Champ JJ now IndyCar rookie at 45

Jimmie Johnson didn’t retire from racing last year; he just retired from NASCAR after 19 seasons in the Cup Series, seven championships and 83 checkered flags. Now, Johnson is about to try something new, something he’s been dreaming about since he was a kid growing up in Southern California.

“IndyCar was the early dream for me,” Johnson told For The Win. “I’m excited. I’m optimistic about it. I’ve got a long way to go.”

He’ll be a 45- year- old rookie in the open- wheeled NTT IndyCar Series, competing in 13 road and street courses for Chip Ganassi Racing this season beginning Sunday with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. And even though the ride has a totally different look, he’s still behind the wheel of a No. 48 car, which veteran IndyCar champ Tony Kanaan will pilot for the oval races.

For The Win recently spoke with Johnson about a variety of subjects, including shifting into IndyCar and the extreme challenges that come with competing in a new style of racing.

1. How does it feel to be a 45- yearold rookie competing in IndyCar, something that’s a totally different style of racing than what you’ve been doing for the last couple decades?

Definitely a rookie. I can vividly remember the feeling and head space of being a rookie coming into Cup. And it’s very similar – the concerns you have, in your mind, self doubt, the curiosity of what’s ahead. How am I going to do? Where am I weak? Where am I strong? All that stuff ’ s still very much the same.

But I do feel like being older and more

experienced is helpful. And I know I’ve been through this before, and I know I’m going to survive it, regardless of the outcome. Barber is going to be full of surprises. And then they’re rolling to St. Pete, and I’ve never been on a street tire or street track, and that’s gonna be full of surprises. But I’m just gonna roll with it. It’s such a fun car to drive. I can’t describe just how intense and how fun these beasts are to drive, and I love every time I get behind the wheel of one.

2. Can compare how it physically feels for you to drive an open- wheeled car like that versus a stock car?

Bristol in qualifying is similar. Dover in qualifying is similar. But in IndyCar, that’s every lap all the time. The intensity is so high because the vehicle’s downforce performance and the weight of the vehicle and the tire – they’re just a far superior vehicle. Then you add in you don’t have any power- steering assist, and the workload goes up 10 times.

3. Have there been times driving an Indy car when you felt scared or out of your depths?

Yeah, basically every lap I’ve made so far ( laughs). When you leave pit road on cold tires, it is so evil until you get enough tire temperature and tire pressure that you scare yourself and you pull back. I’m learning that’s when you need to keep pushing, because the quicker you can gain temperature in the surface of the tire, the quicker that turns into tire pressure, and the better the car is.

When I first started, it would take seven or eight laps to hit that target air pressure number in the tire. Now I’m able to do it on lap three or four with my teammates. Then once the tires are up at a track like Barber and the commitment level that’s required to put up a lap time, my senses have never been through anything like that. It’s insane.

4. Do you feel like you’ll get there as well, though?

Yeah, it just takes time. I’m under a second off my teammates at the last Barber test session – closer by a half a second off, which we’re all just ecstatic about. The last few tenths are always the hardest, and that’s what takes years and years and years. So I feel like I will make some quick gains and get to a certain point, and then I’m just going to need the reps.

5. Is there anything that’s a clear No. 1 goal for you this season?

I need to make sure that I run every lap or as many laps as I can, and that means being smart trying to make passes, being smart on my out laps on cold tires. I’m just literally at that stage learning tracks, where every lap really does make a difference.

6. Is winning a race a realistic goal for you at this point?

I don’t feel like it is. I’m not saying it can’t happen. Strategy is a big part of IndyCar racing. They only make two pit stops in most cases. So fuel strategy and execution by team and driver in the race can put you in a position to win, but I think in an all- out shootout, heads- up race, I don’t see me being there this year.

7. What course are you most excited to race on?

I would have to say Long Beach. That was an annual stop for me as the kid growing up on the West Coast and the place where I heard an IndyCar scream by on the back straightaway as I crossed the walkover bridge, and thought, “Man, I’ve got to find a way to get one of these cars and be out there.” So 25, 30 years later to being in IndyCar and being inside the ropes is really special for me.

8. What course are you most nervous to race on?

I have heard the Belle Isle track is so violent and so rough. And it’s a doubleheader weekend – race Saturday, race Sunday. So I’ll know more this week ( after Barber) about where I am physically and how much more I need to strengthen myself to go again a second day.

9. You’ve done so much other racing between the end of the NASCAR season and the beginning of the IndyCar season, and it seems like you’ve had a chance to get to know some of the other IndyCar drivers a little better than you had before. How would you describe your relationship with some of these guys?

I feel very well received. I think there’s a lot of respect we have both directions. I’ve been to a handful of different IndyCar test sessions and races and stuff, and I think people can see that I really do respect their craft and their abilities. And at the same time, I think largely through racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona, I’ve been able to build a lot of friendships with current drivers.

10. Whether it’s a teammate or fellow competitor, has any IndyCar driver given you some advice that’s stuck with you as you prepare for a totally different style of racing?

My teammates have been so helpful – Scott ( Dixon), Marcus ( Ericsson), Alex ( Palou), of course, Dario ( Franchitti). They’ve been above and beyond, and I am so thankful.

INDYCAR SERIES Seven- time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, right, tested an Indy car in March with the help of veteran Scott Dixon.