Jimmie Johnson, Colton Herta finish second in the Race of Champions Nations Cup

By Feb 5, 2022, 10:00 AM EST
Johnson Herta Race Champions
Jimmie Johnson
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All that California sunshine apparently prepared Jimmie Johnson and Colton Herta well for driving in snow as the NTT IndyCar Series drivers took Team USA to a second-place finish Saturday in the Race of Champions (ROC) Nations Cup.

Johnson and Herta came up just short to Team Norway’s father-son duo of Petter and Oliver Solberg on the snow- and ice-covered course in Pite Havsbad, Sweden, 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle.

“Who would have thought two California guys would be here on snow and ice and finish second in the Race of Champions Nations Cup,” an incredulous Johnson said in a social media video. “Awesome day for us both. I think we kind of surprised ourselves going rounds. Then I really think we had a shot at the final.

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS: Johnson, Herta reach quarterfinals

“I had a car break and a mechanical, which took me out of an opportunity in the first round. Came back and won in the Porsche. Colton was right there on pace and just came up a little short to the Solberg family.

“Just a super fun day. We exceeded expectations and looking forward to having some fun tonight.”

The Solbergs became the first family team to win the ROC as Petter, a three-time rally champion, won the Nations Cup for the second time.

It was the first ROC appearance in 15 years for Johnson, who had been trying to win the event for the second time.

The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion won the Nov. 29-Dec. 1 2002 event, capturing the Nations Cup for Team USA with Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon and MotoGP rider Colin Edwards in Gran Canaria, Spain (on a dirt track).

Herta was a last-minute replacement for an injured Travis Pastrana, whom Johnson said called the team shortly before the event to predict victory.

“He was watching with a group of friends at 5 a.m. in the States,” Johnson said. “He told us we’d go all the way, and we nearly did it. All the other drivers here have been really friendly and helpful too, offering us advice.

“But until you can actually sense the feel and grip and how a four-wheel-drive car helps pull you round the turn, it doesn’t stick. So every lap has been making us better. Now after today I’m not so sure we’ll be given any more tips.”

Johnson will be driving again Sunday for the “Champion of Champions” title in the individual ROC category.

Johnson and Herta had advanced to the Race of Champions semifinals by beating the German team of four-time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher.

They then beat Team Finland (with Herta besting two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen) to reach the final. Herta also faced four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves in the first round.

The impressive result came despite limited practice time in their cars after a snowstorm made the course mostly undrivable Friday. In a Twitter video, Johnson said he had gotten a handful of laps in two of the four vehicles used in the competition.

The inclement weather also resulted in canceling the ROC’s traditional group stage, sending teams directly into a straight knockout system with four heats between both drivers against the other team. For 2-2 matches, the best total time advanced.

Before the Race of Champions, both had raced last weekend in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, where Herta claimed his second class victory. Johnson came up short in his ninth attempt at winning the overall.

In the Race of Champions “Snow + Ice” World Final event, Johnson and Herta competed against the field in a variety of vehicles (including some from rallycross) with a focus on electric power — a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, an RX Supercar Lites, an RX2e, an FC1-X and a Polaris PRO XP.

Johnson had joked during a prerace news conference that he and Herta were the favorites, and Herta said the loose atmosphere had prevailed into the competition Saturday.

“Our original goal was not to get knocked out in the first round, so when we won that we were jumping up and down and celebrating like we’d won the whole thing,” Herta said. “Certainly nobody could have thought we’d make it to the final. But we had a plan, we stuck to it and here we are.

“It was awesome to race against these guys, and particularly the Solbergs in the final. The conditions weren’t too bad today, depending on which car you were driving – but maybe we’re not experienced enough to know when conditions are good and bad. Our approach was just send it and see what happens.”

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With throaty roar, NASCAR Next Gen Camaro is taking Le Mans by storm on global stage

Associated PressJun 8, 2023, 4:00 PM EDT
Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Chris Graythen/Getty Images
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LE MANS, France — The V8 engine of the NASCAR Chevrolet Camaro has a distinct growl that cannot go unnoticed even among the most elite sports cars in the world at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

When the Hendrick Motorsports crew fired up the car inside Garage 56, NASCAR chairman Jim France broke into a huge grin and gave a thumbs up.

“The only guy who didn’t cover his ears,” laughed seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson.

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France has been waiting since 1962 – the year his father, NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., brought him to his first 24 Hours of Le Mans – to hear the roar of a stock car at the most prestigious endurance race in the world.

A path finally opened when NASCAR developed its Next Gen car, which debuted last year. France worked out a deal to enter a car in a specialized “Innovative Car” class designed to showcase technology and development. The effort would be part of NASCAR’s 75th celebration and it comes as Le Mans marks its 100th.

Once he had the approval, France persuaded Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet and Goodyear – NASCAR’s winningest team, manufacturer and tire supplier – to build a car capable of running the twice-around-the-clock race.

The race doesn’t start until Saturday, but NASCAR’s arrival has already been wildly embraced and France could not be more thrilled.

“Dad’s vision, to be able to follow it, it took awhile to follow it up, and my goal was to outdo what he accomplished,” France told The Associated Press. “I just hope we don’t fall on our ass.”

The car is in a class of its own and not racing anyone else in the 62-car field. But the lineup of 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, 2009 Formula One champion Jenson Button and Johnson has been fast enough; Rockenfeller put down a qualifying lap that was faster than every car in the GTE AM class by a full three seconds.

The Hendrick Motorsports crew won its class in the pit stop competition and finished fifth overall as the only team using a manual jack against teams exclusively using air jacks. Rick Hendrick said he could not be prouder of the showing his organization has made even before race day.

“When we said we’re gonna do it, I said, ‘Look, we can’t do this half-assed. I want to be as sharp as anybody out there,” Hendrick told AP. “I don’t want to be any less than any other team here. And just to see the reaction from the crowd, people are so excited about this car. My granddaughter has been sending me all these TikTok things that fans are making about NASCAR being at Le Mans.”

This isn’t NASCAR’s first attempt to run Le Mans. The late France Sr. brokered a deal in 1976, as America celebrated its bicentennial, to bring two cars to compete in the Grand International class and NASCAR selected the teams. Herschel McGriff and his son, Doug, drove a Wedge-powered, Olympia Beer-sponsored Dodge Charger, and Junie Donlavey piloted a Ford Torino shared by Richard Brooks and Dick Hutcherson.

Neither car came close to finishing the race. McGriff, now 95 and inducted into NASCAR’s Hall of Fame in January, is in Le Mans as France’s guest, clad head-to-toe in the noticeable Garage 56 uniforms.

“I threw a lot of hints that I would like to come. And I’ve been treated as royalty,” McGriff said. “This is unbelievable to me. I recognize nothing but I’m anxious to see everything. I’ve been watching and seeing pictures and I can certainly see the fans love their NASCAR.”

The goal is to finish the full race Sunday and, just maybe, beat cars from other classes. Should they pull off the feat, the driver trio wants its own podium celebration.

“I think people will talk about this car for a long, long time,” said Rockenfeller, who along with sports car driver Jordan Taylor did much of the development alongside crew chief Chad Knaus and Greg Ives, a former crew chief who stepped into a projects role at Hendrick this year.

“When we started with the Cup car, we felt already there was so much potential,” Rockenfeller said. “And then we tweaked it. And we go faster, and faster, at Le Mans on the SIM. But you never know until you hit the real track, and to be actually faster than the SIM. Everybody in the paddock, all the drivers, they come up and they are, ‘Wow, this is so cool,’ and they were impressed by the pit stops. We’ve overachieved, almost, and now of course the goal is to run for 24 hours.”

The car completed a full 24-hour test at Sebring, Florida, earlier this year, Knaus said, and is capable of finishing the race. Button believes NASCAR will leave a lasting impression no matter what happens.

“If you haven’t seen this car live yet, it’s an absolute beast,” Button said. “When you see and hear it go by, it just puts a massive smile on your face.”

For Hendrick, the effort is the first in his newfound embrace of racing outside NASCAR, the stock car series founded long ago in the American South. Aside from the Le Mans project, he will own the Indy car that Kyle Larson drives for Arrow McLaren in next year’s Indianapolis 500 and it will be sponsored by his automotive company.

“If you’d have told me I’d be racing at Le Mans and Indianapolis within the same year, I’d never have believed you,” Hendrick told AP. “But we’re doing both and we’re going to do it right.”

Le Mans 24 Hour Race - Car Parade
Fans gather around the NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that is the Garage 56 entry for the 100th 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Circuit de la Sarthe (Chris Graythen/Getty Images).

General Motors is celebrating the achievement with a 2024 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Garage 56 Edition and only 56 will be available to collectors later this year.

“Even though Chevrolet has been racing since its inception in 1911, we’ve never done anything quite like Garage 56,” said GM President Mark Reuss. “A NASCAR stock car running at Le Mans is something fans doubted they would see again.”

The race hasn’t even started yet, but Hendrick has enjoyed it so much that he doesn’t want the project to end.

“It’s like a shame to go through all this and do all this, and then Sunday it’s done,” Hendrick said. “It’s just really special to be here.”