Jimmie Johnson looked more like the champion he was from his NASCAR days, scoring an impressive sixth-place finish in his IndyCar oval debut on Sunday.
There was a bit more hype than usual surrounding this weekend’s race, as Johnson was returning to Texas Motor Speedway, a track on which he had logged seven wins and even has Victory Lane named after him.
The 46-year-old put his knowledge of the 24-degree banking to work, and put in an impressive race that stood in stark contrast to the struggles he has been having since switching disciplines to open wheel racing.
Starting in 18th position, Johnson logged 21 on-track passes during the race, including one on his legendary team-mate Scott Dixon. He worked his way into the top five near the end of the race before having to give up one of those spots to save fuel in the final laps.
It was an overdue success story for the seven-time NASCAR champion, and he was all smiles after climbing out of the car.
“What a two-day adventure this has been,” said Johnson after the race. “To be able to get enough laps in the race, to feel the tires from start to finish, green flag stops, being in dirty air, just how uncomfortable and treacherous that is.
“All of those little mistakes and little moments gave me a sense of the car and helped me feel really how to drive this car, how to create speed. Second half of the race I started working my way forward in that final stint, had a very competitive car.
“It’s honestly the icing on top of the cake. The cake is I know what I did behind the wheel today, the growth I’ve had in the race car. That’s the part I’m savoring the most right now.
“I do enjoy the congratulations from others, but I’m almost speechless myself, just kind of savoring it and taking it in.
“In some respects there’s validation, in other respects there’s relief, in another respect there’s just plain old ‘I like to go racing.’ It’s a bit of everything.
“I honestly don’t have anything to prove to anyone. I’m truly doing this because I want to race cars and I want to race in the IndyCar Series.”
The next oval event on Johnson’s schedule is the Indy 500, and there is already talk that he could put in a similarly strong performance at the biggest event of the year.
Before then, the series travels to Johnson’s home state of California for the Grand Prix of Long Beach for another street race overlooking the ocean.
