NASCAR: Toyota Exec Initially Disappointed in Hendrick’s Le Mans Entry

In March, NASCAR announced it planned to take its new Next Gen stock car, which debuted in the Cup Series this season, to the Le Mans 24 Hours as a Garage 56 entry in 2023.

“I was actually at Sebring when that (announcement) happened. I had zero notice,” Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson said Tuesday. “Candidly, I was a little bit disappointed that as a stakeholder and as a partner to NASCAR that neither ourselves nor Ford were alerted to this.

“Unfortunately, they are an active competitor in the sport and they are going to take some form of a derivative of the car that we race every Sunday to Le Mans. And it’s going to require arguably hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of testing.  Motorsport

David Wilson was “disappointed” not to have a heads up on the NASCAR/Hendrick Le Mans announcement. Wilson says Toyota and Ford have expressed their “concerns and displeasure” about the event. While a fan of the idea, want it to be “fair” in terms of competitor getting track time

— Kelly Crandall (@KellyCrandall) May 17, 2022