Jimmie Johnson became a 44-year-old rookie Tuesday.
Johnson, with just 17 races left in his full-time NASCAR career, got into the cockpit of an IndyCar Series race car to test his skills in a vehicle he thought he'd be driving decades ago.
He was like a kid running down the stairs on Christmas morning to open presents. He already knew what he was unwrapping: a 1,600-pound open-wheel race car.
The Chip Ganassi No. 10 machine made an estimated 120 laps around the 2.4-mile road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the test. Johnson couldn't get enough, posting "Sign me up for more!" on Twitter.
It's the beginning of a fascinating journey for a seven-time Cup Series champion who's spent 19 years behind the wheel of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.
At a time most drivers at his age and some much younger are looking for a second career out of a car, he's hopping into something much different than what he's used to.
That's probably part of the appeal. Johnson has reached the peak of stock car racing and has other items to cross off the bucket list. The IndyCar Series is on it.
In a way, it's the perfect time for Johnson to try it out.
He hasn't visited victory lane since 2017 at Dover and it's becoming safer to be in the IndyCar series with the addition to the aeroscreen.
Johnson had said the series should stop racing at ovals because of the obvious dangers associated with the speeds at those tracks and the construction of the cars.
But having a more enclosed cockpit will make it a more comfortable transition for Johnson, and enticed him to keep pursuing an IndyCar ride.
How successful his run in the series could hinge on if his road course abilities are better than what they were in stock cars.
The IndyCar schedule is much more road-course heavy than the Cup Series', and Johnson has one win and eight top-five finishes in 38 road course races.
Whether he actually wins or is competitive in the IndyCar Series isn't what's most important here, though.
Johnson has already put his stamp on racing with a Hall of Fame career.
He's getting to live out one of a dream of racing in a series he watched as a kid. It's worth a shot, no matter his age or how long it lasts.
III
It was a career day for Tom Rackers in the Riley Racing Challenge. Tom's score of 749 points last Thursday for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway beat out the next best score on the News Tribune sports desk by 78 points.
This fantasy game pays to have the top three finishers on the team, which Tom had with Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. He even had Kevin Harvick, who finished fourth. That helped cancel out the low finishes for Joe Logano and Johnson. Greg Jackson scored 671 points and I had my worst week with 650 points. Time to study for New Hampshire. The local winner was Marvin Bernskoetter of Wardsville with 831 points. Bernskoetter also had the top four drivers, along with four more in the top 14. Bernskoetter also earned 50 bonus points for correctly picking Keselowski to finish second and Harvick to finish fourth.