You hit the brakes... - Oh, okay. 470 00:27:38,949 --> 00:27:40,867 - And it just doesn't slow down, does it? - Told you. 471 00:27:40,868 --> 00:27:43,328 So you get to the corner, you think, "Oh, I'll release the brake now," 472 00:27:43,329 --> 00:27:45,790 - and then it just keeps going. - Too fast. Mm-hmm. 473 00:27:46,957 --> 00:27:49,543 [Button] I feel like-- Uh, I felt like I'm on the dirt here. 474 00:27:53,297 --> 00:27:56,550 [Crudup] The drivers weren't the only ones stepping out of their comfort zones. 475 00:27:57,051 --> 00:27:59,135 So, 165 inches... 476 00:27:59,136 --> 00:28:00,428 [Crudup] Back in Charlotte, 477 00:28:00,429 --> 00:28:03,973 the Garage 56 pit crew also faced a learning curve. 478 00:28:03,974 --> 00:28:06,184 [crew member] That's crazy. That's so narrow. 479 00:28:06,185 --> 00:28:07,477 Ready. Set. Go. 480 00:28:07,478 --> 00:28:11,064 [King] With a Garage 56 car, you cannot do a NASCAR pit stop. 481 00:28:11,065 --> 00:28:12,482 You have to modify it. 482 00:28:12,483 --> 00:28:15,068 So, the crew had to learn new choreography, 483 00:28:15,069 --> 00:28:16,946 new muscle memory, new rules. 484 00:28:17,696 --> 00:28:22,158 And I think it really speaks to how good of athletes they are 485 00:28:22,159 --> 00:28:24,869 in finding these tiny little advantages everywhere. 486 00:28:24,870 --> 00:28:26,454 [crew member] Better job, Jarius, 487 00:28:26,455 --> 00:28:28,331 finishing with your hands on that left rear. 488 00:28:28,332 --> 00:28:29,624 [Kureczka] Going to Le Mans, 489 00:28:29,625 --> 00:28:33,795 we're looking at potentially 40 pit stops and going 24 hours straight. 490 00:28:33,796 --> 00:28:36,214 So, we want to show the world what we truly do 491 00:28:36,215 --> 00:28:37,590 and put that on the platform. 492 00:28:37,591 --> 00:28:40,051 So, we had to definitely put in the time and effort 493 00:28:40,052 --> 00:28:42,554 to make sure that we were mentally and physically ready. 494 00:28:42,555 --> 00:28:44,180 [wrench whirring] 495 00:28:44,181 --> 00:28:46,099 And the practice itself was just grueling 496 00:28:46,100 --> 00:28:48,518 but the bonding of the team 497 00:28:48,519 --> 00:28:50,979 and those guys coming together as one 498 00:28:50,980 --> 00:28:53,648 and really building a very tight-knit relationship 499 00:28:53,649 --> 00:28:56,235 is what kind of kept everybody driving on the same path. 500 00:28:57,361 --> 00:28:59,238 Now that is a stop. 501 00:29:00,281 --> 00:29:02,366 Way to finish it. Way to finish it. 502 00:29:08,831 --> 00:29:10,790 [Crudup] To look the part for Le Mans, 503 00:29:10,791 --> 00:29:13,919 the black and gray of the test car wouldn't do. 504 00:29:14,670 --> 00:29:17,631 Jim France's dream was more than just finishing the race, 505 00:29:18,257 --> 00:29:21,217 it was to grab everyone's attention while doing it. 506 00:29:21,218 --> 00:29:25,347 Which called for a proverbial new coat of paint. 507 00:29:32,229 --> 00:29:34,064 [press cheering] 508 00:29:35,524 --> 00:29:38,067 [France] Thing that I like the best about the car is 509 00:29:38,068 --> 00:29:40,653 I like the color selection. Number one. 510 00:29:40,654 --> 00:29:44,741 Number two: it-it's just a badass looking race car. 511 00:29:44,742 --> 00:29:47,035 - [onlooker] Look at that, man. My God. - [France chuckles] 512 00:29:47,036 --> 00:29:50,580 Oh, it's a beautiful work of art. The fans will love it. 513 00:29:50,581 --> 00:29:53,000 [shutters clicking] 514 00:30:03,385 --> 00:30:08,640 [Crudup] The next test on the journey to Le Mans was a 24-hour run at Sebring. 515 00:30:08,641 --> 00:30:13,937 A dress rehearsal for the race, which was just 100 days away. 516 00:30:13,938 --> 00:30:16,231 [Ives] I don't know what you're feeling. I just have a plan. 517 00:30:16,232 --> 00:30:17,690 For the first hour and a half, 518 00:30:17,691 --> 00:30:19,818 - we just gotta get the car closer. - Right. 519 00:30:21,278 --> 00:30:25,114 [Doonan] Anybody that's been grounded during sports car racing knows 520 00:30:25,115 --> 00:30:30,704 that there's only one place to truly test the reliability of your car. 521 00:30:31,372 --> 00:30:33,624 {\an8}And that's at Sebring International Raceway. 522 00:30:35,251 --> 00:30:38,962 It's been said that racing 12 hours at Sebring 523 00:30:38,963 --> 00:30:41,715 is tougher than racing 24 hours anywhere. 524 00:30:42,508 --> 00:30:47,345 We came here with the intent of finding weak points. 525 00:30:47,346 --> 00:30:51,516 And try to make sure that in 100 days, 526 00:30:51,517 --> 00:30:56,604 we are ready to accomplish the goal of finishing the 100th-anniversary race 527 00:30:56,605 --> 00:30:59,900 in what's going to be a very, very competitive field. 528 00:31:02,653 --> 00:31:04,822 {\an8}[Ives] We will pit this time. Pit this time. 529 00:31:05,322 --> 00:31:08,492 {\an8}The pit stops. This is brand new for these guys, right? 530 00:31:09,076 --> 00:31:11,160 So this is a great opportunity for us to 531 00:31:11,161 --> 00:31:13,831 continue to refine and just make it better and more efficient. 532 00:31:14,915 --> 00:31:16,749 - [Kureczka] What you got? - [crew member] 12-90. 533 00:31:16,750 --> 00:31:18,960 It's decent. That wheel was stuck a little bit at 12-90. 534 00:31:18,961 --> 00:31:21,254 - Core strength. - What's the goal? 535 00:31:21,255 --> 00:31:22,463 - Protect the car. - Make sure-- Yeah. 536 00:31:22,464 --> 00:31:24,382 Protect the car and don't get a penalty, right? 537 00:31:24,383 --> 00:31:26,926 We're gonna get all core drivers to talk a little bit more 538 00:31:26,927 --> 00:31:28,761 to get their driver changed a little better. 539 00:31:28,762 --> 00:31:30,263 [Button] Driver change is a big one. 540 00:31:30,264 --> 00:31:32,265 Yeah, we can make the car as quick as we want on track. 541 00:31:32,266 --> 00:31:34,767 But driver change is just so far off where they need to be. 542 00:31:34,768 --> 00:31:37,395 You know, we're getting through a mailbox basically. 543 00:31:37,396 --> 00:31:40,857 Trying to get in and out of where everyone else has a door at Le Mans. 544 00:31:40,858 --> 00:31:44,653 So, it's not easy but we're working on it. We're getting better all the time. 545 00:31:47,448 --> 00:31:49,991 I don't know what to say. Honestly, it's so bad, 546 00:31:49,992 --> 00:31:52,328 I've never had something like that happen like that. 547 00:31:52,828 --> 00:31:55,538 And the harder we go, the worse it is. 548 00:31:55,539 --> 00:31:59,043 First set, I thought had less grip, more fall off. 549 00:31:59,752 --> 00:32:01,502 And this one was doing really good until it wasn't. 550 00:32:01,503 --> 00:32:03,631 - And then it was just too big for me. - Yeah. 551 00:32:04,298 --> 00:32:05,466 Okay. 552 00:32:10,763 --> 00:32:12,139 You like it? 553 00:32:12,848 --> 00:32:13,849 See? 554 00:32:15,142 --> 00:32:16,143 Do you like it? 555 00:32:16,769 --> 00:32:18,436 - You like the color? - It's Raptor? 556 00:32:18,437 --> 00:32:20,772 You like Raptor more. Okay. 557 00:32:20,773 --> 00:32:22,023 [laughs] 558 00:32:22,024 --> 00:32:25,444 I know it's not as cool as the Raptor car, but it's still cool, isn't it? 559 00:32:25,944 --> 00:32:27,571 - Yeah, it is. - Good. 560 00:32:28,322 --> 00:32:30,532 I'm glad. All right. Wash your hands. 561 00:32:31,867 --> 00:32:33,160 I'll see ya later, buddy. 562 00:32:39,166 --> 00:32:41,542 {\an8}[Ives] All right. We're going to run about 32 laps. 563 00:32:41,543 --> 00:32:46,006 {\an8}Just do your best as you can and we'll get into the night here and see how it goes. 564 00:32:54,056 --> 00:32:55,808 [Rockenfeller] Man, it's beautiful here. 565 00:32:56,558 --> 00:32:57,810 Ooh! The lights are on. 566 00:32:58,310 --> 00:32:59,311 Oh! 567 00:33:02,022 --> 00:33:04,066 [Taylor] That looks nice, like on tracks. 568 00:33:04,817 --> 00:33:06,276 Go, Jenson! 569 00:33:13,283 --> 00:33:15,868 [Rockenfeller] There's a reason probably he won the World Championship. 570 00:33:15,869 --> 00:33:17,705 [Taylor] Yeah. Not bad. 571 00:33:19,415 --> 00:33:20,749 He's not bad. 572 00:33:24,795 --> 00:33:27,338 Really, right now, we're logging miles. That's all we're just trying to do. 573 00:33:27,339 --> 00:33:31,135 We're trying to fatigue the car. And so, you're really focusing on, okay. 574 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:34,220 How are the brakes working in the cooler temperatures? 575 00:33:34,221 --> 00:33:37,890 How do the lights work? You know, are the drivers able to use their switches well? 576 00:33:37,891 --> 00:33:39,267 Hit the buttons well? 577 00:33:39,268 --> 00:33:40,893 All of the things that you're gonna go through 578 00:33:40,894 --> 00:33:42,813 through a 24-hour race over in Le Mans. 579 00:33:45,149 --> 00:33:46,315 {\an8}Sounds nice. 580 00:33:46,316 --> 00:33:47,860 {\an8}Oh... It's amazing. 581 00:33:48,694 --> 00:33:50,737 {\an8}- The sound and the look-- Yeah. - [Taylor] Down the Mulsanne? 582 00:33:50,738 --> 00:33:52,573 - Yeah. At night? - [Rockenfeller] It's impressive. 583 00:33:57,661 --> 00:34:00,621 - [Taylor] It's so massive. - [Rockenfeller] It's like Jim France says, 584 00:34:00,622 --> 00:34:01,748 "It's hauling ass." 585 00:34:01,749 --> 00:34:02,832 - [both laugh] - Yeah. 586 00:34:02,833 --> 00:34:04,960 And you see it now. I mean look at it. 587 00:34:24,271 --> 00:34:26,273 [Ives] Ten laps complete. Twenty-two to go. 588 00:34:28,066 --> 00:34:31,694 Yeah, we're just plugging along in the middle of the night. Logging laps. 589 00:34:31,695 --> 00:34:34,156 And then things started to change pretty quickly. 590 00:34:34,823 --> 00:34:37,950 {\an8}[Johnson] Guys, I've got some sparks coming inside the car, 591 00:34:37,951 --> 00:34:40,245 {\an8}up through the wheel on the left-front. 592 00:34:41,330 --> 00:34:43,581 [Ives] Middle of the night, Jimmie's coming on the back straightway. 593 00:34:43,582 --> 00:34:47,669 He's like, "I think the car's on fire." And everybody's ears perk up immediately. 594 00:34:48,796 --> 00:34:52,758 {\an8}10-4, you've got sparks coming in on the left-front, is that correct? 595 00:34:53,967 --> 00:34:57,888 {\an8}Yeah, I definitely have a lot of smoke in the cockpit now. Something's burning. 596 00:35:00,474 --> 00:35:03,935 [Ives] It was like, oh, my gosh. There I ran all the way out to pit road, 597 00:35:03,936 --> 00:35:06,980 a lot of the other guys were running out to pit road with fire extinguishers. 598 00:35:10,818 --> 00:35:14,070 We get it put out and it's like, shoot. Okay, now what? 599 00:35:14,071 --> 00:35:17,031 Everything was covered with fire extinguisher dust. 600 00:35:17,032 --> 00:35:20,410 Everything was covered in smoke. It looked pretty ugly at that point. 601 00:35:20,911 --> 00:35:23,287 [Johnson] The foot box was on fire coming down pit road. 602 00:35:23,288 --> 00:35:25,331 [Knaus] Currently, right now, we've got one race car. 603 00:35:25,332 --> 00:35:28,543 So, we gotta make sure that this horse can continue to run. So, we... 604 00:35:28,544 --> 00:35:30,462 we wanted to look at everything. 605 00:35:31,046 --> 00:35:34,173 {\an8}[Ives] What we need to do here guys, like we-we're doing, take off, uh... 606 00:35:34,174 --> 00:35:37,093 {\an8}the rocker, take off everything we can. 607 00:35:37,094 --> 00:35:41,890 {\an8}Do everything we need to do to fix this. And then we'll assess it from there. 608 00:35:42,724 --> 00:35:46,143 [Rockenfeller] Everybody and... no matter which level on the team, 609 00:35:46,144 --> 00:35:48,397 was, you know, trying to help. 610 00:35:57,155 --> 00:35:58,906 [Knaus] Greg, this is what I think happens. 611 00:35:58,907 --> 00:36:02,410 I think that big ball that you had was up here, right? 612 00:36:02,411 --> 00:36:05,454 'Cause we saw the flap coming off. And it gets down inside to here 613 00:36:05,455 --> 00:36:07,665 and falls down on top of that collector and catches on fire. 614 00:36:07,666 --> 00:36:08,875 Yep. 615 00:36:08,876 --> 00:36:11,127 [Knaus] There was a conversation about maybe, you know, 616 00:36:11,128 --> 00:36:14,006 taking a deep breath and shutting it down at that point. 617 00:36:14,631 --> 00:36:16,465 Well, this whole thing's electrical, right? 618 00:36:16,466 --> 00:36:17,758 - I don't know. - [Button chuckles] 619 00:36:17,759 --> 00:36:19,886 [Knaus] What happens if throttle position sensor goes... 620 00:36:19,887 --> 00:36:21,971 - Yeah, exactly. - ...crazy or something like that, right? 621 00:36:21,972 --> 00:36:23,891 - Yeah. - And he ends up in the airport. 622 00:36:24,766 --> 00:36:26,727 Oh, I think we'll just count this as 24. 623 00:36:27,311 --> 00:36:29,730 What? You gotta be kidding me. 624 00:36:31,773 --> 00:36:33,316 We came here to test. Let's test. 625 00:36:33,317 --> 00:36:36,485 [Ives] We had to change some break lines, inspect the wiring, 626 00:36:36,486 --> 00:36:37,737 get it all cleaned up. 627 00:36:37,738 --> 00:36:40,656 Took maybe a little bit longer than what we would want it to be sitting there, 628 00:36:40,657 --> 00:36:43,118 but we had to do some diligence to make sure the car was safe. 629 00:36:43,911 --> 00:36:45,453 [engineer] All right, we can go back out for a little. 630 00:36:45,454 --> 00:36:46,914 [engineer 2] We got a driver yet? 631 00:36:50,042 --> 00:36:53,002 [Rockenfeller] When everything is smooth, it's always easy to run something. 632 00:36:53,003 --> 00:36:54,211 But when there is a problem, 633 00:36:54,212 --> 00:36:57,758 that's when you see the difference between the good and the bad teams. 634 00:36:59,051 --> 00:37:02,012 And we definitely had a great team. 635 00:37:02,763 --> 00:37:03,972 Whoo-hoo! 636 00:37:06,892 --> 00:37:09,478 [Doonan] When you do that 24-hour test together, 637 00:37:10,187 --> 00:37:11,437 and you're up all night, 638 00:37:11,438 --> 00:37:16,067 and, you know, you see each other at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning... 639 00:37:16,068 --> 00:37:17,610 That was our best one yet. 640 00:37:17,611 --> 00:37:20,530 ...it's when it starts to get real. 641 00:37:21,406 --> 00:37:22,698 This is not easy. 642 00:37:22,699 --> 00:37:28,205 This is a very difficult test, perhaps the most difficult test in all of motorsport. 643 00:37:28,997 --> 00:37:31,750 We're driving in day, night, fog. 644 00:37:32,751 --> 00:37:34,336 It was tough, but I loved it. 645 00:37:35,671 --> 00:37:37,296 [Doonan] We solved some things mechanically 646 00:37:37,297 --> 00:37:38,839 that we needed to improve upon. 647 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:41,050 So we're gonna get home, we're gonna talk about it 648 00:37:41,051 --> 00:37:42,677 and we'll figure out what we need to do. 649 00:37:42,678 --> 00:37:45,263 {\an8}[Ives] Well, boys and girls, thanks for all the hard work. 650 00:37:47,474 --> 00:37:49,976 {\an8}So I think everybody's pretty aware of what's happening with the cars. 651 00:37:49,977 --> 00:37:52,229 But I think we may have to do some work. 652 00:37:54,982 --> 00:37:57,358 [chief of staff] I've got April 11th 653 00:37:57,359 --> 00:38:00,361 {\an8}would be when they pick up the sea freight container. 654 00:38:00,362 --> 00:38:05,659 {\an8}And then May 18th for when they would load up all the air freight. 655 00:38:06,284 --> 00:38:09,829 {\an8}Le Mans, there's just so many unknowns and it-- 656 00:38:09,830 --> 00:38:12,915 You're in another country, so you don't even know what you can get. 657 00:38:12,916 --> 00:38:15,584 Like, there's no Walmart. There's no Home Depot. 658 00:38:15,585 --> 00:38:19,339 So I have a very long Excel list. [chuckling] Yes. 659 00:38:22,926 --> 00:38:25,137 [Wright] If our goal was to finish the race, 660 00:38:25,679 --> 00:38:31,518 scientific back-to-back testing was a key piece in getting to our Le Mans goal. 661 00:38:32,185 --> 00:38:33,520 [Ives] Rocky, you got a radio check? 662 00:38:34,354 --> 00:38:37,898 [Rockenfeller] Loud and clear. Feels like we need more downforce. 663 00:38:37,899 --> 00:38:41,361 Just running, running, running. Putting mileage on the car. 664 00:38:43,488 --> 00:38:46,700 {\an8}All the development, you know, we always went back to the simulator. 665 00:38:47,826 --> 00:38:52,456 If that is really happening in a real car, I think it's pretty fast. 666 00:38:55,167 --> 00:38:57,251 Go to the racetrack, come back, validate, 667 00:38:57,252 --> 00:39:00,797 and make sure that we understood what we needed for the next time. 668 00:39:03,133 --> 00:39:04,634 [engineer] We'll get that thing running right. 669 00:39:11,975 --> 00:39:16,396 From one test session to the next, we're really in the window to maximize this car. 670 00:39:16,980 --> 00:39:19,899 [Crudup] Mere weeks remain before shipping out to France. 671 00:39:19,900 --> 00:39:22,902 Cautious optimism ran through the team. 672 00:39:22,903 --> 00:39:25,322 But were they truly prepared? 673 00:39:32,662 --> 00:39:34,955 Don't get over there too far but just kinda stand right there. 674 00:39:34,956 --> 00:39:36,083 Plug your ears, too. 675 00:39:42,672 --> 00:39:43,673 Whoo! 676 00:39:46,009 --> 00:39:48,553 - [Knaus] I told you. - [laughing] 677 00:39:49,137 --> 00:39:50,972 [Knaus] That's not even top speed right there. 678 00:39:52,599 --> 00:39:54,684 This test done in Sebring, our final test. 679 00:39:55,727 --> 00:39:57,478 We wanna come down and do some durability testing. 680 00:39:57,479 --> 00:40:00,731 We had some pit stops. We had some, uh, driver exchanges. 681 00:40:00,732 --> 00:40:03,150 We ran some at night to double-check the lights. 682 00:40:03,151 --> 00:40:04,444 Ran in the rain again. 683 00:40:05,112 --> 00:40:07,655 I think that there are some areas that we need to improve upon still. 684 00:40:07,656 --> 00:40:11,076 Um... But all in all I think we're ready to attack what Le Mans gives us. 685 00:40:11,618 --> 00:40:13,410 [Hendrick] It's starting to hit me a little bit, 686 00:40:13,411 --> 00:40:15,455 what's really getting ready to happen. 687 00:40:15,956 --> 00:40:19,208 We've come a long way with the speed, the durability. 688 00:40:19,209 --> 00:40:22,086 {\an8}I'm really pleased with what's happened so far. 689 00:40:22,087 --> 00:40:26,258 {\an8}And when we get over there, it's just, it's time to put on a show. 690 00:40:27,425 --> 00:40:30,177 [Knaus] You're never done working on a race car, it's just time to go race. 691 00:40:30,178 --> 00:40:31,762 So we can work on this thing 692 00:40:31,763 --> 00:40:34,723 till this time next year and still not be ready to go. 693 00:40:34,724 --> 00:40:35,892 Just gotta go do it. 694 00:40:41,648 --> 00:40:44,358 {\an8}We're gonna go over and try and shine a big light on ourselves 695 00:40:44,359 --> 00:40:47,403 {\an8}so we can't fall on our ass when we get over there. 696 00:40:47,404 --> 00:40:53,493 It's that DNA that is ingrained in our sport from long before I came along. 697 00:40:57,247 --> 00:41:00,374 [Wright] Taking something like this, where you went from a blank sheet of paper, 698 00:41:00,375 --> 00:41:03,043 and now we're sitting here with a running vehicle. 699 00:41:03,044 --> 00:41:05,004 It is a major, major milestone. 700 00:41:05,005 --> 00:41:08,048 And it's exciting to know that we're gonna take this thing 701 00:41:08,049 --> 00:41:09,885 and go over to Le Mans and run it. 702 00:42:02,270 --> 00:42:05,940 [Crudup] Finally on French soil, after more than a year of work, 703 00:42:05,941 --> 00:42:10,237 the team began a week of carefully choreographed traditions. 704 00:42:10,862 --> 00:42:15,199 The first was unusual and unique to Le Mans. 705 00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:19,579 The car left the circuit for the center of town for scrutineering, 706 00:42:20,205 --> 00:42:24,291 a version of technical and safety inspection on steroids. 707 00:42:24,292 --> 00:42:25,418 Perfect. 708 00:42:50,860 --> 00:42:53,238 [announcer] Crowds are lined up for scrutineering at Le Mans. 709 00:42:53,738 --> 00:42:56,240 At least, I presume they used to do something like this 710 00:42:56,241 --> 00:43:00,494 in the days when cars were raced here for the first time in 1923. 711 00:43:00,495 --> 00:43:03,831 Certainly today it is a highly organized form of chaos. 712 00:43:03,832 --> 00:43:05,833 At Le Mans, you can tell very quickly 713 00:43:05,834 --> 00:43:08,460 the cars which are going to capture the imagination of the crowd. 714 00:43:08,461 --> 00:43:10,004 [whistle blows] 715 00:43:10,005 --> 00:43:13,465 {\an8}The scrutineering process, for the first timers, 716 00:43:13,466 --> 00:43:18,637 {\an8}that's where Le Mans becomes very different from anything they ever did, 717 00:43:18,638 --> 00:43:23,350 because tech is in the middle of a city, Friday, Saturday. 718 00:43:23,351 --> 00:43:25,978 And it is packed with fans. 719 00:43:25,979 --> 00:43:27,980 And you spend two or three hours there. 720 00:43:27,981 --> 00:43:32,568 The mechanics don't just take the car, go through tech and come back. 721 00:43:32,569 --> 00:43:34,611 The drivers have to be there. 722 00:43:34,612 --> 00:43:37,156 They have the team photo, and the media are there. 723 00:43:37,157 --> 00:43:39,409 So, it's a show. 724 00:43:43,455 --> 00:43:44,663 - [Ives] Horsepower? - [engineer] Yes. 725 00:43:44,664 --> 00:43:49,419 [Ives] It's 750. Similar miles per hour and lap time as a GT car. 726 00:43:52,922 --> 00:43:54,256 - Crazy car. - Yeah. 727 00:43:54,257 --> 00:43:55,466 - For Le Mans. - Yeah. 728 00:43:55,467 --> 00:43:59,011 [GMB team member] Oh, I absolutely love it. It looks very out of place. 729 00:43:59,012 --> 00:44:02,389 But it is maybe the coolest thing Le Mans has seen in a while. 730 00:44:02,390 --> 00:44:05,392 [GMB team member 2] We were just talking about the aero choices. 731 00:44:05,393 --> 00:44:07,354 But it's gonna be incredible to see it. 732 00:44:10,899 --> 00:44:12,150 That kid's hat. 733 00:44:12,776 --> 00:44:14,485 - [Wright] What? Huh? - [Knaus] A Jimmie Johnson hat. 734 00:44:14,486 --> 00:44:16,528 [Wright] Jimmie Johnson championship hat. 735 00:44:16,529 --> 00:44:17,614 2006. 736 00:44:20,241 --> 00:44:21,408 I'm mic'd, by the way. 737 00:44:21,409 --> 00:44:22,659 - Oh, are you? - Yeah. 738 00:44:22,660 --> 00:44:24,870 There was your warning. I'm mic'd, by the way. 739 00:44:24,871 --> 00:44:26,039 - You're Mike? - Yeah. 740 00:44:26,539 --> 00:44:27,582 He's Mike. 741 00:44:28,208 --> 00:44:31,336 Oh, you're Mike. Okay. I'm sorry. I thought I was Mike. 742 00:44:31,961 --> 00:44:36,548 Jimmie, make sure after the race, if you win, you back it into the wall. 743 00:44:36,549 --> 00:44:39,385 - Crack the back? - [both laugh] 744 00:44:39,386 --> 00:44:41,679 Scrutineering at Le Mans is... 745 00:44:42,263 --> 00:44:44,015 Well, there's nothing like it. 746 00:44:44,599 --> 00:44:45,809 It's massive. 747 00:44:46,393 --> 00:44:48,685 And it's not all just for photos. 748 00:44:48,686 --> 00:44:51,773 You're actually, you know, the car is getting scrutineered. 749 00:44:52,357 --> 00:44:54,109 They're like, "What are we gonna check?" 750 00:44:56,486 --> 00:44:57,986 Yes. First time. 751 00:44:57,987 --> 00:45:00,072 - First time? - [both laugh] 752 00:45:00,073 --> 00:45:02,991 [Button] The driver's race suit and the driver's crash helmet. 753 00:45:02,992 --> 00:45:05,119 We're all getting scrutineered. And you're signing on. 754 00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:06,870 We need to do a very, very... 755 00:45:06,871 --> 00:45:09,456 [Rockenfeller] NASCAR, marriage with the two kids and the house. 756 00:45:09,457 --> 00:45:11,918 - Now the matador. - If you're not first, you're last. 757 00:45:12,419 --> 00:45:14,671 Throw in like a Ricky Bobby quote in there. 758 00:45:15,255 --> 00:45:17,339 [Button] We signed on like Ricky Bobby. 759 00:45:17,340 --> 00:45:19,217 "If you ain't first, you're last." 760 00:45:20,301 --> 00:45:23,804 I think it just showed the atmosphere that is in our team 761 00:45:23,805 --> 00:45:26,224 and how we were enjoying the journey. 762 00:45:27,892 --> 00:45:29,893 - It fits. - [Rockenfeller] My one is too big. 763 00:45:29,894 --> 00:45:32,771 Well, maybe after I've washed it. It's gonna be tight. 764 00:45:32,772 --> 00:45:33,857 I'm not gonna wash it. 765 00:45:35,066 --> 00:45:36,900 I got pockets, though. Oh, you got pockets. 766 00:45:36,901 --> 00:45:39,194 - [Johnson] Why don't I... - Jimmie hasn't got any pockets. 767 00:45:39,195 --> 00:45:41,738 - What am I gonna do with my hands? - You can use mine, buddy. 768 00:45:41,739 --> 00:45:42,949 Let go of me. 769 00:45:43,700 --> 00:45:44,909 What are you dreams for... 770 00:45:45,869 --> 00:45:49,497 Yeah, it's great to be here. You know, Jimmie, Rocky, they're great friends. 771 00:45:53,918 --> 00:45:56,879 [Johnson] To see race fans arrive a week plus before the race 772 00:45:56,880 --> 00:45:59,047 to be there for scrutineering, to get the autographs, 773 00:45:59,048 --> 00:46:02,759 it really has helped me grasp just how special the race is 774 00:46:02,760 --> 00:46:04,595 and what that experience is like. 775 00:46:04,596 --> 00:46:06,681 [shutters clicking] 776 00:46:08,475 --> 00:46:10,809 [Hindhaugh] Welcome, everybody, to Le Mans 777 00:46:10,810 --> 00:46:17,400 for the first on-track action in this centenary 24 hours of Le Mans. 778 00:46:18,067 --> 00:46:22,780 {\an8}Now this track, it is very different because it's not a permanent racetrack. 779 00:46:23,364 --> 00:46:25,157 {\an8}[Haven] You know, high speed circuit. 780 00:46:25,158 --> 00:46:28,702 {\an8}You've got your chicanes on the back straight, the Mulsanne Straight. 781 00:46:28,703 --> 00:46:31,955 {\an8}Different challenges up and down regardless of what category you're in. 782 00:46:31,956 --> 00:46:34,501 {\an8}This circuit poses a real challenge. 783 00:46:38,880 --> 00:46:42,007 [Crudup] While Garage 56 turned heads at scrutineering, 784 00:46:42,008 --> 00:46:45,845 the fact remained they had yet to turn a lap on the circuit. 785 00:46:47,055 --> 00:46:48,889 No one knew what to expect. 786 00:46:48,890 --> 00:46:52,894 And few outside the team expected very much at all. 787 00:46:54,270 --> 00:46:56,606 It was the first chance to impress 788 00:46:57,106 --> 00:46:59,025 or fall flat. 789 00:46:59,692 --> 00:47:02,695 Did NASCAR belong at Le Mans? 790 00:47:05,156 --> 00:47:07,825 {\an8}- [Ives] Got me, Rocky? - [Rockenfeller] I got you loud and clear. 791 00:47:08,576 --> 00:47:10,494 {\an8}[Ives] We're looking at four total laps here. 792 00:47:10,495 --> 00:47:12,247 {\an8}Just be ready for anything. 793 00:47:13,623 --> 00:47:15,083 [tires squealing] 794 00:47:19,879 --> 00:47:23,257 [Rockenfeller] Being in the car, driving through the first time, 795 00:47:23,258 --> 00:47:25,385 yeah, I was for sure nervous. 796 00:47:28,054 --> 00:47:31,349 Is it feeling like in the simulator? Is it what we expected? 797 00:47:32,809 --> 00:47:35,894 [Hindhaugh] Boy, does this thing look completely different 798 00:47:35,895 --> 00:47:37,480 than anything else out there. 799 00:47:38,773 --> 00:47:41,108 [Haven] Look, we normally see these cars just going around in circles 800 00:47:41,109 --> 00:47:43,652 turning left and, uh, it's turning left and right. 801 00:47:43,653 --> 00:47:45,529 It looks like he's doing a pretty good job of it. 802 00:47:45,530 --> 00:47:48,783 And from what we've seen so far, it's got some pace. 803 00:47:53,079 --> 00:47:57,457 During the tests, they were really fast. So not a lot of people expected that. 804 00:47:57,458 --> 00:48:00,211 [Hindhaugh] Just watch and listen to this thing. 805 00:48:00,837 --> 00:48:02,839 This is great fun. 806 00:48:23,026 --> 00:48:27,155 {\an8}It was ahead of most at the GTE class. 807 00:48:27,947 --> 00:48:30,074 {\an8}So that was a great start. 808 00:48:35,747 --> 00:48:37,039 [Johnson] It's a long, long lap. 809 00:48:37,040 --> 00:48:40,626 And a long straightaway has really allowed me to reflect on what I'm doing here, 810 00:48:40,627 --> 00:48:41,793 what we're doing as a group, 811 00:48:41,794 --> 00:48:44,505 all the time and effort and energy that's been put into this. 812 00:48:52,138 --> 00:48:53,263 {\an8}[Knaus] Great job, everybody. 813 00:48:53,264 --> 00:48:57,518 {\an8}We're five seconds faster right now than the next GTE car. That's awesome. 814 00:49:08,154 --> 00:49:09,946 Great job, man. That was awesome. 815 00:49:09,947 --> 00:49:12,282 - [Johnson] That was so fucking awesome. - They did a great job. 816 00:49:12,283 --> 00:49:13,867 - [Johnson] That's so fun. - [Knaus] All right? 817 00:49:13,868 --> 00:49:16,663 - [Johnson] Yeah. - [Knaus] Awesome. Great lap times too. 818 00:49:19,749 --> 00:49:20,958 [shutters clicking] 819 00:49:22,001 --> 00:49:25,420 [Crudup] Photographs, autographs and thousands of fans clamoring 820 00:49:25,421 --> 00:49:27,674 for a piece of motorsport excellence. 821 00:49:28,341 --> 00:49:30,051 Their next chance to witness it, 822 00:49:30,843 --> 00:49:33,096 the Pit Stop Challenge. 823 00:49:34,555 --> 00:49:38,935 Each crew had one chance to knock out the quickest stop they could 824 00:49:39,435 --> 00:49:41,813 for bragging rights throughout the Paddock. 825 00:49:43,189 --> 00:49:46,358 The Garage 56 crew had its eyes on the trophy 826 00:49:46,359 --> 00:49:48,986 and a taste of Le Mans glory. 827 00:49:49,612 --> 00:49:52,114 [crew member] I feel like they've never seen people work out. 828 00:49:52,115 --> 00:49:54,491 - [pants] - [crew member 2] Nope. 829 00:49:54,492 --> 00:49:56,326 They're working out. They were running sprints. 830 00:49:56,327 --> 00:49:58,036 The other teams were watching them and were like, 831 00:49:58,037 --> 00:50:00,039 "What in the world are these guys up to?" 832 00:50:08,047 --> 00:50:10,258 [crew member 3] It's like they've seen bigfoot. [chuckles] 833 00:50:10,800 --> 00:50:13,094 [crowd cheering, whistling] 834 00:50:14,804 --> 00:50:18,014 [Knaus] Seeing our guys practice and... and get ready, 835 00:50:18,015 --> 00:50:19,766 I was like, "These guys are gonna do a pretty good job." 836 00:50:19,767 --> 00:50:21,935 We didn't know what the other people were capable of doing. 837 00:50:21,936 --> 00:50:23,228 We didn't know. We didn't really care. 838 00:50:23,229 --> 00:50:26,606 We just knew what we needed to do and we wanted to perform really well. 839 00:50:26,607 --> 00:50:27,524 All right. 840 00:50:27,525 --> 00:50:31,361 Everybody's gotta be behind the red line other than the five guys doing the stop. 841 00:50:31,362 --> 00:50:32,946 Smooth, guys. Smooth, smooth. 842 00:50:32,947 --> 00:50:38,077 [judge] Five, four, three, two, one. 843 00:50:38,703 --> 00:50:39,704 Go! 844 00:50:49,839 --> 00:50:52,215 - [Knaus exclaims] - [crowd cheering] 845 00:50:52,216 --> 00:50:53,718 [cheers] 846 00:50:54,719 --> 00:50:56,636 [Knaus] Nice, guys. 847 00:50:56,637 --> 00:50:57,554 Nice. 848 00:50:57,555 --> 00:50:59,056 [Doonan] Hey, way to go! 849 00:51:00,141 --> 00:51:01,391 How about that! 850 00:51:01,392 --> 00:51:05,979 It was honestly the best stop we had run in any practice in the States 851 00:51:05,980 --> 00:51:07,814 or any practice in France leading up to it. 852 00:51:07,815 --> 00:51:10,985 {\an8}And we were at the top of the leaderboard so it was really cool to see. 853 00:51:12,445 --> 00:51:15,322 {\an8}Here we are shoving a manual jack under this car 854 00:51:15,323 --> 00:51:18,326 {\an8}and doing pit stops faster than the whole Le Mans field. 855 00:51:18,868 --> 00:51:22,704 NASCAR really earned the respect of all the top teams 856 00:51:22,705 --> 00:51:25,708 who really just have mechanics often doing the pit stops. 857 00:51:27,335 --> 00:51:30,086 [crowd cheering] 858 00:51:30,087 --> 00:51:31,880 [Kureczka] Then it was the waiting game, right? 859 00:51:31,881 --> 00:51:34,090 We're all watching and it's kind of nerve-racking 860 00:51:34,091 --> 00:51:35,759 and it's just this huge deal. 861 00:51:35,760 --> 00:51:38,553 And all the drivers were there, super excited for the guys. 862 00:51:38,554 --> 00:51:40,430 Chad's on the phone with Mr. Hendrick 863 00:51:40,431 --> 00:51:42,891 and he's over there waiting to hear the details. 864 00:51:42,892 --> 00:51:46,102 It was really cool to see the amount of support around everybody there. 865 00:51:46,103 --> 00:51:47,604 - [exclaims] - We won? 866 00:51:47,605 --> 00:51:50,608 [all cheering] 867 00:51:53,903 --> 00:51:55,862 [Rockenfeller] They wanted to win that thing so bad. 868 00:51:55,863 --> 00:51:58,907 And I think the guys were... were just amazing. 869 00:51:58,908 --> 00:52:01,409 - We were so proud of them. - [crew member] Good job, guys. 870 00:52:01,410 --> 00:52:04,204 Bravo. Bravo. Bravo. 871 00:52:04,205 --> 00:52:08,835 And the guys walked down, you know, to the podium carrying the jack. 872 00:52:09,502 --> 00:52:14,841 And I had the drivers separating the fans so the pit crew could get through. 873 00:52:18,219 --> 00:52:19,637 This is bad-ass, you know that? 874 00:52:20,721 --> 00:52:24,392 - [official speaks French] - [crowd cheering] 875 00:52:28,187 --> 00:52:30,730 [Johnson] And to watch the guys in that pressure-packed moment 876 00:52:30,731 --> 00:52:33,358 knock out an 11 second pit stop and podium 877 00:52:33,359 --> 00:52:36,611 against all those lightweight, little cars with airjacks. 878 00:52:36,612 --> 00:52:40,741 Um, yeah, it-it was really a prideful moment for the whole project. 879 00:52:41,659 --> 00:52:44,870 [Moss] Seven, eight months ago, we started this as a brotherhood 880 00:52:44,871 --> 00:52:47,080 {\an8}and we decided we were gonna give our all 881 00:52:47,081 --> 00:52:50,209 {\an8}and to be able to see how far we came is just the best thing, for sure. 882 00:52:50,918 --> 00:52:54,129 They beat all of the GTE teams with four jacks. 883 00:52:54,130 --> 00:52:57,173 - Yeah. That was huge. Yeah. [chuckles] - That got everybody's attention. 884 00:52:57,174 --> 00:52:59,426 [chiming, buzzing, whistling] 885 00:52:59,427 --> 00:53:02,387 [Ryan] I don't think there was a lot of talk about Garage 56 886 00:53:02,388 --> 00:53:05,515 and a NASCAR Cup car maybe stealing the headlines, 887 00:53:05,516 --> 00:53:08,352 stealing the show at Le Mans but I think this car really did. 888 00:53:19,196 --> 00:53:21,948 [Crudup] Daylight faded and headlights glared 889 00:53:21,949 --> 00:53:25,161 as the final practice session extended into the night. 890 00:53:32,752 --> 00:53:37,048 [Crudup] Ready or not, soon they'd be racing for 24 hours. 891 00:53:38,215 --> 00:53:40,050 - [Button] All right, buddy? - [Johnson] What's good? 892 00:53:40,051 --> 00:53:41,718 We were just saying you might need a beer after that. 893 00:53:41,719 --> 00:53:43,471 - [chuckles] - I'll definitely take a beer. 894 00:53:44,639 --> 00:53:47,891 - That looked so much better. - Yeah, I mean, just... 895 00:53:47,892 --> 00:53:51,144 uh, I could trust the mirror for a while and then eventually it went shit 896 00:53:51,145 --> 00:53:53,856 so it must be a film that gets on there and it freaks it out. 897 00:53:54,523 --> 00:53:57,567 - So the light was better? Or not? - The... Yeah. 898 00:53:57,568 --> 00:54:00,111 The lights were better. Yeah, it was a little more up and out. 899 00:54:00,112 --> 00:54:01,321 - Good. Okay. - Um, yeah. 900 00:54:01,322 --> 00:54:03,990 But, um, traction control saved my ass. 901 00:54:03,991 --> 00:54:05,825 - Did it? - Mm-hmm. I would have been around. 902 00:54:05,826 --> 00:54:07,578 [Button] Right, homework time. 903 00:54:09,497 --> 00:54:11,414 So is Le Mans everything you dreamed of? 904 00:54:11,415 --> 00:54:12,707 - Me? - [Button] Yeah. 905 00:54:12,708 --> 00:54:14,459 - Yeah. - [Button] Yeah? 906 00:54:14,460 --> 00:54:16,086 - Cheers. - [Knaus] Cheers, Mike. 907 00:54:16,087 --> 00:54:17,545 - One good car. - [Knaus] Congrats, gents. 908 00:54:17,546 --> 00:54:18,797 Great job today. 909 00:54:18,798 --> 00:54:21,300 - You guys are fantastic. Amazing. - [Button] Thank you. Cheers. 910 00:54:52,248 --> 00:54:56,376 The driver parade at, uh, at Le Mans, it's a great atmosphere. 911 00:54:56,377 --> 00:54:58,462 I think it doesn't matter what car you're in 912 00:54:59,213 --> 00:55:01,757 or what team you're driving for, there's so much love. 913 00:55:13,811 --> 00:55:14,729 [cheering] 914 00:55:18,190 --> 00:55:20,401 - [announcer speaking French] - [Johnson] It's the whole city. 915 00:55:21,777 --> 00:55:23,404 I've never seen so many people. 916 00:55:24,071 --> 00:55:27,742 That was way different than a parade. That was... That was like Mardi Gras. 917 00:55:31,412 --> 00:55:33,664 - [siren blaring] - [crowd cheering] 918 00:55:35,875 --> 00:55:37,459 [Johnson] Rocky, you've got 'em going, dude. 919 00:55:37,460 --> 00:55:38,918 - [Rockenfeller] Huh? - You've got 'em riled up. 920 00:55:38,919 --> 00:55:39,961 That's awesome. 921 00:55:39,962 --> 00:55:41,547 [Rockenfeller] That's what you have to do. 922 00:55:42,506 --> 00:55:45,050 [Button] Some people that come to Le Mans they'll be a fan of Ferrari, 923 00:55:45,051 --> 00:55:47,553 they'll be a fan of Porsche, they'll be a fan of Caddy. 924 00:55:48,262 --> 00:55:51,639 But with us, we had no competition so everyone loved us. 925 00:55:51,640 --> 00:55:54,643 [crowd chanting] USA! 926 00:55:57,271 --> 00:55:59,356 [Rockenfeller laughing] 927 00:56:01,442 --> 00:56:03,277 [cheering continues] 928 00:56:09,158 --> 00:56:10,367 [Johnson] Hey, look what I got. 929 00:56:11,952 --> 00:56:13,704 Jimmie, you are bold. 930 00:56:14,413 --> 00:56:18,124 Savoring a moment like that, knowing that, at least in my own head, 931 00:56:18,125 --> 00:56:19,376 I might not ever be here again. 932 00:56:22,296 --> 00:56:25,382 It was awesome. What a... What a highlight and a fun day. 933 00:56:30,179 --> 00:56:32,389 - [Rockenfeller] It's so crazy, isn't it? - [Johnson] It's so crazy. 934 00:56:33,390 --> 00:56:34,933 Start spraying the champagne on them. 935 00:56:34,934 --> 00:56:37,686 [Rockenfeller chuckles] Hey, I tell you what, they will love it. 936 00:56:41,607 --> 00:56:43,984 [Johnson] Oh, you spilled all my booze. [laughs] 937 00:56:44,652 --> 00:56:46,152 [chuckles] Want some? 938 00:56:46,153 --> 00:56:48,030 [chuckles] Yeah, might as well. 939 00:56:50,074 --> 00:56:51,117 It's so bad. 940 00:56:51,784 --> 00:56:54,036 [Johnson] Really foamy. [laughs] 941 00:56:55,955 --> 00:56:57,540 [crowd cheering] 942 00:57:03,712 --> 00:57:07,465 [Ives] You know, obviously, a lot of hard work going into, uh, the last two weeks. 943 00:57:07,466 --> 00:57:10,593 I think we, uh, all are ready for tomorrow, 944 00:57:10,594 --> 00:57:12,470 uh, to-to start. 945 00:57:12,471 --> 00:57:17,183 Uh, this isn't a NASCAR race where you only go three hours. 946 00:57:17,184 --> 00:57:18,935 This is an endurance race. 947 00:57:18,936 --> 00:57:21,563 Don't think you have to man up or woman up 948 00:57:21,564 --> 00:57:25,024 to think you don't have time to just take a 15 minute nap 949 00:57:25,025 --> 00:57:28,654 and it's gonna definitely be worth it in the end so use a chair. 950 00:57:30,030 --> 00:57:31,114 [Crudup] Words of encouragement 951 00:57:31,115 --> 00:57:34,660 could only do so much to settle the nerves. 952 00:57:35,411 --> 00:57:40,791 They'd come to Le Mans to run a race and with any luck, reach its finish. 953 00:57:41,458 --> 00:57:46,297 And no one could know if the months of preparation had been enough. 954 00:57:58,267 --> 00:58:00,101 [announcer 1] We get ready for the start 955 00:58:00,102 --> 00:58:04,064 of the world's greatest endurance motoring event. 956 00:58:05,065 --> 00:58:06,984 [announcer 2] Here at the Circuit de la Sarthe. 957 00:58:07,484 --> 00:58:09,236 24 Hours of Le Mans. 958 00:58:09,778 --> 00:58:11,863 [vendor, in French] Quest France, here you go. 959 00:58:11,864 --> 00:58:13,199 Wonderful. 960 00:58:13,407 --> 00:58:15,409 [announcer 3, in English] A truly massive crowd here. 961 00:58:17,411 --> 00:58:20,496 [in French] It's great to have a NASCAR here, and Button's the driver. 962 00:58:20,497 --> 00:58:23,250 We're huge fans of Jenson Button so it couldn't be any better. 963 00:58:25,169 --> 00:58:28,964 Over the next 24 hours, I'm pulling for NASCAR. 964 00:58:30,132 --> 00:58:34,928 [in English] I came all the way from Texas to see Garage 56 in my first Le Mans race. 965 00:58:34,929 --> 00:58:38,182 It's something that I've wanted to do since I could drive. 966 00:58:43,145 --> 00:58:44,355 [Hendrick] Today's the day. 967 00:58:45,397 --> 00:58:47,066 To showcase what we have. 968 00:58:47,608 --> 00:58:50,194 {\an8}But now we just have to run 24 hours. 969 00:58:52,905 --> 00:58:55,658 [announcer] Great to see that everybody's in fine fettle this morning. 970 00:58:56,158 --> 00:58:59,411 We have 62 operational cars. 971 00:59:01,914 --> 00:59:02,915 [Knaus] This was it. 972 00:59:03,457 --> 00:59:05,334 This is the culmination of everything we've done. 973 00:59:08,754 --> 00:59:09,837 {\an8}- What's up, brother? - What's up? 974 00:59:09,838 --> 00:59:11,632 {\an8}- How you doing? How's it feel? - Wow. 975 00:59:12,591 --> 00:59:13,591 Great, huh? 976 00:59:13,592 --> 00:59:15,009 - I wanna wish you the best of luck. - Thank you. 977 00:59:15,010 --> 00:59:16,344 - Thank you. - Thanks for coming down. 978 00:59:16,345 --> 00:59:17,763 [Knaus] The green flag was gonna fall. 979 00:59:20,307 --> 00:59:24,477 And we have to go for 24 hours straight with that Camaro. 980 00:59:24,478 --> 00:59:25,854 [crowd cheering] 981 00:59:33,362 --> 00:59:36,490 I would go get staged, 'cause it's gonna be chaos down there. 982 00:59:38,075 --> 00:59:41,452 [announcer] It's a huge effort from these manufacturers 983 00:59:41,453 --> 00:59:45,291 to bring all these cars, most of them new racing this season, 984 00:59:45,791 --> 00:59:46,833 to the grid here. 985 00:59:46,834 --> 00:59:51,255 And they are absolutely blown away by the reception from the crowd. 986 00:59:54,133 --> 00:59:57,427 [Rowe-Hook] We would watch the whole, entire pit road 987 00:59:57,428 --> 01:00:00,471 just kind of slowly make its way to the end where we were at. 988 01:00:00,472 --> 01:00:01,807 That was pretty cool to see. 989 01:00:06,520 --> 01:00:10,024 [announcer, in French] The basketball player in the house, LeBron James. 990 01:00:11,442 --> 01:00:12,942 [Button, in English] This is the first time 991 01:00:12,943 --> 01:00:14,570 I've been part of something like this. 992 01:00:15,571 --> 01:00:16,572 We're actually here. 993 01:00:17,114 --> 01:00:19,074 We're gonna race a NASCAR at Le Mans. 994 01:00:19,867 --> 01:00:23,202 It blew my mind, as it blew everyone else's mind at the Paddock. 995 01:00:23,203 --> 01:00:26,457 [crowd chanting] USA! 996 01:00:33,172 --> 01:00:34,589 America's taken over this year. 997 01:00:34,590 --> 01:00:36,257 [Johnson] It really has. 998 01:00:36,258 --> 01:00:38,926 [Hindhaugh] Sixty-two teams have jammed the grid. 999 01:00:38,927 --> 01:00:41,220 300,000 fans here 1000 01:00:41,221 --> 01:00:46,518 for the 100th anniversary edition of the 24 Hours at Le Mans. 1001 01:00:47,019 --> 01:00:49,063 The moment is at hand. 1002 01:00:51,648 --> 01:00:53,817 ["La Marseillaise" playing] 1003 01:00:54,693 --> 01:00:57,112 [crowd singing in French] 1004 01:01:11,001 --> 01:01:12,460 Hey, have fun. 1005 01:01:12,461 --> 01:01:13,629 Thank you, you too. 1006 01:01:15,047 --> 01:01:17,341 The race is declared wet. I didn't know. 1007 01:01:17,883 --> 01:01:19,009 Okay, thank you. 1008 01:01:27,684 --> 01:01:28,976 Rocky, have you got me? 1009 01:01:28,977 --> 01:01:30,354 {\an8}Loud and clear. 1010 01:01:31,772 --> 01:01:33,148 [in French] Drivers... 1011 01:01:33,357 --> 01:01:34,357 ...start... 1012 01:01:34,358 --> 01:01:35,691 ...your... 1013 01:01:35,692 --> 01:01:36,902 ...engines. 1014 01:01:37,694 --> 01:01:40,197 - [Knaus, in English] Yeah, let's fire. - [engine starts] 1015 01:01:41,407 --> 01:01:42,907 [Hindhaugh] The engines have roared to life. 1016 01:01:42,908 --> 01:01:46,077 We are so close to four o'clock in the afternoon. 1017 01:01:46,078 --> 01:01:51,582 1600 hours and the start of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 1018 01:01:51,583 --> 01:01:53,084 [Knaus] I appreciate everybody's hard work, 1019 01:01:53,085 --> 01:01:55,628 dedication and determination to get us to this point. 1020 01:01:55,629 --> 01:01:58,631 Drivers, go pilot this thing with pride. 1021 01:01:58,632 --> 01:02:00,091 Let's service it here with pride. 1022 01:02:00,092 --> 01:02:02,802 And let's go out there and get us a 24-hour race in. 1023 01:02:02,803 --> 01:02:04,179 Thank you all for everything. 1024 01:02:04,888 --> 01:02:06,431 [helicopter whirring] 1025 01:02:06,432 --> 01:02:10,894 {\an8}[official] Garage 56, you are in the group of LMP2s. 1026 01:02:11,395 --> 01:02:13,313 {\an8}Let's stay with them please. 1027 01:02:15,816 --> 01:02:19,903 [announcer] The world's oldest active endurance racing event. 1028 01:02:21,864 --> 01:02:23,656 [Hindhaugh] The grandstand is packed. 1029 01:02:23,657 --> 01:02:29,872 It's 1600 and the second century of Le Mans endurance racing starts now. 1030 01:02:35,794 --> 01:02:38,755 Le Mans 2023 is underway. 1031 01:02:40,215 --> 01:02:41,466 [announcer, in French] Watch out, 1032 01:02:41,467 --> 01:02:44,261 the start with the first attacks from behind. Watch out! 1033 01:02:59,818 --> 01:03:02,236 [official, in English] We have started the 91st edition 1034 01:03:02,237 --> 01:03:04,363 of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 1035 01:03:04,364 --> 01:03:07,534 100 years since the first race took place. 1036 01:03:08,660 --> 01:03:10,329 [cheering] 1037 01:03:17,127 --> 01:03:19,337 [announcer] So much to watch and best of all, 1038 01:03:19,338 --> 01:03:21,507 it's that perpetual treat, the sound. 1039 01:03:23,342 --> 01:03:26,595 Magnificent engine though of the Chevrolet Camaro. 1040 01:03:27,095 --> 01:03:28,597 [King] This car is so loud. 1041 01:03:30,516 --> 01:03:34,185 A lot of the other cars are whizzing by just... [imitates race car] 1042 01:03:34,186 --> 01:03:36,897 And then the Garage 56 car... 1043 01:03:42,069 --> 01:03:46,949 It's this deep, guttural wail that shakes everything. 1044 01:03:47,533 --> 01:03:48,992 [imitates engine noise] 1045 01:03:50,285 --> 01:03:54,623 And we were like, "Hell yeah! Go, America! Rah." 1046 01:04:01,213 --> 01:04:02,630 [Hindhaugh] Ooh, there's a barrier there. 1047 01:04:02,631 --> 01:04:05,509 [announcer] It's a 311 into the barrier on the exit of the first chicane. 1048 01:04:06,635 --> 01:04:08,636 [groans, muttering] 1049 01:04:08,637 --> 01:04:10,555 [Ives] There... There's a crash exit... 1050 01:04:10,556 --> 01:04:12,265 Exit of the chicane. Crash ahead. 1051 01:04:12,266 --> 01:04:13,849 Stay right. Stay right. 1052 01:04:13,850 --> 01:04:16,102 [Hindhaugh] Coming out of the Daytona Chicane 1053 01:04:16,103 --> 01:04:18,897 and has absolutely ruined the front end of that car. 1054 01:04:19,398 --> 01:04:21,816 [Knaus] Who would have thought that a 24-hour race 1055 01:04:21,817 --> 01:04:24,444 was gonna start out like a-a-a demolition derby? 1056 01:04:25,737 --> 01:04:29,073 [announcer, in French] One car off the track! Help! 1057 01:04:29,074 --> 01:04:31,118 - [all groaning] - [in English] No. 1058 01:04:33,537 --> 01:04:34,787 [announcer 1] Here's the 32. 1059 01:04:34,788 --> 01:04:36,497 [announcer 2] Just ahead of the NASCAR there. 1060 01:04:36,498 --> 01:04:39,208 [announcer 3] With those slick tires, it is literally like driving on ice. 1061 01:04:39,209 --> 01:04:44,131 To throw it away this early on in a 24-hour race, is just absolutely crazy. 1062 01:04:44,840 --> 01:04:46,258 Rocky, did you hit any debris? 1063 01:04:53,140 --> 01:04:55,975 {\an8}[Rockenfeller] Uh, I tried to avoid as much as I could. 1064 01:04:55,976 --> 01:04:58,812 {\an8}Tire pressure looks okay all round. 1065 01:05:04,693 --> 01:05:07,154 [Ives] We will pit this time. We will pit this time. 1066 01:05:07,654 --> 01:05:08,655 Driver change. 1067 01:05:09,197 --> 01:05:10,198 {\an8}[Rockenfeller] Copy. 1068 01:05:13,660 --> 01:05:16,913 [Ives] Here in five, four, three, two, one. 1069 01:05:28,467 --> 01:05:30,177 Okay, fire when ready. 1070 01:05:30,677 --> 01:05:32,220 - [engine revs] - [Ives] Go, go, go. 1071 01:05:32,763 --> 01:05:34,722 You're gonna have three GTEs coming up behind you. 1072 01:05:34,723 --> 01:05:37,183 Reminder, cold tires, cold brakes. 1073 01:05:37,184 --> 01:05:41,688 [Hindhaugh] Jimmie Johnson now behind the wheel of the Hendrick number 24. 1074 01:05:44,483 --> 01:05:46,859 {\an8}- [crew member] Car was good. - [Rockenfeller] Yeah, but we are... 1075 01:05:46,860 --> 01:05:49,362 {\an8}we are missing a bit of straight line and then bit of balance, 1076 01:05:49,363 --> 01:05:51,155 {\an8}um, I think right now. 1077 01:05:51,156 --> 01:05:52,449 [engine rumbles] 1078 01:06:00,165 --> 01:06:02,166 [Hindhaugh] Twenty-two hours to go. 1079 01:06:02,167 --> 01:06:05,128 Feels like we've been really through the wringer already though. 1080 01:06:05,837 --> 01:06:08,131 [Knaus] Doing a great job, Jimmie. Doing a great job. 1081 01:06:11,927 --> 01:06:13,345 [Hindhaugh] Oh, huge off! 1082 01:06:13,845 --> 01:06:16,264 It's absolutely destroyed the right-hand side. 1083 01:06:18,475 --> 01:06:20,101 Jimmie, there's big wreck, just for awareness. 1084 01:06:20,102 --> 01:06:21,227 [Johnson] Copy. 1085 01:06:21,228 --> 01:06:23,437 [Knaus] Watch for debris. Watch for debris. 1086 01:06:23,438 --> 01:06:25,231 [Hindhaugh] The Cadillac, number three, 1087 01:06:25,232 --> 01:06:27,525 got a whack as well at the top of the hill. 1088 01:06:27,526 --> 01:06:31,112 Ricky Taylor, who has crashed into the barrier. 1089 01:06:31,113 --> 01:06:34,198 [announcer] That was a massive hit. A massive hit. 1090 01:06:34,199 --> 01:06:35,825 There is going to be a slow zone, 1091 01:06:35,826 --> 01:06:39,787 {\an8}uh, exit of Porsche Curves, zone nine, right before start/finish line. 1092 01:06:39,788 --> 01:06:43,792 {\an8}Zone one and zone three off of Tertre Rouge. 1093 01:06:44,418 --> 01:06:46,545 {\an8}[Johnson] Okay, zone one, zone three, slow zones. 1094 01:06:47,379 --> 01:06:49,547 {\an8}Yeah, it's like playing the Hokey Pokey. 1095 01:06:49,548 --> 01:06:52,883 We're gonna be making a call on whether to pit you here. 1096 01:06:52,884 --> 01:06:54,927 I don't disagree, Greg. You can... 1097 01:06:54,928 --> 01:06:57,555 He's been there long enough if you want to make that change. 1098 01:06:57,556 --> 01:06:58,557 I think it's acceptable. 1099 01:06:59,266 --> 01:07:03,102 We wanted to make sure every driver got an opportunity to get in the car 1100 01:07:03,103 --> 01:07:05,312 because we didn't know what was gonna happen. 1101 01:07:05,313 --> 01:07:09,192 We could break on the fourth hour and, you know, only one driver get in. 1102 01:07:09,776 --> 01:07:11,318 The driver's ready. The tires are ready. 1103 01:07:11,319 --> 01:07:12,529 Change. Yeah. 1104 01:07:13,113 --> 01:07:16,158 [Ives] Yeah, 10-4. Pitting this time. Driver change. 1105 01:07:18,994 --> 01:07:21,663 [Button] You don't want to be thinking too much as a driver. 1106 01:07:24,040 --> 01:07:27,042 There's a lot going on and it's about you just relaxing. 1107 01:07:27,043 --> 01:07:29,546 Focusing on what you need to focus on. 1108 01:07:37,471 --> 01:07:40,431 [Ives] Three, two, one. 1109 01:07:40,432 --> 01:07:41,516 Go. 1110 01:07:45,187 --> 01:07:47,855 [announcer] Jenson Button, Formula 1 world champion, 1111 01:07:47,856 --> 01:07:51,693 gets the honor in a Chevrolet NASCAR Cup car. 1112 01:08:00,076 --> 01:08:01,368 [Knaus] Jenson, you're doing a good job. 1113 01:08:01,369 --> 01:08:05,331 This whole block of GTE cars that you're catching will be for position. 1114 01:08:05,332 --> 01:08:06,832 [Button] We were in a category of one 1115 01:08:06,833 --> 01:08:10,629 but we wanted to finish in front of the GTE cars. 1116 01:08:11,421 --> 01:08:12,922 So at that moment, it's like, 1117 01:08:12,923 --> 01:08:16,300 "Right, this is where we need to make up some time and some positions." 1118 01:08:16,301 --> 01:08:19,136 {\an8}Where are we now? What position are we in the GTEs? 1119 01:08:19,137 --> 01:08:23,390 We are, uh, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. 1120 01:08:23,391 --> 01:08:25,184 But we're on the lead lap. 1121 01:08:25,185 --> 01:08:28,730 And I love that challenge of hunting cars down. 1122 01:08:41,159 --> 01:08:43,494 [Ives] GTE cars are running 3:57s right now. 1123 01:08:43,495 --> 01:08:44,954 The 54 is the leader. 1124 01:08:44,955 --> 01:08:46,539 Fifty-four is the leader. 1125 01:08:46,540 --> 01:08:47,790 {\an8}[Button] That's pretty good then. 1126 01:08:47,791 --> 01:08:50,918 {\an8}If we can have a couple of seconds on him a lap that's, uh, that's pretty good. 1127 01:08:50,919 --> 01:08:55,507 [in French] The #24, the NASCAR. It's Jenson Button. 1128 01:08:56,591 --> 01:09:00,302 We're seeing a lot of support 1129 01:09:00,303 --> 01:09:04,140 for this #24 team. 1130 01:09:05,141 --> 01:09:07,184 [Ives, in English] Need to keep pushing hard on this set of tires. 1131 01:09:07,185 --> 01:09:09,187 {\an8}[Button] What position are we in the GTEs? 1132 01:09:10,730 --> 01:09:13,191 [Ives] Uh, looks like second. 1133 01:09:14,025 --> 01:09:15,068 You need to have a challenge. 1134 01:09:17,112 --> 01:09:18,113 {\an8}And I loved it. 1135 01:09:26,872 --> 01:09:29,207 Feels weird that this could all be over in 18 hours. 1136 01:09:31,751 --> 01:09:35,589 [Hindhaugh] It's starting to get just a little bit darker now. 1137 01:09:36,631 --> 01:09:39,134 [Button] The best time of the race for me was sunset. 1138 01:09:40,468 --> 01:09:43,138 The most difficult time to drive 'cause the sun's in your eyes. 1139 01:09:44,222 --> 01:09:48,560 But when night falls, it's a real special feeling. 1140 01:09:51,980 --> 01:09:56,400 [Button] Sixty-two cars just shedding, shedding tires, shedding rubber. 1141 01:09:56,401 --> 01:09:57,902 It's like a war zone out on track. 1142 01:09:57,903 --> 01:10:01,488 There's one racing line but you're overtaking cars all the time. 1143 01:10:01,489 --> 01:10:04,116 It's the best moment in a racing car. 1144 01:10:04,117 --> 01:10:05,160 Absolutely loved it. 1145 01:10:07,829 --> 01:10:09,456 How many more laps till we need to pit, Jessica? 1146 01:10:11,541 --> 01:10:13,334 [Rowe-Hook] Seven laps next time by. 1147 01:10:13,335 --> 01:10:15,836 [Knaus] With all of these cautions, 1148 01:10:15,837 --> 01:10:18,505 you know, unfortunately it caught us in a bit of a pinch. 1149 01:10:18,506 --> 01:10:21,927 Last thing we wanna do is just put Jimmie out there at nighttime, right? 1150 01:10:23,386 --> 01:10:24,511 Three hours, you good? 1151 01:10:24,512 --> 01:10:25,846 I'm good. 1152 01:10:25,847 --> 01:10:28,098 We didn't want him out there in just the dark of night. 1153 01:10:28,099 --> 01:10:30,476 And we didn't want him out there and the rain to start. 1154 01:10:30,477 --> 01:10:32,978 So we're watching the weather and everything looks great, 1155 01:10:32,979 --> 01:10:34,980 let's go ahead and drop Jimmie in the car. 1156 01:10:34,981 --> 01:10:38,276 Pit this time. Pit this time. [indistinct] unplug and off. 1157 01:10:38,944 --> 01:10:40,569 Driver change here. 1158 01:10:40,570 --> 01:10:42,446 You got... You got some gaps. 1159 01:10:42,447 --> 01:10:47,117 Just-Just get a good rhythm and log some miles right now. 1160 01:10:47,118 --> 01:10:49,162 You always enter a race with a strategy. 1161 01:10:50,956 --> 01:10:53,625 But rarely do things play out as you would hope. 1162 01:10:54,459 --> 01:10:56,419 [Ives] Three, two, one. 1163 01:10:56,920 --> 01:10:58,630 Forty-two seconds of fuel. 1164 01:11:00,048 --> 01:11:02,174 [Johnson] I've been endurance racing enough, 1165 01:11:02,175 --> 01:11:04,134 there's always something that's going to haunt you 1166 01:11:04,135 --> 01:11:05,929 and put a little stress in your life. 1167 01:11:06,638 --> 01:11:08,430 [Ives] Radio check. 1168 01:11:08,431 --> 01:11:09,766 {\an8}[Johnson] Yep. 1169 01:11:14,187 --> 01:11:17,189 [official] We're getting rain reports on track. 1170 01:11:17,190 --> 01:11:20,110 We're getting some rain reports on track. 1171 01:11:21,569 --> 01:11:24,656 [Rowe-Hook] Okay, it is starting to sprinkle out here on pit road. 1172 01:11:25,907 --> 01:11:27,199 Shit. 1173 01:11:27,200 --> 01:11:30,286 All right. Make him aware, Greg. We're heading that direction. 1174 01:11:30,996 --> 01:11:33,832 There's reports of rain entering turn one and two. 1175 01:11:34,666 --> 01:11:36,792 Need your rain light turned on. 1176 01:11:36,793 --> 01:11:39,045 {\an8}[Johnson] I need to turn on my rain lights? 1177 01:11:39,754 --> 01:11:42,048 - [Knaus] Yes. - [announcer] Here is more drama. 1178 01:11:42,632 --> 01:11:45,217 Spits and spots of rain. 1179 01:11:45,218 --> 01:11:47,595 There's heavy rain in the pit lane. 1180 01:11:48,388 --> 01:11:50,639 [Johnson] I don't have a ton of wet driving experience. 1181 01:11:50,640 --> 01:11:54,519 And sure enough, they put me in. And it just... complete downpour. 1182 01:11:56,438 --> 01:11:58,939 It's raining hard out there, Greg, on pit road. 1183 01:11:58,940 --> 01:12:03,653 [announcer] It's now coming down much, much harder. 1184 01:12:04,404 --> 01:12:05,572 It's pouring. 1185 01:12:06,281 --> 01:12:08,450 {\an8}[Johnson] Yeah, I'm flying off the track. 1186 01:12:09,492 --> 01:12:11,369 10-4. Nice and easy through here. 1187 01:12:12,245 --> 01:12:17,083 [Johnson] There are seasoned sports car drivers wrecking everywhere. 1188 01:12:17,709 --> 01:12:20,962 There were a few very frightening moments out there on track. 1189 01:12:22,005 --> 01:12:24,549 But ultimately, in the back of my mind was, 1190 01:12:25,341 --> 01:12:27,343 we... I cannot make a mistake. 1191 01:12:27,844 --> 01:12:32,306 Very, very difficult for the drivers now. It's becoming a race of survival. 1192 01:12:32,307 --> 01:12:35,100 The NASCAR Chevy with Jimmie Johnson 1193 01:12:35,101 --> 01:12:38,229 getting round okay but under very, very slow conditions. 1194 01:12:39,898 --> 01:12:42,067 [Button] NASCAR, they don't race in the wet. 1195 01:12:42,567 --> 01:12:44,360 He had the worse conditions. 1196 01:12:44,903 --> 01:12:48,531 And he has the least amount of experience in those conditions. 1197 01:12:49,866 --> 01:12:51,784 [Knaus] Make sure you're staying on line, Jimmie. 1198 01:12:51,785 --> 01:12:53,703 Make sure you're staying on line. 1199 01:12:57,499 --> 01:13:00,877 [Ives] Nice and easy here. You're coming to the worst part of the track here. 1200 01:13:01,377 --> 01:13:04,880 [Knaus] We put him out there in the absolute worst possible conditions 1201 01:13:04,881 --> 01:13:07,550 we possibly could have for a rookie driver. 1202 01:13:11,096 --> 01:13:13,139 And he did flawless. He did amazing. 1203 01:13:14,224 --> 01:13:16,392 [Ives] Go hard and pass this car on track now. 1204 01:13:17,352 --> 01:13:20,521 [Knaus] You're doing a great job. Class leaders, one straightaway ahead. 1205 01:13:20,522 --> 01:13:23,274 Catching up. Good catching. You're doing a great job. 1206 01:13:24,109 --> 01:13:25,443 {\an8}[Johnson] 10-4. 1207 01:13:39,499 --> 01:13:42,210 Jimmie did something there that he hadn't done in his life. 1208 01:13:43,294 --> 01:13:45,213 He elevated his status. 1209 01:13:49,843 --> 01:13:51,803 [Johnson] That was awesome. So much fun. 1210 01:13:53,388 --> 01:13:55,180 I mean, there were some really sketchy moments 1211 01:13:55,181 --> 01:13:58,184 but all in all, um, I had a great time. 1212 01:13:58,935 --> 01:14:01,145 [Ives] We were talking about like, oh, you know, 1213 01:14:01,146 --> 01:14:03,522 should have a good transition into the night. 1214 01:14:03,523 --> 01:14:05,274 - [Johnson] Yeah. - Get your eyes adjusted. 1215 01:14:05,275 --> 01:14:07,943 Somewhere I heard there wasn't rain for an hour at least. 1216 01:14:07,944 --> 01:14:09,403 - Or it was like 10%. - No, no. 1217 01:14:09,404 --> 01:14:12,781 What's funny is you said "rain light on," and I didn't... 1218 01:14:12,782 --> 01:14:14,283 [stammers] I'm like, all right. 1219 01:14:14,284 --> 01:14:16,702 Then I came around the corner and it was pouring. 1220 01:14:16,703 --> 01:14:18,496 I'm like, okay. Now I get it. 1221 01:14:19,122 --> 01:14:24,710 But the nighttime, you can really use, uh, the lateral grip off. 1222 01:14:24,711 --> 01:14:28,463 And also the breaking performance is up. So, um... Yeah. 1223 01:14:28,464 --> 01:14:31,634 We can be really aggressive right now. Car is-- Car is great. 1224 01:14:42,020 --> 01:14:45,522 [announcer 2] There's the Camaro. The NASCAR to Le Mans entry. 1225 01:14:45,523 --> 01:14:49,776 And everybody associated with this program is just over-the-moon happy 1226 01:14:49,777 --> 01:14:51,236 with how things have been going. 1227 01:14:51,237 --> 01:14:53,990 Mike Rockenfeller behind the wheel of the car now. 1228 01:14:57,327 --> 01:15:00,412 [Rockenfeller] Racing at night is for me the coolest part. 1229 01:15:00,413 --> 01:15:03,373 When you are out there, I always love it, you know. 1230 01:15:03,374 --> 01:15:06,920 And you are in your rhythm and you push it to the limit. 1231 01:15:07,545 --> 01:15:10,172 [Ives] You're doing a great job. You're making up time. 1232 01:15:10,173 --> 01:15:11,341 Keep doing what you're doing. 1233 01:15:13,843 --> 01:15:16,970 [announcer 3] Just after 2:00 in the morning, Circuit de la Sarthe. 1234 01:15:16,971 --> 01:15:19,641 No shortage of action here. 1235 01:15:30,318 --> 01:15:33,488 [King] In the middle of the night at Le Mans, you're tired. 1236 01:15:34,197 --> 01:15:36,574 But every single four minutes, 1237 01:15:37,158 --> 01:15:39,494 this car wails by. 1238 01:15:40,453 --> 01:15:42,746 And everybody's nodding off and then-- 1239 01:15:42,747 --> 01:15:44,332 Oh, there it is. It's there again. 1240 01:15:48,294 --> 01:15:52,757 [Ives] Pit this time. Pit this time. Go get, uh, Jenson down there. 1241 01:15:53,675 --> 01:15:55,510 [crew member] Yeah, 10-4. We're ready. 1242 01:16:14,904 --> 01:16:16,863 [Rockenfeller] Imagine you jump out of a race car, 1243 01:16:16,864 --> 01:16:20,075 you're full of adrenaline and you're pumped up. 1244 01:16:20,076 --> 01:16:23,037 It's super difficult to switch off. 1245 01:16:24,038 --> 01:16:26,081 And you don't have that much time to rest. 1246 01:16:26,082 --> 01:16:32,045 So it's important just to get your rest because otherwise you pay for it later on. 1247 01:16:32,046 --> 01:16:35,216 And you need to be focused every time you're in the car. 1248 01:16:41,180 --> 01:16:43,391 - Like this? - Yeah, it's like, if you, like... 1249 01:16:48,855 --> 01:16:50,230 [physical therapist] How are the belts? 1250 01:16:50,231 --> 01:16:51,815 [Rockenfeller] The belts were good. 1251 01:16:51,816 --> 01:16:54,067 It's just the right arm I feel a little bit. 1252 01:16:54,068 --> 01:16:55,320 - This arm? - Yeah. 1253 01:16:55,903 --> 01:16:58,405 I don't know why. It must be the steering or... 1254 01:16:58,406 --> 01:16:59,865 It doesn't bother you in the car. 1255 01:16:59,866 --> 01:17:01,408 - You just notice it afterwards? - No. 1256 01:17:01,409 --> 01:17:04,619 Well, yeah, or while driving. And then you stretch a bit. 1257 01:17:04,620 --> 01:17:06,788 But I've never had this, it's just in this car. 1258 01:17:06,789 --> 01:17:09,624 Must be something with the shape of the wheel. 1259 01:17:09,625 --> 01:17:10,792 Right. 1260 01:17:10,793 --> 01:17:13,880 So, I need to be a bit careful now. 1261 01:17:14,714 --> 01:17:17,008 Oh, man. I'm tired. 1262 01:17:37,028 --> 01:17:38,279 [Hindhaugh] Good morning. 1263 01:17:39,030 --> 01:17:41,740 [announcer] Regardless of what happens from here, 1264 01:17:41,741 --> 01:17:45,369 what we've seen so far has been truly spectacular. 1265 01:17:45,370 --> 01:17:48,955 The Hendrick Motorsports Chevy Camaro putting on a brilliant show 1266 01:17:48,956 --> 01:17:51,626 with some of the best drivers in the world. 1267 01:17:53,086 --> 01:17:54,545 [Button] Sunrise was 1268 01:17:55,296 --> 01:17:56,422 epic. 1269 01:17:57,423 --> 01:17:58,966 {\an8}And it always is at Le Mans. 1270 01:18:00,218 --> 01:18:03,512 The cars are covered in rubber, oil, 1271 01:18:03,513 --> 01:18:05,723 you know, the windscreen's a bit of a mess 1272 01:18:06,516 --> 01:18:07,891 but you don't care. 1273 01:18:07,892 --> 01:18:11,729 You've made it through the night. And it's just-- It's a great time. 1274 01:18:14,357 --> 01:18:16,234 [Knaus] The drivers kept upping their game. 1275 01:18:17,110 --> 01:18:19,694 The next thing you know, we're running like 26th 1276 01:18:19,695 --> 01:18:23,532 in front of the whole GTE class and some of the LMP2 cars. 1277 01:18:23,533 --> 01:18:25,410 Like, how did this happen? 1278 01:18:26,953 --> 01:18:28,161 {\an8}[announcer] And they're one of the... 1279 01:18:28,162 --> 01:18:30,664 {\an8}In terms of incidents and technical issues, 1280 01:18:30,665 --> 01:18:33,375 they're probably one of the cars that's running most like clockwork 1281 01:18:33,376 --> 01:18:34,794 out in the entire field. 1282 01:18:35,461 --> 01:18:37,671 [Hindhaugh] I mean, take a look at that leaderboard. 1283 01:18:37,672 --> 01:18:41,925 The Camaro is outrunning every GTE car in the race. 1284 01:18:41,926 --> 01:18:45,388 That's astonishing. So impressive. 1285 01:18:49,475 --> 01:18:52,519 You're doing a great job, Rocky. Continue to manage your brakes for us. 1286 01:18:52,520 --> 01:18:54,856 Continue to manage the brakes. You're doing awesome. 1287 01:18:57,066 --> 01:18:58,443 [Rockenfeller] Yeah. All good. 1288 01:19:02,363 --> 01:19:03,823 So, brakes. 1289 01:19:04,824 --> 01:19:06,158 Left front's not bad. 1290 01:19:06,159 --> 01:19:07,826 You can see both wear indicators. 1291 01:19:07,827 --> 01:19:11,455 The right front, the circle is starting to fill in with carbon. 1292 01:19:11,456 --> 01:19:13,623 So that means it's getting really, really thin. 1293 01:19:13,624 --> 01:19:16,710 So what we're gonna need to do is just kind of monitor and have Rocky, 1294 01:19:16,711 --> 01:19:20,088 if he starts to feel the pedal start to get soft or anything like that, 1295 01:19:20,089 --> 01:19:21,424 we're just gonna have to change 'em. 1296 01:19:25,261 --> 01:19:28,221 [Ives] Five, four, three, two, one. 1297 01:19:28,222 --> 01:19:29,599 Stop on the sign. 1298 01:19:37,315 --> 01:19:38,566 Are you ready to go? 1299 01:19:39,817 --> 01:19:40,818 Go, go. 1300 01:19:41,736 --> 01:19:44,030 {\an8}[Button] The brake's gone to the floor, the brake pedal. 1301 01:19:49,869 --> 01:19:51,786 {\an8}The brake is going to the floor. 1302 01:19:51,787 --> 01:19:54,999 {\an8}[Ives] Skates, skates, skates. 1303 01:19:56,834 --> 01:19:58,836 [metal clanking] 1304 01:20:11,015 --> 01:20:13,684 [Knaus] The team worked flawlessly. 1305 01:20:15,144 --> 01:20:18,564 Boom. Everybody knew exactly what they were supposed to do. 1306 01:20:19,815 --> 01:20:23,109 The guys are bringing in the calipers and the rotors from the back of the house 1307 01:20:23,110 --> 01:20:24,654 all the way up to the front. 1308 01:20:25,613 --> 01:20:27,822 [Ives] Pump up the pedal here. Pump up the pedal. 1309 01:20:27,823 --> 01:20:29,534 Nice and slow. Nice and slow. 1310 01:20:30,159 --> 01:20:31,160 {\an8}[Button] All is good. 1311 01:20:32,036 --> 01:20:34,204 [Knaus] And it wasn't but a matter of minutes, 1312 01:20:34,205 --> 01:20:36,873 we had had it fixed, changed and back out in pit road. 1313 01:20:36,874 --> 01:20:38,918 [Ives] Okay. Ready? Go, go, go, go. 1314 01:20:40,294 --> 01:20:43,797 {\an8}Hey, guys. I know that was a pain in the ass but good job doing that. 1315 01:20:43,798 --> 01:20:45,508 Good job, everybody. Great work. 1316 01:20:46,884 --> 01:20:48,469 Broke the brake bleeder off. 1317 01:20:49,595 --> 01:20:51,097 [crew member] Oh, on the left front. 1318 01:20:56,102 --> 01:20:58,812 - [Taylor] That's hard to get in there. - [crew member] Yeah. 1319 01:20:58,813 --> 01:21:01,356 [crew member 2] Pick up? Or something in the wheel? 1320 01:21:01,357 --> 01:21:03,066 [Taylor] No, you know it was fine all the way in. 1321 01:21:03,067 --> 01:21:05,111 It must have been on the wheel change. 1322 01:21:05,611 --> 01:21:08,489 You guys did an awesome job, so five hours to go. 1323 01:21:09,615 --> 01:21:11,283 [Hindhaugh] Hendrick Motorsports, 1324 01:21:11,284 --> 01:21:15,705 the innovation car that has gone out and come back again. 1325 01:21:17,373 --> 01:21:20,875 The adventure continues for the innovation car, 1326 01:21:20,876 --> 01:21:25,380 the number 24 Hendrick Motorsports seventh-gen Cup car. 1327 01:21:25,381 --> 01:21:31,095 {\an8}Jenson Button is driving in the middle at the moment of the GTE arms. 1328 01:21:32,263 --> 01:21:37,310 It still looks great and it's still running absolutely brilliantly well. 1329 01:21:45,568 --> 01:21:47,570 [engine rumbling] 1330 01:21:50,406 --> 01:21:53,326 {\an8}[Button] Oh, guys. I think we've lost the gearbox. 1331 01:21:58,497 --> 01:22:01,292 There's a really bad sound. Really bad. 1332 01:22:03,169 --> 01:22:04,210 Looks like the transmission. 1333 01:22:04,211 --> 01:22:07,631 His rev lights kept going, uh, there's no drive. 1334 01:22:07,632 --> 01:22:10,801 Okay, 10-4. Just manage your pace then here. 1335 01:22:12,053 --> 01:22:14,847 {\an8}[Button] There's no drive in first gear, staying in second. 1336 01:22:16,307 --> 01:22:21,479 [announcer] There is drama out on track for the Hendrick Motorsports Cup car. 1337 01:22:22,313 --> 01:22:25,358 [Knaus] Jenson, you're saying it's making noise and vibrating? 1338 01:22:26,150 --> 01:22:28,152 {\an8}[Button] Yeah, really badly. 1339 01:22:28,736 --> 01:22:31,946 [Knaus] One of the things that is unique to Le Mans, 1340 01:22:31,947 --> 01:22:36,493 if your car is out there and it won't run or it won't drive, 1341 01:22:36,494 --> 01:22:39,496 they're just gonna move it into a holding area. 1342 01:22:39,497 --> 01:22:43,209 And that's where, basically, the car stays until the next day after the race is over. 1343 01:22:44,126 --> 01:22:45,378 It's done. Your race is over. 1344 01:22:48,673 --> 01:22:51,842 [Button] I'm just going slowly at the moment. Driving in second. 1345 01:22:54,136 --> 01:22:55,513 [Ives] It was nerve-racking. 1346 01:22:56,055 --> 01:22:58,598 And I was like, "Maybe head on back to the garage," 1347 01:22:58,599 --> 01:23:02,520 because you didn't want to get out of gear and not be able to get back in. 1348 01:23:03,020 --> 01:23:06,148 Remember you're in second gear. So try to manage your pace here. 1349 01:23:06,816 --> 01:23:10,443 [official] We have a slow car on track approaching MP30. 1350 01:23:10,444 --> 01:23:12,279 We have a slow car on track. 1351 01:23:13,447 --> 01:23:15,657 [Hindhaugh] Painfully slow for that Camaro. 1352 01:23:15,658 --> 01:23:20,829 If Jenson Button can't make it back to pit lane, that's it for the team. 1353 01:23:20,830 --> 01:23:22,373 They'd be out of the race, 1354 01:23:23,582 --> 01:23:25,418 after all that effort. 1355 01:23:29,296 --> 01:23:33,467 [Button] You gotta get it home, right? That's the aim when you have an issue. 1356 01:23:34,468 --> 01:23:36,010 But the problem is it was-- 1357 01:23:36,011 --> 01:23:39,264 I was stuck in second gear on the fastest part of the track. 1358 01:23:39,265 --> 01:23:42,058 So, you know, through the Porsche Curves. 1359 01:23:42,059 --> 01:23:46,146 And you've got the hypercars coming through there at 130 miles an hour, 1360 01:23:46,147 --> 01:23:48,566 and you're doing 30 miles an hour. 1361 01:23:49,150 --> 01:23:50,484 Which is kind of scary. 1362 01:24:01,203 --> 01:24:03,997 [Knaus] He was able to limp all the way around the racetrack 1363 01:24:03,998 --> 01:24:05,583 in second gear, which-- 1364 01:24:06,208 --> 01:24:09,627 How second gear did not explode and get destroyed, 1365 01:24:09,628 --> 01:24:12,672 and allowed us to get to pit road, I have no idea. 1366 01:24:12,673 --> 01:24:15,551 [Ives] Bring it to the garage here. We'll skate it in. 1367 01:24:17,636 --> 01:24:20,180 [Knaus] The car came into the pit area, got up on skates, 1368 01:24:20,181 --> 01:24:23,976 came in, went up on four stands. And it was all hands on deck once again. 1369 01:24:31,650 --> 01:24:35,570 [announcer] Bit of a drama for the Hendrick Motorsport Camaro. New gearbox. 1370 01:24:35,571 --> 01:24:37,113 [announcer 2] Ooh, okay. 1371 01:24:37,114 --> 01:24:39,033 [announcer] That is the first significant delay. 1372 01:24:40,701 --> 01:24:43,119 [announcer 3] And possibly a big situation. 1373 01:24:43,120 --> 01:24:45,206 That could be a big, big change. 1374 01:24:46,457 --> 01:24:49,125 [Rockenfeller] Can we change it? How long does it take? 1375 01:24:49,126 --> 01:24:51,085 We never practiced that. 1376 01:24:51,086 --> 01:24:54,465 Like, we never did a gearbox change because we never had to. 1377 01:24:55,382 --> 01:24:57,717 I had the feeling that we might not make it back out there 1378 01:24:57,718 --> 01:24:59,053 because it might take too long. 1379 01:25:07,478 --> 01:25:08,646 [Button] That's a shame. 1380 01:25:09,980 --> 01:25:14,150 I was also being so much more gentle with it as well on the downshift. 1381 01:25:14,151 --> 01:25:17,738 Well, all we can do is try and finish now. 1382 01:25:26,038 --> 01:25:28,248 [Gordon] First time I heard that the gearbox issue, 1383 01:25:28,249 --> 01:25:29,833 we're gonna be down for, 1384 01:25:29,834 --> 01:25:32,919 {\an8}I think initially an hour and a half or what, some-some big number. 1385 01:25:32,920 --> 01:25:34,255 {\an8}I was like, "Oh, no." 1386 01:25:35,923 --> 01:25:39,801 We had to jump in and do what our team does, 1387 01:25:39,802 --> 01:25:43,848 which is just battle and fight and claw and get this fixed. 1388 01:25:44,765 --> 01:25:48,434 [Hindhaugh] It's all hands on deck down in the Hendrick Motorsport garage. 1389 01:25:48,435 --> 01:25:51,437 They're trying to get a fresh gearbox into the Camaro. 1390 01:25:51,438 --> 01:25:52,981 Will they have the time? 1391 01:25:52,982 --> 01:25:54,900 This could be the end of the road. 1392 01:25:55,442 --> 01:25:58,528 Just do me a solid here and just check everything one more time 1393 01:25:58,529 --> 01:25:59,779 after what we just did. 1394 01:25:59,780 --> 01:26:01,991 Just give everything a once over one more time. 1395 01:26:07,496 --> 01:26:11,040 When they called me to-to be ready, jump in the car and go, 1396 01:26:11,041 --> 01:26:12,835 it was actually earlier than I thought. 1397 01:26:14,587 --> 01:26:16,254 - Sorry, Rocky. - [Rockenfeller] All good. 1398 01:26:16,255 --> 01:26:17,714 They got done fast. 1399 01:26:17,715 --> 01:26:19,340 [mutters] 1400 01:26:19,341 --> 01:26:22,052 [Rockenfeller] I was happy that it was ready. 1401 01:26:27,850 --> 01:26:28,976 {\an8}Hey, Seb. 1402 01:26:29,977 --> 01:26:31,102 {\an8}Nah. 1403 01:26:31,103 --> 01:26:33,188 {\an8}[chattering] 1404 01:26:39,320 --> 01:26:41,779 It was Seb Vettel. You could have spoke with him. 1405 01:26:41,780 --> 01:26:43,323 - Oh, was it? - He was just on the phone. 1406 01:26:43,324 --> 01:26:46,576 He's like, "I thought you were done." I said "Americans don't give up." 1407 01:26:46,577 --> 01:26:48,870 - [Johnson laughing] - They don't quit. 1408 01:26:48,871 --> 01:26:50,496 - No. The Americans. - They never quit. 1409 01:26:50,497 --> 01:26:51,624 They never quit. 1410 01:26:52,124 --> 01:26:55,544 That's why they won the Second World War and we lost. 1411 01:26:56,420 --> 01:26:59,131 Don't-Don't mess with the Americans. 1412 01:27:04,094 --> 01:27:06,471 [Knaus] All right, confirming that. We're gonna get rolling out here. 1413 01:27:06,472 --> 01:27:10,142 We're gonna do an install with Mike. We need to make it to the finish. 1414 01:27:12,436 --> 01:27:13,896 [Doonan] Nobody panicked. 1415 01:27:14,605 --> 01:27:18,651 Never once did anyone think that we're not gonna cross the finish line. 1416 01:27:19,693 --> 01:27:23,072 When we pulled back out, the fans went crazy. 1417 01:27:23,739 --> 01:27:26,240 [Hindhaugh] There's cheers up and down the grandstands, 1418 01:27:26,241 --> 01:27:30,745 because the NASCAR Garage 56 Camaro is back out. 1419 01:27:30,746 --> 01:27:33,498 [Doonan] Rocky's right, you know. The Americans won't quit. 1420 01:27:33,499 --> 01:27:38,003 And, uh, it was, again, representing NASCAR. 1421 01:27:39,213 --> 01:27:41,589 [Hindhaugh] Brand-new gearbox is installed. 1422 01:27:41,590 --> 01:27:45,135 They are not going to be denied their run to the finish. 1423 01:27:46,637 --> 01:27:49,514 [Knaus] The lap time that Rocky was putting down at the end of the race, 1424 01:27:49,515 --> 01:27:51,140 I was like, "Dude, why were you going so fast?" 1425 01:27:51,141 --> 01:27:53,518 He was like, "Didn't have anything else to do." 1426 01:27:53,519 --> 01:27:57,481 [Rockenfeller] Honestly, I was pushing every lap as much as I could because 1427 01:27:59,108 --> 01:28:00,192 that's what you enjoy. 1428 01:28:02,236 --> 01:28:04,737 {\an8}Everything feels normal and good. 1429 01:28:04,738 --> 01:28:06,739 {\an8}Great job so far, guys. 1430 01:28:06,740 --> 01:28:08,909 {\an8}You can be proud of yourselves. That was really good. 1431 01:28:09,910 --> 01:28:12,745 {\an8}Rocky, that's a really good space you're in right there. 1432 01:28:12,746 --> 01:28:15,916 Just try to pace. Doing a good job. Nice and smooth. 1433 01:28:17,584 --> 01:28:21,922 Rocky went out and ran the fastest lap of the race for our car. 1434 01:28:32,307 --> 01:28:35,226 It's a special feeling, especially in this project, 1435 01:28:35,227 --> 01:28:36,937 to bring the car to the finish line. 1436 01:28:38,897 --> 01:28:41,984 I had the feeling that Jimmie deserved the finish. 1437 01:28:48,115 --> 01:28:51,451 [Button] Who better to finish the race than seven-time NASCAR champion? 1438 01:28:51,452 --> 01:28:53,662 I mean, it has to be Jimmie Johnson. 1439 01:28:55,122 --> 01:28:58,750 [Ives] The bond that these drivers built, Jenson and Rocky came to me. 1440 01:28:58,751 --> 01:29:02,253 And it was like, Jimmie's never finished one of these races. 1441 01:29:02,254 --> 01:29:04,590 He's never crossed the finish line at Le Mans. 1442 01:29:06,842 --> 01:29:08,676 - [Button] You have fun, buddy. - [Johnson] Thank you. 1443 01:29:08,677 --> 01:29:10,011 Enjoy the next hour. 1444 01:29:10,012 --> 01:29:12,598 - [Johnson] Thank you. - It's gonna be awesome. [laughs] 1445 01:29:14,850 --> 01:29:16,225 [Johnson] It was incredible. 1446 01:29:16,226 --> 01:29:18,186 You know, the friendship and the relationship I have, 1447 01:29:18,187 --> 01:29:21,147 and the experience and them telling me this, and, you know, 1448 01:29:21,148 --> 01:29:24,233 the sincerity that I sensed in the moment just meant the world. 1449 01:29:24,234 --> 01:29:28,946 I mean, for both of them to also want to have that experience, 1450 01:29:28,947 --> 01:29:32,950 but look at me, allow that opportunity to happen, go lobby for it, 1451 01:29:32,951 --> 01:29:35,578 take themselves out of the-the opportunity. 1452 01:29:35,579 --> 01:29:36,914 Uh, it was really cool. 1453 01:29:38,832 --> 01:29:40,751 [Knaus] Radio check here, Jimmie. You got me? 1454 01:29:41,710 --> 01:29:42,878 [Johnson] Copy. 1455 01:29:43,545 --> 01:29:45,631 [Ives] All right. You can fire. Let's go. 1456 01:29:50,052 --> 01:29:52,428 - Go, Jimmie! - [people cheering] 1457 01:29:52,429 --> 01:29:54,389 - Look at him there. - [people laughing] 1458 01:29:55,641 --> 01:29:58,684 It's going to be good to see Jimmie... 1459 01:29:58,685 --> 01:30:00,145 ...finish this deal. 1460 01:30:00,646 --> 01:30:01,647 I completely agree. 1461 01:30:02,898 --> 01:30:04,108 It's very fitting. 1462 01:30:06,235 --> 01:30:08,444 [announcer] The NASCAR Garage 56 effort. 1463 01:30:08,445 --> 01:30:10,655 After all the cynicism about, you know, 1464 01:30:10,656 --> 01:30:13,992 a novelty entry melted away in a nanosecond. 1465 01:30:14,868 --> 01:30:18,746 The technology, the team spirit, the attitude, the outlook 1466 01:30:18,747 --> 01:30:21,040 have all been warmly embraced here. 1467 01:30:21,041 --> 01:30:24,293 And you've flown the flag very proudly. 1468 01:30:24,294 --> 01:30:26,254 Really nice work, Jimmie. Really nice work. 1469 01:30:26,255 --> 01:30:28,382 Straight and smooth, buddy. Doing awesome. 1470 01:30:31,343 --> 01:30:33,678 [Johnson] There was pressure to not make a mistake, 1471 01:30:33,679 --> 01:30:35,931 to really get this thing to the finish line. 1472 01:30:37,724 --> 01:30:39,934 But at the same time, I couldn't contain my excitement 1473 01:30:39,935 --> 01:30:44,565 in knowing that I was going to see a checkered flag at the 24 Hours Le Mans. 1474 01:30:50,737 --> 01:30:54,198 [Wright] You see everybody coming in, right? Like, getting ready. 1475 01:30:54,199 --> 01:30:57,243 But you have to kind of disconnect yourself from that 1476 01:30:57,244 --> 01:30:59,204 and really focus on the task. 1477 01:30:59,705 --> 01:31:01,707 We have to make sure this car finishes. 1478 01:31:02,791 --> 01:31:07,545 Everybody's starting to congregate together to celebrate this achievement, 1479 01:31:07,546 --> 01:31:12,217 all this work over the last year and a half that went into it for this moment. 1480 01:31:13,177 --> 01:31:17,513 To see Rick and Jim and the whole team that had this vision 1481 01:31:17,514 --> 01:31:20,141 and celebrate that moment was very special. 1482 01:31:20,142 --> 01:31:21,642 Something I'll never forget. 1483 01:31:21,643 --> 01:31:23,395 [Knaus] Got five more laps, boys. 1484 01:31:23,896 --> 01:31:26,272 Everybody is in our garage 1485 01:31:26,273 --> 01:31:30,277 and you have a flush of emotions. 1486 01:31:32,654 --> 01:31:37,408 When they set the white flag, everybody goes out to where the pit perch is 1487 01:31:37,409 --> 01:31:42,539 and they all wave and cheer the cars as they come down for the final lap. 1488 01:31:43,415 --> 01:31:46,585 [Hendrick] It was an unbelievable feeling at the end. 1489 01:31:47,252 --> 01:31:49,880 Something that I'm always gonna cherish. 1490 01:31:51,089 --> 01:31:54,301 It was the pride of our country, the pride of our sport. 1491 01:31:54,801 --> 01:31:58,096 And the fact that nobody had a road map to this. 1492 01:31:59,306 --> 01:32:01,475 We had to invent it as we went. 1493 01:32:02,017 --> 01:32:06,897 {\an8}And the feeling of accomplishment was so strong. 1494 01:32:08,023 --> 01:32:09,523 - Thank you so much. - Thank you. 1495 01:32:09,524 --> 01:32:12,360 - Hi. Congratulations to you. Great race. - Thank you so much. 1496 01:32:12,361 --> 01:32:15,571 [Rockenfeller] And I only can say thank you. That's all I have, right? 1497 01:32:15,572 --> 01:32:20,202 I was doing my part but without the team, without everybody, I-- 1498 01:32:20,786 --> 01:32:22,913 Yeah, we could have not succeeded. 1499 01:32:24,373 --> 01:32:26,707 And you can be proud, I tell you. That was really good. 1500 01:32:26,708 --> 01:32:27,918 - [crew member] Thanks. - Thanks a lot. 1501 01:32:31,505 --> 01:32:34,591 [Knaus] All right. Final lap, everybody. Final lap. 1502 01:32:37,469 --> 01:32:39,596 Should be coming to the flag, my friend. 1503 01:32:40,180 --> 01:32:41,640 Enjoy this last lap. 1504 01:32:42,975 --> 01:32:44,518 [Johnson] Oh, right on. 1505 01:32:51,316 --> 01:32:53,109 [Hendrick] Congratulations, team. 1506 01:32:53,110 --> 01:32:56,946 Congratulations, Chad, Greg, everybody. 1507 01:32:56,947 --> 01:32:59,490 John, Mr. France. 1508 01:32:59,491 --> 01:33:00,575 Great job. 1509 01:33:02,411 --> 01:33:04,913 [Johnson] It's been a great journey at Le Mans. 1510 01:33:05,622 --> 01:33:07,624 Very thankful for the opportunity. 1511 01:33:08,625 --> 01:33:12,086 It was a dream to chase. 1512 01:33:12,087 --> 01:33:13,714 It was pretty awesome. 1513 01:33:21,388 --> 01:33:24,432 [Hindhaugh] A Herculean effort by the Americans. 1514 01:33:24,433 --> 01:33:25,808 They've done it. 1515 01:33:25,809 --> 01:33:31,148 They have finished here, completing the 24 Hours of Le Mans. 1516 01:33:46,705 --> 01:33:47,706 We did it. 1517 01:33:48,582 --> 01:33:51,042 It was an honor being one of your teammates. 1518 01:33:51,043 --> 01:33:52,418 - [chuckles] Thank you. - Okay? 1519 01:33:52,419 --> 01:33:54,254 Thank you for giving me the opportunity. 1520 01:33:55,630 --> 01:33:58,215 [Hendrick] Hey, champ. Congratulations, man. 1521 01:33:58,216 --> 01:34:03,221 How does it feel to get the checkered flag here at the 24 Hours of Le Mans? 1522 01:34:04,723 --> 01:34:08,226 {\an8}[Johnson] Uh... This is something special. Thank you, Rick. Thank you, everybody. 1523 01:34:13,815 --> 01:34:15,900 Great job, Jimmie. Really proud of you. 1524 01:34:15,901 --> 01:34:18,695 Thanks for the opportunity of a lifetime, buddy. 1525 01:34:21,073 --> 01:34:24,284 It just all of a sudden felt like a family moment. 1526 01:34:25,160 --> 01:34:27,119 All of us were experiencing the same emotion 1527 01:34:27,120 --> 01:34:29,331 without even having to communicate that. 1528 01:34:30,374 --> 01:34:34,168 You had this bond with these people that, you know, was special. 1529 01:34:34,169 --> 01:34:37,714 That will never be recreated in anything else that you do. 1530 01:34:38,298 --> 01:34:40,550 NASCAR made a massive impression at Le Mans, 1531 01:34:41,176 --> 01:34:43,595 I think bigger than anyone expected. 1532 01:34:44,513 --> 01:34:46,932 It's just a shame it's all over. 1533 01:34:47,849 --> 01:34:50,101 [Rockenfeller] Being in that garage with those people, 1534 01:34:50,102 --> 01:34:51,560 being part of that team, 1535 01:34:51,561 --> 01:34:52,979 fulfilling every-- 1536 01:34:53,897 --> 01:34:55,314 Yeah, it was special. 1537 01:34:55,315 --> 01:34:58,402 My bucket's full. My heart is full from this entire experience. 1538 01:34:59,277 --> 01:35:00,404 Man, I don't want it to end. 1539 01:35:11,581 --> 01:35:13,667 [Doonan] Seeing the look on the faces... 1540 01:35:15,669 --> 01:35:17,086 was really gratifying. 1541 01:35:17,087 --> 01:35:18,963 - Thank you. No, it's a complete-- - Well, 1542 01:35:18,964 --> 01:35:21,924 - you pushed hard to make this happen. - It was-- I know but it was-- 1543 01:35:21,925 --> 01:35:24,301 - It was all of our effort. - I agree. 1544 01:35:24,302 --> 01:35:25,928 [Doonan] And, uh, Jim France. 1545 01:35:25,929 --> 01:35:29,515 [crying] I know what it meant to him to recreate what his dad did. 1546 01:35:29,516 --> 01:35:32,310 And, uh, he wanted to... [sniffles] 1547 01:35:32,811 --> 01:35:34,813 ...tell the world what NASCAR's all about. 1548 01:35:42,571 --> 01:35:44,573 [cheering]