(Video) Jimmie Johnson Makes “Rookies Mistake” as He Wrecks Conor Zilisch and Cole Custer at Charlotte

NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson has shared his thoughts after a wreck ruined his 700th career race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

(Video) Jimmie Johnson Makes “Rookies Mistake” as He Wrecks Conor Zilisch and Cole Custer at Charlotte

Jimmie Johnson wrecks at Coke 600 (Via IMAGO and @NASCAR/X)

Seven times Cup champion Jimmie Johnson came into the Charlotte Motor Speedway with the hopes of having a strong run on his 700th career start, but things didn’t go according to the plan. The veteran run, in the Legacy Motor Club No:84 Toyota Camry ended in a disappointing P40 finish, owing to an early race that features the youngest driver on the track at Coca Cola 600.

On turn 4, the No:84 Toyota made contact with the wall, bounced of it and collected Conor Zilisch and 2023 Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer. It was the Cup oval race debut for 18-year-old Zilisch with Trackhouse Racing, making him the youngest driver in the history of the sport to start 600 miles NASCAR race.

The duo didn’t suffer any major damages to their cars because of the Jimmie Johnson crash. But it was big enough to derail their momentum, as they finished the race in P23 and P21 respectively. The veteran who caused the incident wasn’t lucky as his damage was significant enough for LKMC to park his car. In his post-race interview, Johnson admitted that it was his rookie-ish mistake that caused the wreck.

I think I just made kind of a rookie mistake in one of these cars, the way I let out of the throttle going into the turn. I knew right when I let off the throttle, I came off a bit abruptly and the car was a little sideways.

Jimmie Johnson told Amazon Prime Vide.

Further talking about the incident, Johnson revealed that the Next-Gen car is tough for him understand in traffic as it no longer compliments his instincts unlike the past Cup cars. He made the wrong move and realized it is too late. The veteran needs more time behind the wheel of the 7th Gen car to be close to as good as he used to be in his HMS days.

The traffic situations, they’re just different with this car, and my instincts, I just kind of reacted in a way that I shouldn’t have, and once I realized, it was too late.

Jimmie Johnson added.

Jimmie Johnson raised the issue of lack of practice time ahead of the race

Coming into the race weekend, Jimmie Johnson made some comments about the lack of practice in the NASCAR in the new ear and how it is affecting the drivers. The racers need time behind the wheels to be good at what they do and when they dint get enough seat time, it affects the overall race product. The lack of alternatives races to experience something similar Cup cars is also a big issue.

Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson (Via IMAGO)

You get 25 minutes of practice at the track and then you qualify and then you race. How do you get better? How do you hone your craft? Now it’s shifted to where, wow, you don’t get much seat time. You need seat time…Some would argue that you need to drive a vehicle that’s like a Cup car. It’s hard to find one, there’s really not many out there.

Jimmie Johnson said

The veteran in the interview made the point, to show why the current generation of drivers are venturing more into other racing series as they want to have more racing experience to be good. It would be interesting to if NASCAR would listen to the Hall of Famer and makes the much-required changes.

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