Who Is Mike Rockenfeller, The Le Mans Ace Turned NASCAR Driver?

Photo: Charlie Crowhurst (Getty Images)

The introduction of the Next Gen car and the addition of several new road course races have brought a wider array of international talent to the NASCAR Cup Series. Three-time Supercars Champion Shane van Gisbergen has stolen most of the attention with his win on debut in Chicago, but there are a plethora of new stars in the series. F1 champions Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen made their Cup debuts as well as Mike Rockenfeller, sports car ace and one-time Jalopnik contributor.

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Rockefeller will be making his third Cup Series start this weekend in the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. He will be racing Legacy Motor Club’s No. 42 Chevy Camaro in place of Noah Gragson. He’ll also be racing the same car later this month at Watkins Glen. Earlier this year, Rockenfeller raced the Garage 56 Camaro in the 24 Hours of Le Mans alongside Legacy team owner Jimmie Johnson.

Mike Rockenfeller (left on the podium’s top step) celebrating his 2010 Le Mans victory and Audi’s podium sweep.Photo: Darrell Ingham (Getty Images)

The 39-year-old German driver came to fame at Le Mans. Rockenfeller helped take the GT2 class victory in the legendary French endurance race in 2005. Rocky would then become an established part of Audi’s Le Mans Prototype dynasty. In 2010, he would win Le Mans overall in an Audi R15 TDI plus alongside Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas. He would remain an Audi factory driver until the end of the 2021 season, winning the 2013 DTM along the way.

Rockenfeller had long had an interest in taking the plunge into stock car racing but never had the opportunity due to his obligations with Audi. He also knew that it would be one of the most difficult challenges of his racing career. His two-race outing at the Glen and the Roval with Spire Motorsports last year amounted to a 30th and a 29th place finish. Only time will tell if Rockenfeller will be able to improve his record this month with an extra year’s experience.