Johnson no longer an INDYCAR rookie

A few moments after another positive move forward in his NTT INDYCAR SERIES career with a 17th-place finish in the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, Jimmie Johnson slapped his hands together and said, “This baby is coming off.”

Johnson then removed his “Rookie Stripe” from the rear attenuator of his No. 48 Honda.

“Enough of that,” he said to his Chip Ganassi Racing crew. “Thank you, boys.”

Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Carvana/The American Legion Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing, is no longer a rookie. He is now an INDYCAR veteran.

“I’ve been waiting all year to take off the rookie stripes,” Johnson said. “I still feel like a rookie, but it’s been nice to get that off the car.

“The season went by super-fast, but I think about my progress throughout the course of the year. I think about our team and how it has grown and become stronger as a unit. And I think about how strong Chip Ganassi Racing is. All the wins, the success, Alex Palou’s championship, it’s great to be part of this team for my personal growth.”

Johnson’s racing dreams began as a teenager attending the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach. At that time, he wanted to become an INDYCAR driver. But he was part of the Chevrolet driver development program and they steered him toward a career in NASCAR.

In stock cars, he became one of the all-time greats, winning 83 races and a record-tying seven NASCAR Cup Series championships.

When he retired from NASCAR last season, he moved over to INDYCAR to run a street-course- and road course-only schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing.

It took a while for Johnson to adapt to the different type of race car, but since the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Aug. 14, The American Legion driver has made significant progress in each race.

Last weekend at Long Beach, Johnson started 27th and finished 17th for an improvement of 10 positions in the race. He blew past eventual INDYCAR Rookie of the Year Scott McLaughlin in the race and passed this year’s Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves late in the contest.

“It was so tricky, and it literally took until the final set of tires for the car to come together,” Johnson explained. “I struggled on the first two sets. We had a great strategy with our pitting. I was up to 13th, but I just couldn’t go. I was making mistakes and had a lot of trouble.

“That last stint, things came together for me. I was able to work my way up from 20th to 17th and made some great passes.”

Johnson has spent much of this season working with former racing greats, including three-time Indianapolis 500 winner and four-time NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Dario Franchitti. Also, former CART, NASCAR and IMSA star Scott Pruett has been on the team’s radio calling the race strategy for Johnson.

“He passed Helio Castroneves and passed a bunch of people at the end,” Franchitti said. “A fabulous job by him.”

Johnson finished every race except for a throttle issue in the first race of a doubleheader at Detroit. He crashed out early at Nashville.

Finishing 14 of the 16 races on the schedule, however, is a very important statistic for a newcomer.

“One thing Scott Pruett has helped me with is we push hard up to qualifying and after qualifying, let’s drive laps we can repeat, learn and get from green to checkered,” Johnson said. “That has been a great piece of advice and has helped me grow the most through the course of the year.”

It was a big day for Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing, with teammate Alex Palou winning the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship.

“It was a huge day,” Johnson said. “Huge day for the series. Huge day for Ganassi. Every weekend, we have a huge support staff from The American Legion. I’m so thankful for the smiling faces and the huge support.”