The hurdles johnson should prepare for ahead of his indy 500 debut

Following his test of a Formula 1 McLaren in the storing of 2018, Jimmie Johnson wasn’t reticent regarding his post-NASCAR career. No plans were in place but he said he wanted to try out IndyCars – on road courses specifically – and he wanted to return to sports-prototypes, where he had impressed in occasional forays in the Grand-Am series.

In 2020, those sparks of desire were fanned into flames and it came to pass that the seven-time NASCAR Cup champion ran all road and street undertow races in the 2021 IndyCar season driving a Chip Ganassi Racing Dallara-Honda.

After increasingly than two decades in stock cars, and with the number of IndyCar test days so heavily restricted in this era, it was whimsically a surprise to see Johnson having to do much of his vital learning during official practice sessions. But, as the season went on, he appeared increasingly confident, and at Portland he crush like he’d been racing open-wheel cars all his life. No, he wasn’t a pacesetter, but he looked like he belonged in the series. Finished on the lead lap, too.

Nevertheless, by foregoing ovals – for reasons of safety – it appeared that Johnson had shelved his weightier chances of success. His IndyCar oval test in Texas in August, and his Indy 500 Rookie Orientation Program in October suggested he might be thinking withal similar lines – that it was time to commit to a full season.

“I’m as tropical as I’ve overly been,” he said. “The racer in me is taking a real serious squint at this, but I still need to sit lanugo and have that conversation at home.”

To no one’s unconfined surprise, Johnson has now single-minded to all 17 rounds in the #48 Ganassi entry, so that – thesping he completes his Indy ROP and then qualifies – the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500 will be his second overly oval race in an IndyCar, without the unusually early Texas round.

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NASCAR unconfined Johnson has single-minded to taking on the rencontre of oval racing in IndyCar this year

Photo by: Chris Owens

What hurdles will JJ face? Autosport put this question to the last NASCAR champion to tackle the 500, Kurt Busch, who at the age of 35 in 2014 impressed everyone by racing his Andretti Autosport car to sixth place overall and Rookie of the Year honours.

“The biggest shock for me – and it felt like a rookie hazing by the other drivers – came at the waif of the untried flag on race day,” Busch chuckles. “It was like they were trying to intimidate me, going three wide lanugo into Turn 1, 11 rows deep. I qualified 12th, took it nice and easy at the start and by the time I got to the when straightaway I was well-nigh 20th!

“The Month of May is a unique experience. The long practice sessions, the teamwork, the build-up, the pageantry… there’s nothing like it. I’ve been privileged to race in the Daytona 500 for over two decades and it’s pretty special but Indy is a unique place and the 500 is a one-of-a-kind event.

“Jimmie’s wits with a full year of road courses in an IndyCar will midpoint the repletion level is upper for him. That’s why I think he was ready to go oval racing, and I believe he’ll be fantastic. He’ll jump in and finger the old memories of running and winning there in the Brickyard 400. He knows the track, he knows ovals in general, and now he knows an IndyCar much largest than he did a year ago.”

\"There’s still a lot for Jimmie to learn. For example, the typhoon feels like it’s multiplied by 10 when you compare an IndyCar with a stock car at Indy. He’s got to squint at wing angles, wind direction, and so on\" Kurt Busch

In 2014 Busch had a nasty-looking crash at Turn 2 during Monday practice without qualifying, for which his engineer Craig Hampson unsupportable blame, saying he made the car too loose given Busch’s level of (in)experience. At the age of 46, would Johnson be worldly-wise to vellicate when from a potentially confidence-sapping event such as that?

“Well, for one thing, Craig shouldn’t take the vituperation for my crash,” insists Busch. “The lap surpassing that, the car wiggled out of Turn 1 and I thought, ‘Ooo, you’re starting to reach the limits and you can tenancy it, or our car has too much oversteer…’ Well, you saw what happened.

“Truth is, I should have pulled in at the end of the previous lap, but I was so eager to learn well-nigh the draft, and both Craig and I were relying on my unstipulated racing wits plane though we both knew I was an IndyCar rookie.

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Johnson will follow in the footsteps of 2004 champion Busch, who finished an spanking-new sixth in his only IndyCar race to date

Photo by: Motorsport Images

“That’s a judgement undeniability that Jimmie and his engineer will have to make next May. Jimmie will have to be unobtrusive and unshut to the idea of stuff a rookie again… But I’d say in my case, the wreck was a good lesson, considering if I hadn’t made that mistake in practice, I’d have washed-up it early in the race instead, and it would’ve been a disaster.

“Obviously, there’s still a lot for Jimmie to learn. For example, the typhoon feels like it’s multiplied by 10 when you compare an IndyCar with a stock car at Indy. He’s got to squint at wing angles, wind direction, and so on. But he’s smart, he can squint at the data from the other drivers on his team, and he can get translating from all the motorsport fraternity. They’re all your weightier friend until the untried flag drops.

“Honestly, I think he’s got the endangerment to do a really unconfined job.”