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Jimmie Johnson is one of the favorites to win the NTT IndyCar Series oval race. Still, Johnson is cautious and doesn’t seem to want to be overly optimistic “I don’t think that’s realistic,” he said, as quoted by racer.
“Some people may have that expectation and that’s fine. I would love that to be the case. Whenever you enter the new series, you’re with the regulars, they’re so good at what they do. We have seen it when drivers try to cross over from various series.
I certainly have higher expectations for myself, but I’m not thinking I’m going to show up, qualify on pole, lead the most laps and win the race”.
Jonhson opportunity
This will be an ideal opportunity for him to show his skills.
Of course, it will not be easy and the competition is strong, but he explained what he expects "I think directionally, ovals really work in my favor,” he said. “When you go to a road or street course and the track is so long, it takes a long time for rubber to go down, the grip level changes on the racetrack, the balance changes in the car.
You have this moving target. Especially on a street course where you only race on it once a year from lap one to the last lap of the race, the track change so much. I don’t have any experience with that. When we unload with a setup, I form an opinion; that session is over, the next day we get one more session, the track has changed again — I’m trying to chase that target.
It’s an environment that experience really does pay off in. I think there’s less of that on ovals. You’ll have all the cars on track straight away. It is a shorter lap, rubber goes down quicker. You create a more stable environment for me to learn in and adjust the race car to”.