Johnson received again behind the wheel of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 because the occasion entered the early evening hours.
The Storage 56 entry had an uneventful race with no main points or offs to talk of. However the seven-time NASCAR Cup Collection champion was confronted with a completely new problem proper after taking on driving duties. It started to rain.
A number of automobiles went off because the rain poured down with visibility turning into as a lot of a difficulty because the moist observe was. Johnson’s rain-racing expertise is proscribed, and by no means underneath circumstances fairly like this. Regardless of all that, the 47-year-old veteran did a nice job retaining the automotive on the observe, and in a single piece.
“It was horrifying, particularly the way it befell – there was a pop-up bathe in the beginning of the lap and it was simply pouring,” mentioned Johnson. “I got here round a nook on slicks and it was only a downpour. However we introduced the automotive round and put wets on it to essentially attempt to perceive how the wets would carry out. We in all probability ran 2-3 too many laps on the wets and it actually fell aside as soon as the observe began to dry. We put the slicks again on and we had been the quickest GT-style automotive on the observe and had been working the fellows down.”
The stint lasted two hours and 52 minutes with Johnson working 33 laps. The automotive stays solidly contained in the top-40 general, however the timing of a security automotive proved to be a little bit of a setback for the HMS workforce as they purpose to greatest the complete GTE-Am area.
“We had some unlucky luck with the protection automotive that put us down a lap and we’re making an attempt to get that lap again now,” he defined. “I actually assume we’ve a shot on the GT general with this automotive. So simply have to catch the protection automotive proper to place us again on the lead lap and off we go.
“I attempted (to organize for these circumstances) within the sim, however they’ll’t simulate rain prefer it actually is. The evening time (sim) driving was fairly helpful and labored out nicely, however the sim is straightforward as a result of you possibly can’t get damage. You simply hit reset and also you’re again on the observe. Actual life, actual concern, actual penalties make an enormous distinction.”
#24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of Jimmie Johnson, Mike Rockenfeller, Jenson Button
Photograph by: Rainier Ehrhardt
