Hi guys,

I remember Nascar racers being invited to race at Le Mans back in the 1970s. Can anyone tell me how this came about? I seem to remember it was something to do with Jabby Crombac (?) although I'm dredging my memory which is never very reliable at the best of times...

Thanks!

MP

If I remember well, at Le Mans 24 hours in 1976, two NASCAR's cars were entered for the race.
#4 Dodge Charger driven by Hershell and Doug Mac Griff been DNF after 2 laps because of
oil loss and # 90 Ford Torino driven by Richard Brooks, Dick Hutcherson and French driver Marcel Mignot, they were DNF because of gearbox troubles after 104 laps.

If I am not wrong, no others NASCAR teams were back to Le Mans after.

Some Nascar drivers (ones not normally considered all rounders) did Le Mans later. Cale Yarborough (in a Corvette?) was one.

More
http://www.genefeltonrestorations.com/images/Gene's%20Rides/1982%20-%20Billy%20Hagan%20Camaro%20runner%20up%20in%20class%2024%20hours%20lemans.JPG

Nuts,
Try this link.
Left hand side.
Scroll down to 1982.
http://www.genefeltonrestorations.com/Page...nes%20Rides.htm

Some pics from the 1976 Le Mans, and the NASCARS.. Perhaps not the best venue to "promote" the NASCARS ;)

Ford Torino







Dodge Charger

Six years earlier, during the height of the wing car era, it would have been a great idea. I can barely imagine what a Plymouth Superbird or Torino Talledega would look like barrelling down the Mulsanne straight.....might have to fire up the Playstation and have a go at that one! (For those that don't know, the video game Gran Turismo 4 has a Superbird in it, albiet a street version, and the current LeMans course.)

-William

Shouldn't those Torinos be red with a white flash?

Had the great joy of doing some Historic events with these "Monsters of the Midway".

The big boys going up and down the gears at a place like Sebring is simply unreal. Getting passed by a 3400 pound rocketship is very un-nerving!

Henry

Perhaps you have actually been on the same track as the Holman and Moody 1975 Torino that finished 16 overall at the 1976 Daytonal 24 hrs (even with a three hour pit stop) but did not make it to the LeMans race, saddly due to the death of John Holman that same year.

This car was built strictly for road racing, and was cheated as far as the rules allowed.
Supposedly it was the only "prod." car that could run with Greenwood's Corvette on the back straight.
Bob

This thread would be incomplete without mention of the early NASCAR star Glenn "Fireball" Roberts, who distinguished himself at the '62 LeMans: he and Bob Grossman finished 6th o/all (out of 55 starters) in Luigi Chinetti's NART (North American Racing Team) Ferrari GTO. Were it not for a balky starter motor late in the race, they would've finished P4. It was the only time Glenn ever drove there, and IIRC was one of the very few times he ever got behind the wheel of a sports car.

The French loved him, and would chant "Fee-ah-bool!" when he appeared. He was a larger-than-life character, and I count it a pleasure to have known him during that time.

Yes, very fortunate to have Daytona on the list of "have dones". The HSR "Rolex Enduro" events at the track seperate the NASCAR equipment as this venue brings in a lot of cars. However, we were grouped with the even faster GTP cars of LeMans fame. Getting passed on the banks by a machine doing perhaps 100 MPH faster is another memorable brain teaser. With the banking you never see them coming. Just a simple "Wooooooosh" and they are gone. Three or four laps later, the same experience. Mirrors are checked quite often!

Henry

Bringing the Torino back to Le Mans would indeed be something! This year we had the Charger at Le Mans Classic. It wa ssuch a blast to run with these 911s and 512s. We even stayed with most prototypes on Mulsanne

You can check on it here:
Olympia Charger

If any of you would like to resurrect the Torino, then check this out: Truxmore Torino

I have had the pleasure of meeting Doris Roberts, Fireball's widow, and discussing his participation at LeMans at length.

She told me that Fireball truly enjoyed racing at LeMans, and had hopes of doing more racing of this type in the future. Luigi Chinetti Jr. has told me how pleased his father was with Fireball's ability and results, and had discussed additional oppportunities for the future.

This really is a case of "what might have been."

Only in really, really bad TV series...

One of the TNF members actually help crew for "Fireball" at LeMans. Perhaps he has some insight!

Also, as a side note "Fireball's" daughter Pam will be at the AIRPS September 9th event as Mr. Roberts won his last race at this circuit.

Henry

Greetings,
This is just trivia, & if my memory is wrong, please forgive me. I remember a Chevrolet Nova (I think), that was built/modified to run at Le Mans. I want to say there were three drivers, along the likes of David Pearson, one of the Allisons, Cale Yarborough, perhaps Niel Bonnett. I can visialize the photo in Road & Track. All of the un-Nascar modifications..........turning both directions, running longer than 500 miles, headlamps, and smoothing out the coachwork. For fear of being wrong, I will now crawl back under my rock. Cheers!

OK, also shooting from past memories: this was probably the CoCa Cola, Bobby Allison built NASCAR modified, that was built to race in at Daytona ( in the modified race on the road coarse. I think they may have also ran on the Talladega road coarse).

Bobby also built an AMC versionl later onl that won the modified road race at Daytona.

I was at the historics and a fellow their owned one of the Super Speeway Modifieds, which I think--came about because of the popularity of the modifieds running on the Daytona road coarse, but this was a few years after the Chevy II mod., that I think you are thinking of.

These modifieds used to intrigue me as much as the group 4 & 5 cars.

Did it run at LeMans, that I do not know.
Bob

Greetings......again,
To satisfy my curiousity, I've unearthed the boxes of race related "items" that I had stored up in the rafters. Some bits, I forgot that I had ( how did I forget about the rollbar from a Can-Am Lola, the original !!!!!). At least 15 years of R&T, Autosport/Comp Press, event posters, etc., etc........ If I find anything of interest, I'll pass it along. Cheers!!

Could the Chevy Nova perhaps be this car?

I remembered this from research on the local circuit.

Henry

http://www.racingarchives.org/transcripts/rayheppenstall.htm

It was a Chevy MONZA. It raced at Le Mans in 1976. Here it is: Dykstraa Monza at Le Mans 24 hours

What you call "NASCAR modified" was in fact the GRAND INTERNATIONAL class. Here is some background info: NASCAR G.I.

Greetings,
The entry car I've referred to definitely was a Nova (it probably was the one run at Daytona). In '76, I was working on a SCCA A-Sedan. The IMSA tube frame chassis was something that we were considering, and did lots of research on the Dykstra car. As I wrote previously, "I'm probably wrong...", but it's been fun to start looking through the old collection again. There is only one serious problem...............I think I want back into the sport again!?! Cheers!!

Is this the car you were thinking of?

or this NOVA here, which raced at the Daytona 24 hours in 1976:
McGriff NOVA at Daytona