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IndyCar: Don’t take Jimmie Johnson’s comments lightly

By Asher Fair

Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing, IndyCar (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing, IndyCar (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /
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Jimmie Johnson offered high praise of IndyCar drivers after a challenging first experience behind the wheel in top-level open-wheel racing.

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is officially an IndyCar driver, now with two starts under his belt as we near conclude the month of April.

While the 45-year-old El Cajon, California native dominated NASCAR for the better part of two decades, tying the championships record of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt and securing 83 wins, good for sixth on the all-time list, he was expected to struggle upon his switch from stock cars to open-wheel cars.

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Indeed, his first two races were anything but spectacular, but he knew going into this experience that there would be a massive learning curve.

Finishes of 19th and 22nd place in 24-car fields, plus the fact that he has brought out three of the season’s first five caution flags, back that up.

But Johnson has had nothing but positive things to say about the challenging experience which he has dreamed about for years — even amid his dominant seasons at top-level stock car racing.

The NASCAR-turned-IndyCar driver of the #48 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing recently spoke on CBS Sports Network’s The Jim Rome Show following his first two starts, and he had several interesting things to say.

Among his interesting comments were comments about just how physical IndyCar is, specifically compared to NASCAR.

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“[IndyCar is] much more physical [than NASCAR],” said Johnson. “These cars do not have power steering. So the next time anybody hops in their car, just turn the ignition to run, but don’t start it, and try turning the steering wheel. And that’s an idea of what it’s like driving one of these IndyCars.

“And the faster you go, the more resistance you have in the steering system, and that means you need to really work on strength — upper body strength, core strength. But the thing that’s really surprised me is the G-force loads and how hard it is to get a breath in the car in combination with the physical stress put on your body, and all of that drives your heart rate up.”

Johnson offered high praise of the series regulars, comments that should not be taken likely coming from a seven-time Cup Series champion who has now had a taste of what it’s like to compete against some of the world’s best open-wheel drivers.

“I was quite impressed. … These IndyCar drivers deserve a lot of credit for making it look so easy. They make it look effortless, but it is so more technical and physical than I first expected.”

Be sure to listen to the full interview here.

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While IndyCar is set for a doubleheader at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend, it is Tony Kanaan who is set to pilot the #48 Honda in these two races. Johnson has the next two weekends off before he is set to return for his third career start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, where he made his initial test last July, on Saturday, May 15 in the GMR Grand Prix.