SAN DIEGO – It’s not precisely fair to say NASCAR racing was a kinder, gentler art form during Jimmie Johnson’s most productive years.
Nevertheless, the NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time Cup Series champion acknowledged being taken aback by some of the rough stuff he experienced in Friday’s Navy 250 NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at San Diego Street Course at Naval Base Coronado.
“Yesterday, I just couldn’t believe the disrespect that everybody had from the jump,” Johnson said in a Saturday morning question-and-answer session with reporters. “I mean, just gouging each other nonstop, and I was up at the front racing away and we were pointing each other by, and I was like, ‘This is old school Cup, this makes sense.’
“The way the fuel cycle worked out, I entered mid-pack and I look around and I saw these trucks all twisted up, and I thought (they) had hit the wall, and I guess maybe some did, but it was all from bashing into one another on the track.
“And then I got turned around twice, just last second lunges into areas that nobody should have been. So, it is what it is. When I look at my Instagram feed or my twitter feed and see the local short tracks and behavior there, man, it’s just wild. So we’ll see where it goes.”
It’s not that Johnson didn’t enjoy his second Truck Series start, which came 18 years after his debut. After qualifying fourth in the No. 1 TRICON Garage Toyota, he ran in the top five for much of the afternoon-leading two laps-before finishing 30th after spinning twice in the final stage.
Johnson, co-owner of the LEGACY Motor Club Cup Series team, has announced that the 2027 DAYTONA 500 will be his final Cup Series race, but the Truck Series is another matter.
“I’m not against running trucks some more, had so much fun yesterday and then I’m looking at a few other different championships to dabble in next year, kind of going back to my roots with some off-road racing and trucks,” said Johnson, a native of nearby El Cajon.
“I guess I like trucks, but trying to find a good balance of events I can run. First and foremost, take off those bucket list events I want to do, and then, two, with LEGACY’s vision and how hospitality experiential and other platforms can make sense.”
Johnson will race for LEGACY on Sunday in the Anduril 250. He qualified 36th on Saturday for the historic event.
Sense of loyalty was central to Chris Buescher’s decision to stay put
It’s no secret that a number of other NASCAR Cup Series organizations were eager to enlist the services of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher.
After all, Buescher has been the steady standout performer for the team this season, and he recently signed a multiyear extension to remain in the No. 17 Ford.
“Chris right now is obviously a cornerstone of our company,” said RFK co-owner Brad Keselowski. “He’s delivered results. He puts us in a position to win and compete that I’m really proud of. He’s doing all the work he needs to do to be successful. He’s taken his lumps, paid a lot of dues, and we just want to give him the best car we can give him so he can win races.
“There was a lot of competition for Chris, and a lot of teams in the garage area that wanted him. It was not a layup for us to re-sign him, but we feel fortunate that he felt our commitment was strong enough to want to stay with us.”
Buescher made his NASCAR national series debut for owner Jack Roush in an O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Richmond Raceway in 2011. Though he drove for both Front Row Motorsports and JTG/Daugherty Racing “on loan,” he remained under contract to the organization that became RFK Racing when Keselowski bought into the team in 2021.
“I’ve been there for 17 years,” Buescher said. “Jack Roush gave me the opportunity to go racing at the highest level of the ARCA and O’Reilly side early on in my career. And you don’t forget that, right? I’ve had a place that I’ve been able to call home. The organization and everybody there has been good to myself and my family.
“With the people we have working there we have a ton of talent, and we have a ton of potential. We have to fine-tune, but we’re in a really good spot. We’re getting close, and I believe we can do great things.”
Christopher Bell’s reliance on relief driver a game-time decision
Recovering from a broken wrist he suffered during a violent crash June 7 at Michigan International Speedway, Christopher Bell says he was pain-free after turning practice laps Friday at San Diego Street Course at Naval Base Coronado.
That doesn’t mean he’s worry-free. Bell’s main concern is to avoid jeopardizing the progress he has made during the healing process as he navigates the rugged 3.4-mile, 16-turn circuit.
“I will say that it is a very high-risk race track,” Bell acknowledged. “I can’t afford any setbacks. I’m already two weeks into the healing process now, so the goal certainly is to get back to 100 percent as quick as possible, and we’ll see what happens.
“Any sort of miscalculation on the apex walls or wheel-to-wheel contact, and the wheel jerks in my hand – those are the kinds of things I think we’re all worried about.”
After driving at Pocono Raceway last weekend, Bell has a fresh cast on his left arm. He also has O’Reilly Auto Parts Series pole winner and teenage prodigy Brent Crews standing by as a potential relief driver.
Bell, who qualified 37th on Saturday, says he and crew chief Adam Stevens will talk before the race and determine if and when they might use Crews’ services.
All road and street courses are not created equal
Daniel Suarez is an accomplished road course racer. The first of his three career NASCAR Cup Series victories came at Sonoma Raceway in 2022.
But don’t expect Suarez’s success at the Northern California circuit to help in Sunday’s Anduril 250 at San Diego Street Course at Naval Base Coronado. The courses are nothing alike.
“They’re completely different,” said Suarez, who qualified sixth for Sunday’s race. “Sonoma is super smooth. Sonoma’s a race track. This (San Diego) is not a race track. We’re racing on concrete. We’re racing on asphalt. We’re racing on train tracks.
“We’re racing on everything, so it’s not comparable. It’s like comparing a pizza and a hamburger.”
Honoring service through new NASCAR pin initiative
The connection between NASCAR racing and military service remains extremely strong, given the number of NASCAR officials and employees who have served in the various branches of the armed forces.
Honoring the American semi quincentennial and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Navy, NASCAR officials and employees who served in the military will wear special pins this weekend at NASCAR San Diego.
The pins represent the respective branches of the military for which they served. The military branch pins will represent the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.
–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service.
