Johnson set to begin second INDYCAR season

When Jimmie Johnson arrived at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg for his second-ever NTT INDYCAR SERIES on April 25, 2021, he simply wanted to finish the race and not impede any of the faster drivers battling for the victory.

It was an unusual mindset for a driver who had won a record-tying seven NASCAR Cup Series championships in his 19-year career at Hendrick Motorsports. He was used to running at the front, and that attitude was responsible for an impressive 83 wins at NASCAR’s top level.

But after retiring from NASCAR, Johnson was starting over in a new form of racing in INDYCAR. That is why he used last year’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg as a test session under racing conditions to help him continue to learn the new racing machine.

He started 23rd and finished 22nd, five laps down to the leaders, but his No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda was unscathed, and Johnson had learned more about the new form of racing in INDYCAR.

Johnson, Carvana and The American Legion are back to begin their second season in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. The 46-year-old Johnson is ready to compete in every race on the 17-race schedule, including the oval races and the biggest one of them all, the 106th Indianapolis 500 on May 29.

“I had just an amazing experience in 2021 getting to know the cars, the tracks, the industry and truly had an amazing experience and time,” Johnson said. “I’m ready for a full go at it. I think the ovals will be a nice bump-up in performance for me, on top of my evolution as an INDYCAR SERIES driver.”

INDYCAR’s first race of the season will be on the streets of St. Petersburg, but the second race should give a truer indication of what Johnson is capable of in INDYCAR. That race is the March 20 XPel 375 at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.54-mile high-banked oval where Johnson won seven times in the No. 48 Chevrolet in NASCAR.

“Every minute I spend in the car with how little experience I have I will get better,” Johnson said. “I feel like the oval discipline is clearly much more similar to what I have spent a lifetime doing racing in NASCAR. I feel like straightaway my performance should be more competitive. I should be closer to the field. I also think, the long corners you have on an oval will help me calibrate some finer senses to deal with G forces and understand the capabilities of the car.

“These cars have so much more grip and so much more aerodynamic benefit that comes with it. Learning to trust that was part of my evolution in 2021. Going to Texas, going to Iowa, and going to Gateway – the small little tracks where you are ripping through the corners will help me across the spectrum.”

Johnson said in the beginning, he was going to add the Indianapolis 500 to his schedule. The more he thought of it, the more it made sense to add the rest of the oval races to the schedule and run every race in the championship.

“As I became more comfortable, the whole family has become more comfortable and we are all really excited to run the full season,” Johnson said.

The American Legion is the major associate sponsor on Johnson’s No. 48 Carvana Honda.

The American Legion will be the primary sponsor on Johnson’s No. 48 in one of the two races of the July doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. The Legion will be Tony Kanaan’s major sponsor in the 106th Indianapolis 500.

The American Legion will also be featured on defending NTT INDYCAR SERIES champion Alex Palou’s car for the entire season, including a few contests where it is the primary sponsor.

Johnson will be actively involved in The American Legion as a spokesman for the entire season.

“I had the best experience getting to know everyone at the Legion, all the Legionnaires that came to the race track,” Johnson said. “From a personal standpoint, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation will make The American Legion one of its recipients.

“We are expanding our work from the Jimmie Johnson Foundation to include The American Legion, helping raise funds for them. I will also carry their sticker on my helmets and all the vehicles I race throughout the course of the year. I look forward to raising awareness for all the great causes the men and women are out there representing for those that served our country.

“It’s an amazing group of people. To see the Legionnaires come out to the races whether it was a meet and greet at the truck, or randomly running into someone, their pride in the racing program was off the charts.”

Johnson is already looking ahead to 2023 and getting a new contract with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“Being ahead of things is key,” Johnson said. “Chip knows my desires. Carvana knows my desires. The Legion knows my desires. Everyone is in the know. It’s early right now to get too far into planning for 2023.

“But my intention is to be back in 2023 and hopefully I can put those pieces together.”

Practice for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is Friday from 3:40 to 4:25 p.m. Eastern Time on the streets of St. Pete. Another round of practice on Saturday from 9 to 9:45 a.m. ET preceding the knockout round of qualifications Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. ET.

The season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is Sunday at 12 noon on NBC.

INDYCAR races are a great time to participate in The American Legion’s “Buddy Check” program. Call a fellow Legion member and head to the local American Legion post to watch the race on TV.