Jimmie Johnson tests the Ganassi single-seater

His discovery of piloting a car IndyCar was scheduled to take place earlier in the year, but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. If McLaren SP held the rope at the start, it was finally with Chip Ganassi Racing as Jimmie Johnson was able to realize an old dream in Indianapolis last week.

The seven-time champion Nascar completed 125 laps of the road course at the wheel of the car usually entrusted to Felix Rosenqvist in the IndyCar Series, while receiving more than enlightened advice from his friend Scott Dixon, driver of Chip Ganassi Racing.

“All the aggression you try to suppress behind the wheel of a Nascar car must be applied to driving an IndyCar single-seater, says Johnson. You are truly rewarded for your aggression and commitment. Then finding that boundary and understanding how to operate on that wire is what I've been trying to figure out for most of the day.

The time you have to react when the car goes out of control is so much shorter here. I ended up spinning twice trying to find the limit. But as the day went on, I was really able to identify the first signals from the car and understand what was happening.

I grew up wanting to be an IndyCar driver in Southern California, going to the Long Beach Grand Prix and watching the races there and wanting to be on the other side of the barriers in one of those cars. So, it was truly the realization of a childhood dream and I had a blast doing it. »

Remember that Jimmie Johnson will compete in his last full campaign this year in the Nascar Cup Series with the Hendrick Motorsports team.