The Chevrolet Camaro debuted as a road car in September 1966 for the 1967 model year, designed as a direct competitor to the Ford Mustang. Built on a rear-wheel-drive platform shared with the Pontiac Firebird, the Camaro was immediately exploited in motorsport, particularly in the SCCA Trans-Am Series where Chevrolet worked with Roger Penske's team and driver Mark Donohue to win back-to-back titles in 1968 and 1969.
The Camaro name was applied in NASCAR competition beginning with the Xfinity Series in 2013, replacing the Chevrolet Impala as the body style used by all Chevrolet-aligned Xfinity teams. The move reflected the industry-wide shift toward using sportier, more contemporary car nameplates in NASCAR to mirror what brands were selling in showrooms.
All Chevrolet teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series adopted the Camaro body for the 2013 season, giving the nameplate an immediate high-profile presence in one of NASCAR's top three series. The Camaro proved a competitive platform in the Xfinity Series over its years of use, fielded by major teams aligned with Joe Gibbs Racing and other top organizations.
Chevrolet elevated the Camaro to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018 as the Camaro ZL1, replacing the discontinued Chevrolet SS that had served as Chevrolet's Cup car since 2013. The ZL1 variant name referenced the legendary high-performance version of the road-going Camaro.
The Camaro ZL1 made an immediate impact in its Cup Series debut. On February 18, 2018, at the Daytona 500 — NASCAR's most prestigious event — Austin Dillon drove the ZL1 to victory in the car's very first start at the series level. The debut win was a landmark moment for the nameplate and for Chevrolet's Cup program.
In the 2020 Cup Series season, Chase Elliott claimed the Camaro's first NASCAR Cup Series championship, winning the title in the season's final race and delivering Chevrolet its first Cup championship since Jimmie Johnson in 2016.
In 2023, NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports entered a Camaro ZL1 Next Gen stock car in the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a Garage 56 concept entry, reserved for innovative or experimental vehicles. The car bore the number 24 as a tribute to retired champion Jeff Gordon.
The project coincided with NASCAR's 75th anniversary and the race's centenary year. The driving lineup was high-profile: seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, 2009 Formula One World Champion Jenson Button, and 2010 Le Mans overall winner Mike Rockenfeller. Johnson's longtime crew chief Chad Knaus served as project manager. The entry showcased the Camaro on the world's most famous endurance racing stage, reinforcing the nameplate's global profile.
In the Australian Supercars Championship, the sixth-generation Camaro ZL1 replaced the Holden Commodore ZB as General Motors' representative beginning in the 2023 season. The switch closed the Holden chapter in Australian touring car racing and marked the Camaro's expansion into one of the world's premier tin-top championships outside the United States.
Beyond NASCAR, the Camaro has a distinguished history in road racing contexts. The original first-generation Camaro competed extensively in the SCCA Trans-Am Series, where Penske's team and Mark Donohue dominated the late 1960s. Bob Jane won both the 1971 and 1972 Australian Touring Car Championships driving a Camaro. The car also served as the official vehicle for the International Race of Champions (IROC) series from 1975 through 1989. Camaros have also paced the Indianapolis 500 on multiple occasions, including 1967, 1969, 1982, 1993, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014, and 2016.
The Camaro's NASCAR career spans from grassroots Trans-Am competition in the 1960s to Cup Series championship glory in the modern era. Its 2018 Daytona 500 debut win and Chase Elliott's 2020 championship represent the high points of the nameplate's NASCAR history, cementing the Camaro as one of the most successful identities in Chevrolet's long racing lineage. The car's simultaneous presence in the Supercars Championship and its appearance at Le Mans underline its status as a global motorsport icon.