Will the participation move the metal?.

By Gary S. Vasilash

The old line has it: “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday.”

Which basically goes to a point of why OEMs participate, particularly, in NASCAR.

This is a bit of a problem, however, for Chevrolet, as it races the Camaro in NASCAR and that vehicle has been out of production for a while, so fans of William Byron, Chase Elliott, etc. would be out of luck at their local Chevy dealers.

But another brand has hopes that seem somewhat quizzical because the relationship between what is available for sale and what is on the track is largely a logo.

“We’re thrilled to have Cadillac Racing return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans with four cars competing for the overall win in the Hypercar class,” said John Roth, vice president, global Cadillac.

Hypercars are to showroom Cadillacs what Wagyu beef is to dusty gas station beef jerky.

Roth continued: “After scoring our first podium finish at this iconic endurance race in 2023 and securing a top 10 finish last year, we look to build on that success and showcase the Cadillac V-Series.R’s technology, performance, and innovation with our 2025 entries.”

In 2023 Cadillac finished third and fourth.

In 2024 it qualified second and third in the Hypercar category and its best finish that year was seventh.

The cars have a special Cadillac 5.5-liter V8 developed by GM’s Performance and Racing Propulsion team that operated in Pontiac, Michigan.

The cars, designed and developed by Cadillac Design and Cadillac Racing, are constructed by Dallara.

Cadillac first went to Le Mans in 1950. Then skipped it until 2000. It raced in 2001 and 2002, too, before giving it a pass for a few years.

The 24-hour race will be contested June 14 and 15. The 15^th is a Sunday.

What is the likelihood Cadillac dealerships will see a bump in buyers on the 16^th?