Johnson overcomes injury, tough weekend for 20th-place finish in Acura Grand Prix 

Jimmie Johnson ended his second Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach weekend where it began on Friday. In the tire barrier.

On Friday, Johnson suffered a broken right hand when he stuffed his No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda into the Turn 5 tire barrier. He was unable to get his right hand off the wheel in time before the steering wheel violently snapped from the front wheels hitting the tires.

Oftentimes, the snap from the wheel can either break a driver’s hand or a driver’s wrist. Johnson knows that, but in Friday’s instance he didn’t release his right hand in time.

That was the beginning of a weekend that included three incidents in Saturday morning’s practice session, including another impact to the wall that sent him back to the care center. A few hours later, Johnson had a penalty in Saturday’s qualification session for impeding Graham Rahal on his qualification lap.

He qualified 25th out of 26 cars for Sunday’s race.

In Sunday morning’s warmup session, Johnson’s car caught the Acura banner around his front wheels after Dalton Kellett crashed into the wall. When Johnson left pit road in the session, he ran over an air hose – normally a penalty per the INDYCAR rule book.

Despite those incidents, Johnson was hoping to end the weekend on a positive note in Sunday’s Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. Driving with a splint made out of carbon fiber, Johnson had improved to 17th position – where he finished last year at Long Beach. But 10 laps to go in the race, Johnson’s No. 48 Honda hit another tire barrier, this time in Turn 9.

That was the end of a difficult weekend for the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, who finished the day 20th. The most difficult race weekend of his INDYCAR career came after the best finish of his career in the March 20 XPEL 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, when he finished sixth.

“It was a not a bad impact by any stretch,” Johnson said after Sunday’s incident. “I just got caught out by the rubber buildup on the track. I never experienced anything like that in my career in racing. The rubber laying down to the road and stacking up and the clogs of rubber that were there, I just got a little wide in the corner, was in all that rubber and felt the car rotate around as result.

“I thought I was going to limp to a decent finish with my hand in the situation it was in. I thought I was going to get a 16th- or 17th-place finish. Instead, I ended back up in the tire barriers.”

Johnson was determined to finish the weekend but admitted on Saturday that the priority is the 106th Indianapolis 500 on May 29. He was assured by doctors, including INDYCAR’s safety consultant and noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. Terry Trammell, that his hairline fracture was safe enough to race with the splint.

“I feel really good about it,” Johnson said on Saturday. “I still have qualifying today and get through all that, but all indications right now are favorable. I feel great in the car.”

Johnson had to grip the wheel with just two or three fingers, instead of a full hand, because of the splint.

“I don’t have a full grip going, but Terry Trammell is amazing,” Johnson said. “He knew exactly what to build, how to build it, where to position it. Great communication with him working on the splint. The cracked bone is better aligned now after wearing the splint and driving the race car than it was yesterday. Turns out the man knows what he’s doing.

“I had no pain really on track. I felt great. Just trying to go too fast into the turn 1 and ran into the tires. I’m more disappointed in myself making a mistake and tearing up the car again, but from an injury standpoint, I feel pretty good.

“I’m just upset at myself. I know where I need to get better in these cars and how to attack, and it’s the braking zones and releasing the brakes. I had my personal best lap the lap before and was in that rhythm of releasing the brake and letting the car to roll quicker at the apex, and when I did it, I lost the back and had to catch it and ran into the tires. Just I hate making mistakes, and I made two of them.”

On Friday, he was unable to get his right hand off in time before the impact and that is what fractured his right hand. “I let go,” Johnson said. “I didn’t get them far enough out of the way. So, I let go, and then with the impact, I guess my hands moved into the pathway of the wheel spinning and the bottom of the wheel.

 “We took an X-ray on Saturday, and it was more displaced yesterday than it is now. The bone is more aligned and whatever movement to the bone, it’s more aligned than it was yesterday.”

Johnson, who became a race fan by attending the annual race on the streets of Long Beach as a teenager, started 25th in the 26-car starting lineup for Sunday’s street race in the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I wanted to have a clean session and get some reps under my belt,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, I had a little confusion merging onto the track and obstructed (Rahal), so my two best laps were taken away.

“I’m on damage control with my right hand, so starting last on the field. I’ll work my way forward if I can. Attrition will come into play. Hopefully, my hand will hold up and get me through the race so I can log laps, gain some points, and earn as many points as I can to stay in the top 10 in points.”

After his qualification session ended with a penalty, Johnson hinted that if his hand gave him problems, he might yield the seat for the Long Beach race because the Indianapolis 500 and the upcoming test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway remain his top priority.

“My real goal is the 500 and we have a test session there on April 20 and 21,” Johnson said. “I’ve talked to many specialists on the West Coast and the East Coast about my hand, what further damage can be done, what options I have.

“I’m more focused on Indy. As much as I want to be here, if I have to give this up to make sure I was ready for Barber Motorsports Park, the test at Indy in two weeks or the Indianapolis 500, I was really to forgo this. But this morning, my hand improved, I was able to work with the splint on my hand so I’m going to go ahead and run on Sunday.”

Johnson came within 10 laps of completing the distance before his latest incident left him in the tire barrier. David Malukas tried to avoid Johnson’s No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda but ran into the wall.

“I’m not really sure what happened,” Johnson said. “I lost it so early, I was under the impression I lost it in the rubber stacking up on the corner of the entry. The rubber was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

 “There were inches of rubber stacked up around that race track, especially before that last caution. It was very interesting to see where to place the car and how to drive on that rubber. I was wide on the corner entry on that rubber and spun.”

In a 20-year racing career that including one of the greatest careers in NASCAR history, even a champion like Johnson realizes a racer will have weekends like this.

“Chad Knaus (his longtime NASCAR crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports) will remember we had to go to a couple of backups before we got to a race, maybe Darlington one year,” Johnson recalled. “But it comes with it. I certainly feel bad I put the team in this position, but I’m thankful for their support and the support from Carvana and my fan base. This deal isn’t easy, and you’ve got to live on the razor’s edge on these street courses. There’s no margin for error. And trying to be faster, more competitive. I made some mistakes this weekend. I’ll learn from them and come back even stronger.”

Johnson is returning to his home in the Charlotte, N.C., area and try to take the next step in healing his hand.

“I feel like what I went through this weekend I can carry on like this for the next couple of weeks until I’ll be healed up,” Johnson said. “I’m going to see a hand specialist (April 11) in North Carolina and determine if we need to put a screw in or not. I’m not sure what is the best pathway forward, the shortest recovery time, so I’ll know more tomorrow afternoon.”