After starting 25th, Jimmie Johnson finishes 16th in Firestone Grand Prix to tie his best road course finish of his INDYCAR career.
Jimmie Johnson can enter the offseason feeling proud of the effort he gave in Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of Monterey at WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca.
For the second year in a row, Johnson had his best road course race at the fabled Coastal California racing facility that includes the famed “Corkscrew.”
The driver of the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda once again saw plenty of action in the “Corkscrew” and used it to his advantage to make some key passes and come out ahead.
Johnson started 25th and finished 16th. It equaled his career-high on a road course that he set on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 3.
In that race, Johnson started 27th and finished 16th.
In addition to Past American Legion Department of California Commander Autrey James as the Grand Marshal and waving the green flag to start the race, Johnson invited a close friend and former teammate to watch Sunday’s race.
It was former NASCAR Cup Series winner and former CART and Indy Lights driver Casey Mears. Both Mears and his wife were special guests of Jimmie and Chandra Johnson, with Casey watching the race from the No. 48 team’s pit stand.
“To be on the box and really see and hear everything he did today, everybody on the team is pretty proud of what he has done, for sure,” Mears said. “It’s been a huge undertaking. He has done an amazing job. You have to be behind the scenes to see the work and improvement that was really done for a solid day like this. It’s pretty impressive, early. He made a lot of good passes and overcame some adversity early.
“The last time I was here, I was in Indy car filling in for Alex Zanardi. Sitting here watching, makes me want to hop back in watching my buddy do it. It’s been really cool and brings back a lot of memories. I can’t believe the number of people in the paddock that I haven’t seen in 20 years that are still here. It’s been quite a reunion.”
Mears and Johnson were formerly teammates at Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR.
Was Mears his “Good Luck Charm?”
“We’ll see how tonight goes,” Johnson quipped. “He might be my ‘Bad Luck Charm.’”
Johnson loves the nature of racing that comes at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course that has steep elevation changes.
“I believe the tracks with high tire deg really suit my style and help me out quite a bit,” Johnson said. “I had a great run here last year. I was optimistic coming back, but the test session wasn’t as sporty as I hoped. Even in practice and stuff the last two days, it was hard to know where we were with the tire deg.
“Once we on equal tires and going, I had great pace and was right there in the mix.”
In the very early laps of the race, Johnson had some wheel-banging contact with Dalton Kellett of AJ Foyt Racing in the “Corkscrew.” Kellett ran into him on one lap and Johnson returned the favor by nudging Kellett’s car off course on the following lap.
INDYCAR Race Control said Johnson had to yield the position back to Kellett, but it wasn’t long before Johnson left the Canadian in his dust.
“No damage to the car, but he was blocking like crazy, on one of his blocks, we touched, and he spun, and I got called for avoidable contact,” Johnson said. “I had to drop all the way back behind him and start all over, which I disagree with.
“He was 10 seconds back, so I had to wait 10 seconds on him and give up that time.”
After that, however, Johnson and race engineer Eric Cowdin believed fresh tires would be the key to the car’s advancement. The team entered the race with a three pit stop strategy but changed that to a five-stop strategy to keep fresh tires on the No. 48.
“I really think Eric’s aggression on pit strategy and trying to keep fresh tires on, was the key,” Johnson said. “They found the right gaps to bring me in for fresh tires, and I had great pace and was able to eat away at the deficit and get right in this thing.”
Although this was Johnson’s second season in INDYCAR, 2022 was Johnson’s first full season in the series.
“All in all, an amazing year,” Johnson said. “I’m thankful for the support of all of our partners, Carvana and The American Legion and for Chip Ganassi Racing for all they have done for me. It’s been humbling in some respects, but it’s also been a ton of fun.
“It was a bucket-list year. I was able to run a full season of INDYCAR, do the Indianapolis 500, have a top-five finish. The high spots of this year were really, really high and I’m thankful for that.”
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