Johnson flashes speed, charm in 1st shot at Indy

INDIANAPOLIS >> Jimmie Johnson shared late-night laughs with Jimmy Fallon, crushed the fastest speeds of his life, signed autographs for fellow drivers and saved a sideways slide in his first Indianapolis 500 qualifying run.

All that's left for the 46-year-old Indy rookie is winning the race.

Johnson has had the confidence of a champion at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His team owner noticed. So have other Indy drivers. Even former competitors in his old NASCAR life are watching how Johnson fares at the Brickyard.

He's not the favorite today to win the 106th Indianapolis 500, but Johnson is the driver to watch for good reason: A victory in his first try would put Johnson alongside A. J. Foyt and Mario Andretti as the only drivers to win both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500.

If Johnson pulls it off, just try to argue he's not one of the greatest ever in American motorsports.

Johnson doesn't even need to be soaking in the sights and sounds among the bricks, the milk, the belting out of “Back Home Again in Indiana.” He won 83 times in NASCAR, claimed a record-tying seven NASCAR championships and could have walked away from racing after 2020 with his legacy secure.

But instead of enjoying the riches and spoils of his fame, or settling into a comfortable retirement with his wife and two young daughters while splitting time between his lavish homes, he was drawn to Indianapolis and the lure of open-wheel cars.

It's rare for rookies to win, though Juan Pablo Montoya (2000), Helio Castroneves (2001) and Alexander Rossi (2016) have accomplished the feat. The common thread with Johnson: All were veterans of other racing series.

Johnson's IndyCar results have been more middling than menacing, with no podium finishes in 17 career races. But he ripped off the blinders in March at Texas Motor Speedway and finished sixth in his first career open-wheel race on an oval track.