Jimmie Johnson praised Chase Elliott’s ability to adapt in a sports car for Rolex 24 At Daytona

The NASCAR drivers are teammates again for the Rolex 24 sports car endurance race.

Despite seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson’s retirement from full-time NASCAR racing at the end of the 2020 season, he and reigning Cup Series champ Chase Elliott are teammates, once again. But not the way fans are used to with Hendrick Motorsports in NASCAR.

For this weekend’s Rolex 24 At Daytona — also known as 24 Hours of Daytona, a sports car endurance race at Daytona International Speedway and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener — 45-year-old Johnson and 25-year-old Elliott will be driving different cars for the same Action Express Racing team.

The 24-hour race begins Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC), and Elliott’s No. 31 Whelen Engineering Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R team will start on the pole.

Although the race is at Daytona, these cars and their setups are entirely different from stock cars. But Johnson — who’s racing in his eighth Rolex 24 — praised newcomer Elliott for adjusting to the “steep learning curve” and capitalizing where he can.

About Elliott’s progress, Johnson said (via NASCAR.com):

“I’ve known him for so long and in such a way that he’s still the same Chase to me. Just his ability to drive a car, what he’s learned, how he’s applied all the things that you can draw from as a race car driver at Hendrick Motorsports, and the way he’s been able to exploit it. More than anything, I’m just really proud of him, and he’s been able to make stuff happen that I haven’t been able to make happen. So, excited for him.

“Seeing him get out of the car yesterday, it’s very familiar — the big, wide-eyed expression he has. I’m a few months ahead of him, trying to get used to high downforce cars, but our conversation is very much the same with the more experienced drivers. And been trying to help him with the small victories I’ve had so far in how to use the brakes and how to exploit lap-times with downforce, and been trying to share that with him. And he’s adapting quickly.”

For the Rolex 24, Elliott will rotate driving duties in the No. 31 car with Pipo Derani, Felipe Nasr and Mike Conway, while Johnson will share the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R with Simon Pagenaud, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Rockenfeller.

After the endurance race, Elliott will prepare for NASCAR’s season-opening Daytona 500 on February 14, while Johnson will continue his transition to the IndyCar Series, whose 2021 season begins in April.

[jwplayer s6UDbril-q2aasYxh]

[vertical-gallery id=960336]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 tag=421393221]