CEO: McLaren Could Run the Daytona 500 With Hendrick Motorsports

What’s Happening

On Wednesday’s Dale Jr. Download, McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown told Dale Earnhardt Jr. that McLaren would not be likely to consider joining NASCAR full-time. However, seemingly unprovoked, Brown brought up the potential for a McLaren and Hendrick Motorsports entry in a future Daytona 500.

• Zak Brown is the longtime CEO of McLaren Racing. Since taking over that role in 2018, McLaren has seen a resurgence in Formula One, expansion into IndyCar, and entries in multiple racing series across the world.
• Last season, Brown and Rick Hendrick teamed up to field Kyle Larson in this year’s Indianapolis 500. The pairing was a relative success. However, Larson’s attempt at the infamous “Double” did not go as planned. A rain-delayed start to the Indy 500 made Larson late to the Coke 600, which ended prior to his arrival due to weather.
• His appearance on the Dale Jr Download was complimentary to HMS and McLaren’s announcement of Laron’s bid at the Double in 2025. Brown, an American-born racer, is a well-known fan of NASCAR. This known love for the sport is the route of Earnhardt Jr’s question and Brown’s seemingly unprovoked response about Daytona.

McLaren in NASCAR?

Earnhardt’s question was simple and not too deep, just asking what McLaren’s interest in NASCAR is. Brown responded with what many would expect him to say. For McLaren, NASCAR would be a difficult, costly, and sadly unrealistic pursuit.

Conclusions like this one have long been the tone of race teams outside of NASCAR looking into NASCAR. But, some fans have been hopeful, as Andretti Global, the former Andretti Autosport, has expressed recent interest in NASCAR. In doing so, Andretti shows that these non-NASCAR teams see a real chance to join in the future.

But, in an unexpected twist, Brown didn’t stop there. He said that he values his relationship with Hendrick and wants to have a “forever” relationship with Hendrick Motorsports. Brown even said that he sees a realistic chance to run the Daytona 500 with Hendrick’s support.

“On the way over here. I was asked, ‘Where might your relationship with Rick Hendrick go long term?’ And I don’t know the answer to that other than I’d like to have a relationship with his team, forever. Because they’re awesome. Would we maybe one day put out a car at Daytona with Rick Hendrick? Maybe, I could see something like that. But I think a full time effort is such a commitment.” — Zak Brown on The Dale Jr Download

So, while it wouldn’t be full-time, a one-off start for McLaren is a possibility. But what might that look like, and what does it mean for McLaren’s future in NASCAR?

Is This Realistic?

It appears that Hendrick and McLaren’s relationship is strong. That is very clear. If McLaren wanted to pursue a Daytona 500, the opportunity to do so with Hendrick would be monumental for the world of motorsports.

This potential attempt at Daytona sounds like a reverse of Larson’s attempt at Indy, drawing to mind the question of whether or not the two parties have formally discussed it. Of course, no one knows everything this entails. The driver could be a fan-favorite NASCAR regular or an outsider like Pato O’Ward.

On the technical side of this conversation, Hendrick’s support would have to stop at a certain point.

NASCAR limits teams to four entries, meaning the entry would be through McLaren. This means the team would have to spend quite a bit and find sponsorship. However, Hendrick’s technical support and personnel would attempt a worthwhile gamble.

Of course, like their early attempts at the Indy 500, the risk in NASCAR as an unchartered entry is the team would have to have an amazing qualifying run or race their way in via the Duels. If the team missed out, that would be a hefty toll with very little in return.

When and if McLaren and Hendrick team up, it could spark a future in NASCAR, as their beginnings in IndyCar stemmed from a relationship with Andretti Global. While just words, what Zak Brown said could mean an entirely new world of racing for one of motorsports’ most storied brands.

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