Hendrick Motorsports Track Attack is a custom, NASCAR-derived race car

Hendrick Motorsports has created the most interesting track-day car we’ve seen in recent memory. Company exec Bill Snider told The Drive that while attending a high-performance driving event — an organized track day — he watched “a Nissan GT-R driver lose control and hit a tire barrier. No one was hurt, but the car suffered significant damage. After thinking about it, how much the cars cost new, the price of repair, and the lack of safety equipment, a light went off in my head.” We have that anonymous GT-R driver to thank for the NASCAR-derived, single-seat Hendrick Motorsports Track Attack that resulted. Built in the Hendrick Motorsports chassis and race shops, each Track Attack car is a custom, tube-framed, NASCAR-bodied racer designed for road courses, created in-house with Hendrick’s 35-year, multiple-championship-winning expertise. Yet the Track Attack is simple enough for the Nissan GT-R or Porsche 911 GT3 track-car owner to run all day, and it costs less than either of those.

The standard engine is a Chevrolet Performance LSX 454, a 7.4-liter, fuel-injected crate motor producing 627 horsepower and 586 pound-feet of torque, to which Hendrick adds an external oil pump for a dry sump system. It runs on super unleaded and off-the-shelf oil, and because of the standard Chevrolet ECU, the outfit says most service issues and components can be handled at any Chevrolet Performance dealer. The standard transmission is an Andrews A431 H-pattern four-speed manual like the one used in the Cup and Xfinity Series, with CNC-cut gears.

The optional engine is a Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet R07 358-cubic-inch carbureted small-block that makes 725 hp and 490 lb-ft. This blueprinted unit is similar to one used Hendrick’s Truck Series competitors, and here gets a custom racing camshaft and a dry-sump oil system. The upgrade costs $25,000. The optional transmission is a Race Tech Services 6XD sequential gearbox with either five or six speeds, engineered to allow swapping gear ratios in eight minutes, and it automatically rev-matches when yoked to the LSX 454.  

Power gets sent to the rear wheels through a heavy-duty nine-inch rear end with turning heavy duty axles, the assembly built to withstand 900 horsepower.

Because the Track Attack’s a road-course car, Hendricks bolts on an adjustable coilover suspension with double wishbones in front, trailing arms in back. Fine tuning comes courtesy of the adjustable sway bars, Panhard bar, and wedge bolts. Six-piston billet calipers in front and four-piston units in back clamp vented rotors. 

The bodywork comes in at 250 pounds thanks to GM Racing lightweight sheetmetal, paired with a carbon fiber hood, decklid, and rear fascia, and polycarbonate windows. The two available bodystyles are either the Chevrolet SS, used in the Cup Series from 2013 to 2017, or the Camaro ZL1, which took over in 2018. Working brake lights notify fellow trackies, and when things go sideways, or backwards, anti-lift flaps emerge from the roof and hood, just like on TV.

Every Track Attack buyer gets fitted for a custom Hendrick Motorsports carbon fiber seat, also built in-house with energy-absorbing foam, leg boards, knee protection, and a six-point harness.The gauge cluster on the AIM Digital Dash displays all engine data, telemetry, GPS speed, and lap times, and comes with an AIM Smarty Cam for recording circuits.

The safety kit is NASCAR-spec, too. A fire suppression system is plumbed into the tube chassis. The filler vent with a safety check valve leads to an 18-gauge steel fuel cell that’s the same kind Hendrick uses in its Cup cars, down to the foam-filled bladder that prevents fuel sloshing around or starving the engine. Engine and fuel cutoff switches are about all the jewelry to be found in the minimalist interior.

Fitted with the standard engine and transmission, the Track Attack costs just $125,000. That’s a remarkable price, considering the pedigree, the engineering, and the ease-of-use. The company even put Lance McGrew, former crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., in charge of the builds. The purchase price also includes free delivery to anywhere in the continental U.S. in one of Hendrick’s transport trucks. Where do we sign?

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