The NASCAR great had a predictably tough rookie IndyCar season in 2021, getting to grips with road and street courses in his Carvana-backed Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda, but this year expands his schedule to take in all rounds on the calendar.
That will of course include his forte, oval racing, and Johnson has already completed a test at Texas Motor Speedway, and two of the three stages in the Rookie Orientation Program at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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He said: “I feel like the half day that I had going through rookie orientation went by way too quick and the weather shortening it wasn't ideal, but just really excited for the opportunity and excited to get the season started… Not long into the year we get to test at Texas and obviously race at Texas and we have the Indy test sessions coming up.
“I'm just eager to get more oval experience to try to sense and understand the car. I feel like I'll be much more competitive on the ovals, and the faster I can learn the cars and sensations and adjustments, the better my chances will be at a podium or better yet…
“I spent last year just trying to hitch my trailer to the back of the pack and keep up with everyone, and I was finally doing that at the end. I do think the ovals should increase my competitiveness and get me right in the mix with everybody.”
Describing the sensation of oval racing in IndyCar compared with NASCAR, he said, “The speed is quite a bit faster than what I was used to in a Cup car, but once I got my eyes in the right spot, I was surprised how familiar it felt.
“As the Texas test session wore on, we started making adjustments to the car, and again, I was surprised how those… Well, I knew how those adjustments felt in a stock car and I wasn't sure if they would feel the same in an IndyCar, and they did.”
Johnson said that on his Indy 500 debut, he will be well prepared for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s unusual habit of making a fast car slow (or vice-versa) and a good-handling car turn bad (or vice versa) with just a tiny amount of change in temperature or wind direction. He says he encountered the same when drivin a NASCAR Cup car around the 2.5-mile oval.
“We'd come and test for the Brickyard 400 and leave with an opinion good or bad and then return for the race and oftentimes the opposite thing happened. The track is so finicky – sunlight, wind direction… It really changes the performance of the car so much. I assume it's because of the very flat corners that you have and the smallest percentage in grip change changes the balance of the car.
“When I look at the Indy 500 right now, I think qualifying is probably the most daunting part of it. The car is on edge. That's when the driver needs to be most in tune with the car and lay it all on the line.
“At the same time, the team and I equate this a little bit to Daytona for NASCAR. You watch an organization go for the Daytona 500 and their cars are all up at the front or all at the back, so not only does a driver play such a big role but also the team's performance or even manufacturer performance weighs in.
“To watch someone like Will Power fight for the last spot in last year's starting lineup – that's intimidating to watch, especially as a rookie coming in.
“I hope we are as fast as we were last year, when we had all four cars up there in the top 10. That can make life a lot easier. But man, if it goes the other way, then the slightest temperature change or wind direction change just puts you on your heels, and it can be a tough day.”
As well as Texas and Indy, the other three ovals on the IndyCar schedule for 2022 comprise Gateway’s World Wide Technology Raceway, and the double-header at Iowa Speedway – a track on which Johnson has never raced in any type of car.
