Jimmie Johnson is taking the plunge this year, competing in all 17 rounds of the NTT IndyCar Series. One of the big motivators for stepping up from the road and street courses to the full schedule was the opportunity to compete in the Indianapolis 500.
Johnson has raced on the famous 2.5-mile oval many times before in NASCAR, and has stood in the facility’s unique victory lane four times, but 2022 will be the first year he will be taming the demanding track in an IndyCar.
Thinking ahead not just to the race, but to the knockout qualifying sessions the week before, the veteran racer knows that he can expect a tough day just making sure he makes the field.
“When I look at the Indy 500 right now I think qualifying is probably the most daunting part of it,” said Johnson. “The car is on edge. That’s when the driver needs to be most in tune with the car and lay it all on the line.
“We’d come and test for the Brickyard 400 [in NASCAR] and leave with an opinion good or bad and then return for the race and oftentimes the opposite thing happened. The track is so finicky, sunlight, wind direction. It really changes the performance of the car so much.
“I assume it’s because of the very flat corners that you have and the smallest percentage in grip change changes the balance of the car.”
Johnson also acknowledges that a well-handling car is absolutely key in these types of situations where the car is on the edge of control.
Some factors can be controlled by the driver in the moment, but a large part of the performance comes from the team nailing down all the little settings that can glue the car to the track.
Looking back to recent performances, Johnson is confident that his experienced Chip Ganassi Racing team can give him the car he needs to race near the front in May.
“The team and I equate this a little bit to Daytona for NASCAR. You watch an organization go for the Daytona 500 and their cars are all up at the front or all at the back, so not only does a driver play such a big role but also the team’s performance or even manufacturer performance that year weighs in.
“To watch someone like Will Power fight for the last spot in last year’s starting lineup, that’s intimidating to watch, especially as a rookie coming in. I hope we [Chip Ganassi Racing] are as fast as we were last year, when we had all four cars up there in the top 10.
“That can make life a lot easier. But man, if it goes the other way, then the slightest temperature change or wind direction change just puts you on your heels, and it can be a tough day.”
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