By Lonnie Hugh Skinner
Jimmie Johnson & Michael Rockenfeller, Amazon Prime’s Documentary NASCAR American Thunder Zoom Press Conference June 11, 2025
Premiere date on Prime Video: Thursday, June 12
Media Zoom call with racing icons Jimmie Johnson and Michael Rockenfeller, who star in American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans, as two-thirds of the race team that drove the Garage 56 car at 2023’s 100th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is one of the crown jewels of international motorsports. It’s a showcase of sports car racing excellence that tests the limits of man and machine. For the race’s 100th anniversary running in June 2023, an invitation was extended to NASCAR to bring an American stock car Chevrolet Camaro to compete against the futuristic Ferrari and Porsche prototypes and attempt to complete the grueling 24-hour challenge that is Le Mans. It was NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France’s dream since childhood to have one of his cars race at Le Mans, so he recruited NASCAR’s most successful team, Hendrick Motorsports, to build and race the car. Along with world-class drivers Jenson Button, Jimmie Johnson, and Mike Rockenfeller, Hendrick Motorsports embarked on an eighteen-month journey to develop a race car designed to run three-hour races on ovals in the United States into one that could survive the challenge of racing 24 hours straight on an unforgiving road course.
American Thunder: NASCAR to Le Mans is produced by NASCAR Studios and Griffin Van Malssen and directed by Brad Lockhart. The film is executive produced by Jeff Gordon of Hendrick Motorsports and Tim Clark, John Dahl, Amy Anderson, Tally Hair, and Matt Summers of NASCAR.
Additionally, Prime Video is set to exclusively stream the fourth of its five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series races to conclude the first half of the season. In addition, Prime Video will present exclusive coverage of practice and qualifying for almost the entire first half of the NASCAR season (excluding the NASCAR All-Star Race). Adam Alexander serves as race announcer, alongside analysts Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte in the booth, with Trevor Bayne, Kim Coon, and Marty Snider patrolling pit road. Danielle Trotta hosts Prime Video’s extensive on-site studio coverage, joined by analysts Carl Edwards and Corey LaJoie. Fans in the U.S. will be able to watch NASCAR live at home or on the go, and across hundreds of compatible devices, streaming from the web, or using the Prime Video app on smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, game consoles, and connected TVs. For a complete list of compatible devices, visit amazon.com/howtostream.
NASCAR on Prime Cup Series Remaining Race Schedule (all times ET):
- Sunday, June 15, 2:00 p.m. – NASCAR Cup Series Race at Mexico City, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez
- Sunday, June 22, 1:30 p.m. – NASCAR Cup Series Race at Pocono Raceway
COURTESY AMAZON VIDEO PUBLICITY
