When you look at Jimmie Johnson’s overwhelmingly successful motorsports résumé, it’s difficult to find a track where the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion hasn’t won.
Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International is one of the few places where Johnson hasn’t visited victory lane.
Though it won’t be in a Cup Series car, Johnson will have another crack at the 3.4-mile track this weekend at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, piloting the No. 48 Action Express Racing Cadillac DPi car alongside co-drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Kamui Kobayashi.
The No. 48 Ally Cadillac at Watkins Glen last year. (IMSA Photo)
Johnson competed in the endurance race last year, finishing fifth in the DPi class. Heading into the weekend, the full-time NTT IndyCar Series driver feels more in-tune with the Cadillac, compared to last year.
“I truly feel like I’m in a better place,” Johnson said. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to drive the car at Sebring to see where I kind of fit in and get more time in the DPi car. Clearly, I’ve been very busy in the Indy car and have a lot more reps, and I feel like I’m evolving, and more on pace. I think the 24 (Hours of Daytona) and also even at Petit (Le Mans) last year, we can see that gap closing, and felt more comfortable and competitive in the car. In a short race, a six-hour race, the importance of being on pace is even higher yet. I’m excited to get a few laps in practice. I’m not sure I’ll get much more than that the way the practice sessions work out. Hopefully, the time I spend in the sim (Wednesday) actually will pay off, and I can be another big step closer to the pace that I want to run.”
A large part of getting closer to the pace Johnson is targeting, is adjusting to the high commitment level that it takes to rip around The Glen.
As he prepared for the weekend, Johnson did some work in the Action Express Racing simulator. He believes he’ll be able to apply the knowledge gained at Watkins Glen.
“I’m putting a lot of stock into the sim experience I’ll have (Wednesday),” Johnson said. “I know last year I unfortunately had a testing conflict with IndyCar and wasn’t able to drive the sim with Action (Express). After the on-practice session took place, it was obvious that these sim sessions have been very useful and helpful for me. The drivers that did participate in it were very pleased with how close reality and sim were for that given experience. I’ve made sure I’ve worked really hard to try and get into the sim this time knowing how few laps you get in practice prior to the race.”
During his time in the Cadillac last year, Johnson felt it took the majority of a run to get truly comfortable with the speeds that the prototypes produce around Watkins Glen.
Johnson hops out of the No. 48 at Watkins Glen. (IMSA Photo)
“That was truly the eye-opening experience I had last year,” Johnson said. “I think I got six laps of practice before the race and I was nowhere near pace. Then my stint toward the end of it, I think I had 20-25 laps in the car, at the end I was finally close on pace, and ran my fastest lap on my in-lap or the lap before. It just took me 30 laps to find the aggression levels. That’s why I have so much focus on this sim session. The commitment level was just mind-blowingly high. One, it was an eye-opener, but two, it’s so much fun to rip around the track that fast. Especially, going through the carousel with just barely a slight lift, and then right back to the gas and wide open.”
As Johnson has had to re-tune his processing behind the wheel, he can’t help but feel the rush that every driver feels when they hop into a race car for the first time.
“It makes me feel like a kid again,” Johnson said. “The years I spent driving cars, my senses and body have understood a certain level of grip and speed, and reference points for braking marks, on-throttle marks and all that stuff. When you just shatter everything you know, it just makes you laugh. Inside the car, I’m literally laughing just like, ‘I cannot believe I just did that in a race car.’ That’s just the part I’m really enjoying.”
Through his adventurous last two seasons driving an IndyCar and DPi car, Johnson’s been able to retool his skillset to best suit the two disciplines.
However, his comfortability within the prototype has come quicker, despite having four times the amount of seat time in an Indy car.
“I think my senses, my eyes if you will, have really adjusted well to how fast an Indy car gets around many race tracks,” Johnson said. “I think that experience will carry over and cross into the DPi car. From a comfort standpoint, the DPi car, I’ve been more comfortable in it, then I have the Indy car. The side force properties of the car and the aerodynamics, and just the way it drives, fits more of my background. There’s a lot more side force in the car and it’s always brought me a lot of comfort.”
With his comfort level at an all-time high, Johnson is prepared to chase down a potential overall victory.
“It’d be incredible to win at Watkins Glen, incredible to win in another division and series,” Johnson said. “Then, the way sports car racing and endurance racing works, the team atmosphere, I really feel like I’m a part of the family at Action Express Racing. To do so and to win as a race team and as a family in a sense would be really special, too.”
Keyword: Johnson “In A Better Place” Heading To The Glen