CONCORD, N.C. -- On Tuesday, Action Express Racing (AXR) announced Jimmie Johnson, Simon Pagenaud and Kamui Kobayashi all will return to the No. 48 Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R for a chance to win the IMSA Endurance Cup.
Johnson and his teammates secured a second-place finish at the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA in January and now will take on the three other endurance races that round out the series. The No. 48 Ally team will take on the 12 Hours of Sebring at Sebring International Speedway on March 20, the Six Hours of Watkins Glen at Watkins Glen International on June 27 and the Motul Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta on Oct. 17.
“I had such a great experience at the Rolex 24 at DAYTONA finishing second in the Ally Cadillac DPi-V.R that I want to continue and run the rest of the IMSA long events,” Johnson said. “The whole experience working with the Action Express Racing team -- sharing the Ally Cadillac with Simon, Kamui and Mike -- just made me want to do more racing in the series. The Cadillac DPi-V.R is such a great car to drive. I can’t wait to turn some laps at Sebring, the Glen and Road Atlanta.”
Hendrick Motorsports vice president of competition Chad Knaus will reunite with Johnson to offer his expertise for the No. 48 Ally team. The crew chief-driver duo, which won seven NASCAR Cup Series titles and 81 races together, will also be joined by several other Hendrick Motorsports team members in support of the effort.
Johnson competed in his final full-time season in the Cup Series in 2020 before setting his sights on an INDYCAR road-course schedule and, now, IMSA endurance racing. During the Rolex 24, AXR team director Gary Nelson was impressed by both the driver’s tenacity and the support provided by Hendrick Motorsports.
“At the Rolex 24, we were honored to get support from Chad Knaus and several of the Hendrick Motorsports pit crew members,” Nelson said. “We are excited that we will be getting that help again for the remaining endurance events and appreciate the commitment from Rick (Hendrick).
“We are looking forward to running the car at the three remaining IMSA endurance races and seeing how we come out in the season ending standings come October.”