Jimmie Johnson is officially back in the United States as a resident after living in London, United Kingdom, for two years. He was on this week’s Harvick Happy Hour podcast, discussing a range of topics with Kevin Harvick as his drivers at Legacy Motor Club prepare for the Daytona race.
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One of the conversations they had was about the difference that Johnson faced as a driver in the Generation 6 car and the Next Gen car. Harvick observed and asked, “I look at part of what your success was in the Gen 6 car in the previous generations, when you were at Hendrick Motorsports, was car control.
“And I look at the first few races that you did in the Next Gen car. It’s an angry beast. When it decides to get sideways, you don’t try to save it, you wreck it. I watched Kyle Busch, and that was always his strength, being able to go past that capability. Is that a fair assessment of the Next Gen car?”
Johnson acknowledged that it was a fair assessment and explained that spec cars have a soft cap in the sport. There is a limited number of chassis or parts that a team can buy in a season. “I don’t think I would be a team owner if we didn’t have this combination, this setup of a spec car,” he added.
The changes that Johnson would like to see in the Next Gen car
Johnson believes that a car that gains side force and yaw (the twist or oscillation of a vehicle about a vertical axis) will produce better racing. He firmly believes that the Next Gen doesn’t do that. But to make that happen, all the OEMs would need to submit various wind tunnel metrics and bear all the expenses that go with that.
He understands how tough a job that can be. Another change he’d like to see is having taller sidewalls on the cars. He thinks that the lower profile sidewall removes a lot of the feel that drivers have and reduces the ability to slide the car and understand it. It ought to be noted that Johnson is able to make these demands in the hindsight of his experience driving the previous generation cars.
He expressed awe at how evolution works in this sport and how the drivers of today have certain elements in the car that he has always yearned for as a driver.
