Nerves hit Jimmie Johnson as he hit the starting grid for the Rolex 24 in Daytona.
The seven-time NASCAR champion starts a new chapter of his career – at the age of 45 – in unknown race cars. Rapped to start America’s most prestigious sports car race for his Action Express team, and Johnson had only one goal for his first stint in the Cadillac.
“I certainly didn’t want to break the toys for the first few hours,” Johnson said after driving around Daytona International Speedway for about 70 minutes on Saturday.
He handed the number 48 over to teammate Simon Pagenaud, then turned to Kamui Kobayashi, the two-time reigning winner of the Rolex 24, for an animated debriefing.
Johnson, just over two months away as the most dominant NASCAR driver of the past two decades, has “jumped into the deep end of the pool with weights on my ankles” as he shifts to new racing formulas. This Rolex 24 is the eighth of his career, but the first in a decade, and it warms up for his move to IndyCar, where he will be a rookie in a field full of drivers half his age.
His career switch has ensured a busy off-season test season alongside some of the best drivers in the world, and the demands ignited a spark at Johnson. He was winless in the last three seasons of his NASCAR Cup career.
“I know the world that I am stepping into, and I know where I walked from and the comfort I had there, and I am very much aware of how uncomfortable I will be entering this new arena, and it makes me feel like I am live, “Johnson said.” I’m so excited to feel uncomfortable and so excited to learn something new, so excited to drive these cars and really grow as a driver and have a lot of new experiences in life. to do.
“It makes me feel more alive than in a long time.”
The Rolex started with a healthy field of 50 cars, a strong recovery after an event low of 38 participants last season. Daytona officials said attendance on the field would be limited for the event, but did not release a capacity number. Campers were allowed in RVs only, with tents prohibited and masks required on site.
Alegra Motorsports announced just before the race started that driver Michael de Quesada tested positive for COVID-19 and had left the speedway to isolate himself. He was replaced in the Mercedes competing in the GT Daytona class by Mike Skeen.
Otherwise, the event went ahead as planned. Halfway through, it was busy with fans visiting manufacturer displays, the Ferris wheel spinning, and many of the best race tracks in the world eager to hold the endurance event twice around the clock.
Johnson held his own in his first stint with the Cadillac, and the Action Express entry, which was run in part with Hendrick Motorsports and sponsored by Ally, has a solid chance for the overall win. His team will be dealing with the full-time Action Express submission, which landed reigning NASCAR champion Chase Elliott for his sports car debut.
Hendrick sent a handful of employees to Daytona, including former Johnson crew chief Chad Knaus and Jeff Gordon, who were part of Wayne Taylor Racing’s Rolex-winning team in 2017. Johnson climbed on top of the pit stand after his ride to talk to both Elliott and Gordon.
Elliott seemed despondent after his first run in his first sports car race. He said he was ‘awful’, ‘far from the pace’ and ‘not doing a good job at all’.
“I have to stand up for these guys the next go-around,” he said, adding that he hit the curb early in his run. ‘I was a little worried that I had damaged the bottom. I absolutely can’t do that kind of thing. “
His No. 31 Action Express entry had dropped to last place in his class after the driver switched between Elliott and Mike Conway. But the Cadillacs seemed to have a head start, at least according to Acura factory driver Dane Cameron. The Acura program has two DPi inputs, both new to the top series from IMSA.
That includes Wayne Taylor Racing, who returned to Daytona as the winner of the past two Rolex 24s, as well as three of the past four dating from Gordon’s victory. But the team switched from Cadillac to Acura during the off-season and is still adapting to the movement. The transition has been facilitated by drivers Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi, who have all driven the Acura for Team Penske for the past three years.
But the Cadillacs – there are four in the DPi class with seven cars – have led the way until now. The Action Express entry with Elliott in the lineup started from pole after winning last weekend’s qualifying race, and Chip Ganassi Racing showed no signs of rust after a year out of the series.
The Ganassi entry was the overall race leader just over two hours in the race behind starter Renger van der Zande, who, along with Kobayashi, won two consecutive races with WTR. Both want to become the first driver to win three consecutive Rolex watches.
Ganassi, who has earned eight Rolex wins, also uses reigning IndyCar champions Scott Dixon and Kevin Magnussen, who switched to sports cars after seven seasons in Formula 1.
While Dixon waited his turn in the car, he marveled at the work Johnson has been doing over the past two months. Dixon and Johnson will be Ganassi teammates in IndyCar.
“I think a lot of people, what they see, especially on our team, is just his work ethic and he’s grinding everything down,” said Dixon. “He’s just trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible. This must probably be the biggest task for anyone who has ever tried to get from opposite sides of motorsport.”
Johnson acknowledged that he is an old dog trying to learn new tricks.
“It was fun challenging myself in a whole new way behind the wheel,” said Johnson. “These high downforce cars, it’s just a lot of fun, number one, and just a huge challenge to rewire all the things I’ve learned from driving the heavy sedans.”