The introduction of the Subsequent Gen automobile and the addition of a number of new street course races have introduced a wider array of worldwide expertise to the NASCAR Cup Sequence. Three-time Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen has stolen many of the consideration together with his win on debut in Chicago, however there are a plethora of latest stars within the sequence. F1 champions Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen made their Cup debuts in addition to Mike Rockenfeller, sports activities automobile ace and one-time Jalopnik contributor.
Rockefeller might be making his third Cup Sequence begin this weekend within the Verizon 200 on the Brickyard. He might be racing Legacy Motor Membership’s No. 42 Chevy Camaro instead of Noah Gragson. He’ll even be racing the identical automobile later this month at Watkins Glen. Earlier this 12 months, Rockenfeller raced the Storage 56 Camaro within the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Legacy staff proprietor Jimmie Johnson.
The 39-year-old German driver got here to fame at Le Mans. Rockenfeller helped take the GT2 class victory within the legendary French endurance race in 2005. Rocky would then turn out to be a longtime a part of Audi’s Le Mans Prototype dynasty. In 2010, he would win Le Mans general in an Audi R15 TDI plus alongside Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. He would stay an Audi manufacturing facility driver till the top of the 2021 season, successful the 2013 DTM alongside the way in which.
Rockenfeller had lengthy had an curiosity in taking the plunge into inventory automobile racing however by no means had the chance as a consequence of his obligations with Audi. He additionally knew that it might be probably the most tough challenges of his racing profession. His two-race outing on the Glen and the Roval with Spire Motorsports final 12 months amounted to a thirtieth and a twenty ninth place end. Solely time will inform if Rockenfeller will have the ability to enhance his report this month with an additional 12 months’s expertise.