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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Jimmie Johnson Clarifies His Oval Racing Statements
5-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson clears the air with Robin Miller after JJ came under fire for comments regarding open-wheel oval racing.
As a husband and father, Johnson's concerns for Wheldon and the rest of his friends in the IZOD IndyCar Series was at the heart of his comments about open-wheel racing and oval safety. (LAT)
Jimmie Johnson would like to clear up a few things about Indy cars, oval tracks, his pals in open wheel, safety and his interest in running the Indianapolis 500.
The 5-time NASCAR champion has been under siege since giving his views to the media after Dan Wheldon lost his life last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Johnson said he didn’t think Indy cars should continue racing on ovals at the speeds they currently run because it was too dangerous for drivers and fans with cars getting airborne.
What he meant, but maybe didn’t clarify, was what many people have been saying for years: Indy cars in a pack-racing environment on ovals that were built and banked for stock cars was a catastrophe waiting to happen.
And it finally resulted in a 15-car accident that had cars flying through the air and claimed the life of a two-time Indy winner.
“I knew Dan and what happened really bothered me and I just wanted to say how I felt, that it was a tragedy and I didn’t think they needed to be running on those fast ovals,’’ Johnson told SPEED.com on Wednesday.
“And then I said I hoped things would improve if they continued to race on them because you can’t have cars getting airborne. The catch fence eats vehicles and puts the drivers and spectators at great risk, that’s why we have restrictor plates.
“We hate that kind of racing at Daytona and Talladega and we’ve got restrictor plates so I can’t imagine the bravery it takes in an Indy car.”
Since the firestorm, JJ has called Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti, Will Power and spoke with A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Tony Kanaan and INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard.
“The last thing I wanted to do was upset the open-wheel community. I’m a huge fan of Indy car racing. I watch it all the time and I have some good friends over there,” he continued.
“P.T., Dario and Will all understood what I was talking about and my conversation with Randy went well.”
Tracy chuckled when Johnson rang him up. “He wanted to know if I was mad at him and I said, ‘of course not,’’’ related the 2003 CART champion. “I told him he was right, that we needed to make some changes if we were going to continue running on those 1.5-mile ovals.”
Of course the irony of Indy car fans being irate with Johnson is that he seriously looked at competing at the Indy 500.
“I actively worked on it for two years, talked to Mr. Hendrick and I even talked to ABC about moving up the starting time to I could get to Charlotte on time,” he said.
“And Randy had approached me about running Las Vegas as well.”
Johnson acknowledged that drivers understand the risks of their profession and many good safety breakthroughs have occurred during his career. But playing with his daughter and then seeing a photo of Wheldon’s widow and two little boys hit home.
“It tore me up,” he said. “And when the press asked me about Dan’s death I felt like was doing what I should. We all know racing is dangerous but we all need to co-exist and make it as safe as possible.”
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
The 5-time NASCAR champion has been under siege since giving his views to the media after Dan Wheldon lost his life last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Johnson said he didn’t think Indy cars should continue racing on ovals at the speeds they currently run because it was too dangerous for drivers and fans with cars getting airborne.
What he meant, but maybe didn’t clarify, was what many people have been saying for years: Indy cars in a pack-racing environment on ovals that were built and banked for stock cars was a catastrophe waiting to happen.
And it finally resulted in a 15-car accident that had cars flying through the air and claimed the life of a two-time Indy winner.
“I knew Dan and what happened really bothered me and I just wanted to say how I felt, that it was a tragedy and I didn’t think they needed to be running on those fast ovals,’’ Johnson told SPEED.com on Wednesday.
“And then I said I hoped things would improve if they continued to race on them because you can’t have cars getting airborne. The catch fence eats vehicles and puts the drivers and spectators at great risk, that’s why we have restrictor plates.
“We hate that kind of racing at Daytona and Talladega and we’ve got restrictor plates so I can’t imagine the bravery it takes in an Indy car.”
Since the firestorm, JJ has called Paul Tracy, Dario Franchitti, Will Power and spoke with A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Tony Kanaan and INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard.
“The last thing I wanted to do was upset the open-wheel community. I’m a huge fan of Indy car racing. I watch it all the time and I have some good friends over there,” he continued.
“P.T., Dario and Will all understood what I was talking about and my conversation with Randy went well.”
Tracy chuckled when Johnson rang him up. “He wanted to know if I was mad at him and I said, ‘of course not,’’’ related the 2003 CART champion. “I told him he was right, that we needed to make some changes if we were going to continue running on those 1.5-mile ovals.”
Of course the irony of Indy car fans being irate with Johnson is that he seriously looked at competing at the Indy 500.
“I actively worked on it for two years, talked to Mr. Hendrick and I even talked to ABC about moving up the starting time to I could get to Charlotte on time,” he said.
“And Randy had approached me about running Las Vegas as well.”
Johnson acknowledged that drivers understand the risks of their profession and many good safety breakthroughs have occurred during his career. But playing with his daughter and then seeing a photo of Wheldon’s widow and two little boys hit home.
“It tore me up,” he said. “And when the press asked me about Dan’s death I felt like was doing what I should. We all know racing is dangerous but we all need to co-exist and make it as safe as possible.”
Robin Miller brings 40 years of experience to his role as SPEED.com's senior open-wheel reporter, and serves as a frequent contributor to SPEED Center and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.
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