Johnson will drive No. 48 car in Big Machine Spiked Coolers GP at IMS, the site of the GMR Grand Prix earlier this season.
Jimmie Johnson is hoping familiarity is the key to improvement in Saturday’s Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. It’s the first time this season Johnson will return to a track for a second time.
The driver of the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda is hopeful his experience in the GMR Grand Prix on May 15, 2021, will give him the experience he needs to move further up the grid in Saturday’s race.
Back in May, Johnson finished 24th in the 25-car field in a race won by second-year driver Rinus VeeKay of Ed Carpenter Racing.
It’s 85 laps around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course that includes portions of Turn 2 and Turn 1 and the frontstraight of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.
The Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix starts at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday and will be telecast on NBCSN. Qualifications are set for Friday night from 7-7:50 p.m. ET.
The IMS road course is also where Johnson’s INDYCAR career essentially started. It was July 29, 2020, when Johnson tested a Chip Ganassi Racing Honda around the IMS road course. His performance in the test convinced him and team owner Chip Ganassi to move forward with a deal that has made the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion an INDYCAR rookie in 2021.
This weekend’s return trip may help Johnson step up his game in what has been an otherwise difficult season of transition from stock car racing to open wheel racing.
“It’s a step up in his game,” said Johnson’s race strategist and former IndyCar, IMSA and NASCAR driver Scott Pruett. “We tested at Portland last week. He was within one second of Scott Dixon. We had not seen that sort of speed before. He was very confident there and he is very confident getting back to Indianapolis where he has already raced this season.
“All in all, we are continuing to look forward. It’s a steep learning curve and he has a lot to learn. The most difficult thing is for everybody to be patient and not expect instant gratification.”
During his NASCAR Cup Series career Johnson experienced historic success at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval with Hendrick Motorsports. He won four Brickyard 400s including 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2012.
His final season in the NASCAR Cup Series last July, Johnson was set to make one last attempt to get a fifth Brickyard 400 win. That would have tied him with his longtime teammate and former driver Jeff Gordon.
Johnson was unable to compete in that race because two days before the event, he tested positive for COVID-19. Two days after the Brickyard 400 Johnson had two consecutive negative tests, so he could have become a victim of a false positive.
“I was really disappointed that I did not have a chance to get one last attempt at the Brickyard, especially considering the 2020 race was the last time it was on the famed oval,” Johnson said. “I’ll always think about that one and how I never had a chance to even come to the track.
“To me, that’s the one that got away.”
The American Legion driver gets two shots on the IMS road course in 2021 with the return trip coming this weekend, the only time INDYCAR and NASCAR compete at the same venue on the same weekend.
INDYCAR kicks off the competition with the Big Machine Spike Coolers Grand Prix at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday followed by the Pennzoil 150 NASCAR Xfinity Series race Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. NASCAR Cup runs on the IMS road course for the first time ever in Sunday’s Verizon 200 at 1 p.m. ET on NBC.
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