Jimmie Johnson’s debut weekend at Sebring International Raceway got off to a rough start with a crash in IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series qualifying.
The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion looped the No. 48 Action Express Ally Cadillac in Turn 16 and then made significant contact with the tire barrier at Sunset Bend, the last of the 3.74-mile course’s 17 turns. Johnson was evaluated and released from the track’s care center.
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Johnson, 45, retired from full-time NASCAR competition after last season, transitioning to part-time duty in both IndyCar and IMSA this season. Saturday’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring (10 a.m.-10 p.m. ET, NBCSN, IMSA.tv, NBC Sports Gold TrackPass) is the second of four IMSA starts planned for Johnson this season, who competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January and intends to enter endurance events at Watkins Glen (June 27) and Road Atlanta (Nov. 13).
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“I’m certainly disappointed that I tore up the car for the team, putting them in a difficult position,” Johnson said in a news release. “They seem eager and ready for the challenge to get the Ally Cadillac back together for tomorrow. I spun in Turn 16. I was trying to get up and going to catch another flying lap before the session ended. Sadly, I had some debris on my tires as I entered 17 and tagged the outside wall. I learned a couple of lessons there. Call them rookie lessons.”
Johnson will share driving duties Saturday with Kamui Kobayashi and Simon Pagenaud. Chad Knaus, who was crew chief for Johnson’s seven Cup Series titles, is on hand at Sebring to assist the Action Express team and to plan race strategy.
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Fellow Action Express driver Pipo Derani won the pole position for Saturday’s Sebring race in the No. 31 Cadillac. The No. 48 Cadillac was listed last among the seven DPi entries on the qualifying chart after Johnson’s trouble.