Jordan Taylor’s lap of Le Mans: Garage 56 coach guides us around Circuit de la Sarthe

During a break in the final pre-race test for the Garage 56 project at Sebring International Raceway back in April, NASCAR.com asked Jordan Taylor for a turn-by-turn breakdown of the Circuit de la Sarthe, the mammoth 8.467-mile course through the French countryside. We brought along a basic but handy track diagram for reference. The IMSA champion was gracious in saying the map wouldn't be necessary. Taylor, the reserve driver and de facto "coach" for the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet effort, has the Le Mans circuit committed to memory after eight appearances here with the Corvette Racing team -- a resume that includes a 2015 class victory. His expertise with the grand course made him a natural to narrate a lap of the track, guiding us through its contours and nuances as we draw nearer to Saturday's start time (10 a.m. ET) for the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Main straightaway: The start-finish there is so unique. That's where the big grandstands are. So as a fan and a team, the pit straight is super loud, and our car's gonna sound amazing coming through there. But yeah, you're setting yourself on the left side as you come through the main straight, it kind of opens up into like a giant ocean of gravel, so visibility-wise, it's hard to pick your line entering the Dunlop Curve and the chicane.

Dunlop Curve: It's a very tricky brake zone; you kind of have to lift and coast through a little kink to the right, and there's a bump right at the brake zone, so you see a lot of guys making mistakes in that brake zone. You're approaching at a pretty high speed, and with how low downforce you run at Le Mans, it makes it very tricky to make it through the Dunlop Curve. Big curbs on both sides that you kind of have to use to kind of find lap time, and then using all the exit curbs, I think there's some track-limits rules on that exit curb there so that you have to be careful of them.

Esses: You go up and over the hill, under the Dunlop bridge into the esses. I don't know if it's gonna be flat-out in our car; it's flat-out in some of the prototypes. Very fast downhill into the esses. It's a tricky spot for traffic. Sometimes prototypes will dive down the inside of there, so that's one thing we're gonna have to look out for in our car. Esses are very quick. Some nice banking to use, nice viewing for fans through there.

Tertre Rouge: Tertre Rouge, one of the more difficult corners. Also need to be careful of track limits when you exit there, but a very important exit because it leads on to the Mulsanne Straight, which is our first ridiculously long straight at Le Mans. They're all long, but this one feels like it takes forever.

Mulsanne Straight: So you come onto Mulsanne, and you're kind of on the public highways there. So this is a public road now that's used every day of the year at Le Mans, and even during the race week before practice, the roads will be open to the public and then shut down at night for practice. So coming down there, you're on a highway, so the road is actually crowned, which is unique. Most of the roads are crowned for water drainage, so when you drive down there if you're in the middle of the track, it will actually pull you from side to side, which is odd to feel in a race car.

Chicanes: Coming to the first Daytona chicane, big brake zone. A tricky little esses section in the chicane itself but trying to use the curbs. Next main straight, kind of the same thing. Setting yourself up on the right for another big brake zone into the Michelin chicane. Understanding what parts of the curbs you can use through there.

Mulsanne Kink and Corner: Then down through the Mulsanne Kink and the Mulsanne Corner is another tricky brake zone because you're kind of braking and turning at the same time, and it's pretty bumpy so it's easy to lock tires and make mistakes, but that's a big passing zone for everybody. Important corner because it leads on to another main straight, so your exit needs to be good.

Indianapolis: You go through two quick right kinks coming up to Indianapolis that are flat-out, and at sunset, you have the sun right in your eyes. Into Indianapolis, you go through a very quick right, a high-commitment corner, and then straight into a slow left-hander in Indianapolis that has some nice banking. Always a lot of fans there on the left that you see through the night, camping and making fires and stuff.

Arnage: Arnage is the lowest-speed corner on the track. Always feels like you're barely moving after coming off the Mulsanne Straight and everything. Feels like you're creeping along.

Porsche Curves: Coming into Porsche curves, big bump right at the brake zone, high commitment into the first right there. Kind of going uphill, always need to kind of check your mirrors before this corner to make sure there's no prototypes kind of trying to make a move on the outside before the left-hander because the left-hander is very high-commitment. It's a one-lane, one-line section to track. Double-left into a long right, and then the long right, you always hold the inside, and prototypes can pass around the outside. You just have to be careful not to have any moments when they come around the outside of you not to have any contact.

Corvette Corner and Ford Chicanes: Into the last left-hander, which I think is called Corvette Corner, you have to be careful of track limits on the exit of that one. And then finally, coming to the Ford Chicane, pit lane's on the right. Brake just at the end of pit-lane entry, and then yeah, understanding how much curbs you can use in the Ford Chicane is a big part of the lap time there. And then yeah, that's a lap at Le Mans.