‘So excited to be uncomfortable’
The nerves hit Jimmie Johnson as he stood on the starting grid before the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The seven-time NASCAR Cup champion is beginning a new chapter of his career – at 45 years old – in unfamiliar race cars. He was tabbed to start the most prestigious sports car race in America for his Action Express team, and Johnson had just one goal for his first stint in the Cadillac.
“Certainly didn’t want to break the toy in the first couple of hours,” Johnson said after driving about 70 minutes Saturday around Daytona International Speedway.
He gave the No. 48 over to teammate Simon Pagenaud and then turned to Kamui Kobayashi, the two-time reigning winner of the Rolex 24, for an animated debrief.
Jimmie Johnson, the seven-time NASCAR champion, is competing in his eighth Rolex 24 but his first in a decade. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Johnson, a little more than two months removed as the most dominant NASCAR driver of the past two decades, has “jumped into the deep end of the pool with weights on my ankles” as he transitions into new formulas of racing. This Rolex 24 is the eighth of his career but first in a decade, and it’s a warm-up for his move to IndyCar, where he’ll be a rookie in a field stacked with drivers half his age.
His career change has made for a busy offseason of testing alongside some of the top drivers in the world, and the demands have lit a spark in Johnson. He was winless in the final three seasons of his NASCAR Cup career.
“I know the world that I’m stepping into, and I know what I walked away from and the comfort that I had there, and I’m very aware of how uncomfortable I am going to be stepping into this new arena, and it makes me feel alive,” Johnson said. “I am so excited to be uncomfortable and so excited to learn something new, so excited to drive these cars and really kind of grow as a driver and have a bunch of new experiences in life.
“It makes me feel more alive than I have in quite some time.”
The Rolex began with a healthy field of 50 cars, a strong rebound after an event-low 38 entries last season. Daytona officials said infield attendance would be limited for the event but did not release a capacity number. Campers were permitted only in motor homes, with tents banned and masks required on property.
Alegra Motorsports announced right before the race began that driver Michael de Quesada tested positive for COVID-19 and had left the speedway to self-isolate. He was replaced in the Mercedes competing in the GT Daytona class by Mike Skeen.
Otherwise, the event went on as scheduled. The midway bustled with fans visiting manufacturer displays, the Ferris wheel was up and running and many of the best road course racers in the world were eager for the twice-round-the-clock endurance event.
Johnson held his own in his first stint driving the Cadillac, and the Action Express entry, fielded in part with Hendrick Motorsports and sponsored by Ally, has a solid chance at the overall win. His team will have to contend with the full-time Action Express entry, which brought in reigning NASCAR champion Chase Elliott for his sports car debut.
Hendrick sent a handful of its employees to Daytona, including former Johnson crew chief Chad Knaus and Jeff Gordon, who was part of the Rolex-winning team in 2017 for Wayne Taylor Racing. Johnson climbed atop the pit stand after his drive to chat with both Elliott and Gordon.
Elliott seemed despondent after his first run in his first sports car race. He said he was “terrible,” “way off the pace” and “didn’t do a good job at all.”
“I need to step up for these guys the next go-around,'' he said, adding he hit the curb early in his run. “I was a little worried I damaged the underneath. Definitely can’t be doing stuff like that.”
His No. 31 Action Express entry had slipped to last in his class after the driver change between Elliott and Mike Conway. But the Cadillacs appeared to have an edge, at least according to Acura factory driver Dane Cameron. The Acura program has two DPi entries, both new to IMSA’s top series.
That includes Wayne Taylor Racing, which returned to Daytona as winner of the past two Rolex 24s, as well as three of the past four dating to Gordon’s win. But the team switched from Cadillac to Acura during the offseason and is still adjusting to the move. The transition has been eased by drivers Ricky Taylor, Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi, who all piloted the Acura the past three years for Team Penske.
But the Cadillacs – there are four in the seven-car DPi class – have so far been leaders of the pack. The Action Express entry with Elliott in the lineup started from the pole after winning last weekend’s qualifying race, and Chip Ganassi Racing has not shown any signs of rust after a year out of the series.
The Ganassi entry was the overall race leader a little over two hours into the race behind starter Renger van der Zande, who along with Kobayashi won two straight with WTR. Both are seeking to become the first driver to win three consecutive Rolex watches.
Ganassi, who has eight Rolex victories, is also using reigning IndyCar champion Scott Dixon and Kevin Magnussen, who moved to sports cars after seven seasons in Formula One.
As Dixon awaited his turn in the car, he marveled at the job Johnson has done over the past two months. Dixon and Johnson will be Ganassi teammates in IndyCar.
“I think a lot of people, what they see, especially on our team, is just his work ethic and he grinds out everything,” Dixon said. “He’s just trying to get up to speed as quick as possible. This probably has to be the biggest task for anybody that has ever tried going from polar opposite ends of motorsport.”
Johnson acknowledged he’s an old dog trying to learn new tricks.
“It’s been fun really challenging myself behind the wheel in an entirely new way,” Johnson said. “These high-downforce cars, it’s just a lot of fun, number one, and just a massive challenge to rewire all the things I’ve learned from driving the heavy sedans.”
For 24 Hours, Daytona Is True Focus of Motorsports World
With 27 Countries Represented, the Rolex 24 Is Rich in International Appeal
By Jeff Olson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - If you happen to find an entry list for the 59th Rolex 24 At Daytona featuring the flags of each driver’s home country, you’re in for a colorful geography lesson.
You’ll also realize just how international in scope the race is.
When the green flag flies Saturday shortly after 3:30 p.m. ET, you’ll be watching a race involving 49 cars driven by 195 drivers from 27 countries. While Americans make up the largest nationality, they are hardly the majority.
Almost two-thirds of the field hails from outside the U.S., including 18 drivers from Great Britain, 17 from France, 13 from Germany and 11 from Italy.
The international appeal isn’t limited to drivers. The race also has an international audience.
“Everywhere around the world, they are watching this race like they are watching Le Mans,” said Renger van der Zande, a two-time Rolex 24 winner from the Netherlands. “Daytona has a name, and it’s the only race in January. It’s something that the whole world watches because everybody is waiting for the first race of the season. All of that together makes it very appealing for fans and drivers around the world. To win this race is the highlight of my career, for sure.”
The international appeal of the race leads to some widely varied lineups. One of the cars favored to win, the No. 48 Action Express Ally Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R, is co-driven by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson from El Cajon, California, Simon Pagenaud from France, Mike Rockenfeller from Germany and Kamui Kobayashi from Japan.
Circumstances and opportunities brought the four accomplished drivers together, and the result is an international all-star team with global appeal.
“I think Jimmie is still motivated by racing – maybe not by NASCAR, but just by racing different cars,” Kobayashi said. “I’m very happy to be part of his program with the Ally Cadillac. With Simon and Mike, it’s great because we have someone who won the IndyCar championship (Pagenaud) and someone who won the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Rockenfeller). With people coming from all these categories, it shows what a big and competitive championship the IMSA WeatherTech (Championship) has become.”
Two reasons for the appeal to drivers around the globe: The race’s history and its place on the calendar. Sebastien Bourdais, who was born in Le Mans, France, and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, has won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Rolex 24.
“(The Rolex 24) has a huge appeal internationally because of history,” Bourdais said. “It’s a race that every race car driver wants to put on their résumé. Also, it’s so early in the season that there’s really no conflict with other series. There’s such a wide variety of cars and entries and one-offs.
“It allows people to come here just for this specific event. Deep in the season, when they’re all tangled in their own championships, they can’t do it. That’s why you see all nations and backgrounds coming together and kick-starting the season. That’s what’s so unique about Daytona. No other series starts racing at the end of January.”
And the weight of a win in the famous race carries itself around the world. When he makes appearances in the Netherlands, van der Zande is introduced with mention of his Rolex 24 victories.
“They always refer to me as a two-time Daytona winner,” van der Zande said. “On top of that, the biggest newspapers are always asking me for interviews around this time of the year about the Daytona 24 Hours. It’s an endurance classic, and it’s one of the biggest races in the world if you are in endurance racing. I feel it at home in Holland, for sure. People recognize this race.”
They also show up for it. Most of the spectators watch from the infield of the giant facility, which might mask the numbers, but drivers notice how many fans – and how many from around the world – show up for the race. That may not be the case quite as much this year, with travel and attendance limited by the global pandemic. But it’s still special for the foreign drivers to see the international fan representation.
“There are a ton of race fans that show up on site from all around the world,” Bourdais said. “It’s not a huge number, but it’s impressive. Even if it’s a decent number, because of the size of the venue, it doesn’t look crowded. But the racing community gathers together for a party that starts the season every year.”
Live U.S. coverage of the 24-hour race begins at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday on NBC. After the first hour, the flag-to-flag coverage moves to NBCSN, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold and the NBC Sports App before returning to NBC at 2 p.m. Sunday for the conclusion. Complete IMSA Radio coverage may also be found at IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and SiriusXM Radio (Sirius channel 216, XM 202 and Internet 972).
Tickets for the Rolex 24 At Daytona are available HERE.
Rolex 24 Hour 2: Cadillacs to the fore
After two hours in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, Cadillac holds down the top four places, with Renger van der Zande in the No. 01 Chip Ganassi Racing DPi-V.R leading Felipe Nasr in the No. 31, Simon Pagenaud in the No. 48, and Loic Duval in the No. 5.
In LMP2, class leader Antonio Fuoco’s No. 47 Cetilar Dallara is followed by the ORECAs of Eric Lux (No. 82) and Ben Keating (No. 52).
Tommy Milner leads GTLM in the No. 4 Corvette, chased by James Calado in the No. 62 Ferrari and John Edwards in the No. 24 BMW, while Aaron Telitz continues to pace GTD in the No. 14 Lexus, followed by Jan Heylen in the No. 16 Porsche and Misha Goikhberg in the No. 19 Lamborghini.
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson turned the No. 48 Action Express Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R over to IndyCar star Simon Pagenaud with the car in second place midway through the second hour of competition.
“What a car, and what an opportunity,” Johnson said. “I certainly didn’t want to break the toy during the first couple of hours, so I was a little bit more conservative than I needed to be. We got that caution just right.”
Stepping away from stock cars, Johnson will tackle IndyCar this year, and found the DPi the perfect step in the transition.
“This is the closest car I can drive in the U.S. to an IndyCar,” said Johnson, who last raced in the Rolex 24 in 2011, back in the era of the Daytona Prototypes.
“The braking is much better now than the car I drove 10 years ago,” Johnson said of the DPi Cadillac. “Speeds are up, but the brakes are a huge difference. The last car I drove here had steel brakes; this car has carbon fiber, plus the shape of the body is much different, which does provide more downforce. The car does move around in the corner, and you do lack grip and have to fight the car to drive it. That’s much more in line with my NASCAR days. I’m finding in IndyCar that the window to slide things around is so narrow!”
Leading in GT Daytona moments before the 1-hour mark, problems for the No. 12 Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 sent the car to the back of the pack, two laps down. At the end of the hour, the car was still 19th, but gained a lap due to the cautions.
Moments later, Rob Hodes went straight into the wall in Turn 1 in the No. 81 DragonSpeed USA ORECA LMP2 07-Gibson. Hobes limped back to the pits, losing several laps to replace right-front and splitter damage. Debris from the incident also brought out the second caution of the race, a lengthy 34 minute slowdown.
The race had only gone green for eight minutes when Frits Van Eerd tagged a tire barrier, causing significant left-front damage to the No. 29 Racing Team Nederland ORECA. That brought out the third caution of the race.
HOUR 2 STANDINGS