Jeff Gordon-driven 2011 NASCAR race car for sale, race ready

October 15, 2022 by admin 25 Comments

A 2011 Chevrolet Impala isn’t likely to attract attention from collectors, unless it’s a NASCAR Cup Series race car driven by four-time champion Jeff Gordon, that is.

Miami-based Speedart Motorsports is selling Hendrick Motorsports’ Chassis 678, which Gordon drove in the 2011 Cup Series (then known as the Sprint Cup) season. It was recently refurbished to race-ready condition, Speedart claims, and can be yours for an asking price of $165,000.

The 2011 cars were built to NASCAR’s fifth-generation Cup Series design, which debuted for the 2008 season and was known as the “Car of Tomorrow.” This design was replaced after the 2012 season by the sixth-generation Cup Series chassis, which in turn was replaced by the “Next Gen” car for the 2022 season.

2011 Chevrolet Impala NASCAR Cup car driven by Jeff Gordon (photo via Speedart Motorsports)

While badged as an Impala, and borrowing some styling elements from the now-defunct sedan’s then-current look, the Cup Series car has a bespoke tube-frame chassis and rear-wheel drive instead of the Impala’s front-wheel-drive layout. A carbureted 5.8-liter pushrod V-8 generates an estimated 850 hp and 490 lb-ft of torque, and is coupled to a 4-speed manual transmission.

The listing quotes a 0-60 mph time of 3.3 seconds, which is slower than some current supercars, but also a 200-mph top speed. And this car was designed to run at that speed continuously on a NASCAR oval.

Gordon drove Chassis 678 in three races, starting with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he qualified eighth and finished second. The Impala was also raced in the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, where Gordon qualified ninth and finished sixth. The car’s final race, the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, was also its worst finish. Gordon qualified 23rd and finished 24th.

2011 Chevrolet Impala NASCAR Cup car driven by Jeff Gordon (photo via Speedart Motorsports)

The car was subsequently sold by Hendrick Motorsports into private ownership. It was recently rebuilt by current NASCAR Cup Series team Rick Ware Racing, according to the seller, adding that it’s currently set up for track-day events at road courses.

Gordon retired from full-time racing after the 2015 season. He is currently a vice-president at Hendrick Motorsports, but still does occasional races. He won the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona driving a Cadillac DPi-V.R prototype, and returned to Indianapolis last month for a Porsche Carrera Cup race.

This article was originally published by Motorauthority.com. Read the original article here.