Johnny O’Connell celebrates in victory lane. (John Machaqueiro/Cadillac Photo)
By Jack Webster & Eddie LePine
Johnny O’Connell, a long time fan favorite in motorsports, has done it again. In 2015 he won his 4th consecutive Pirelli World Challenge GT Drivers’ Championship, driving the Cadillac ATS – V.R GT3.
We recently had a conversation with Johnny at Petit Le Mans, where he was visiting from his nearby home in Flowery Branch. Johnny was as excited about racing as ever.
“I find myself at this point in my career enjoying my racing more than at any other time. I work harder, I train harder and I get to drive the baddest Cadillac on the planet.”
Johnny has had quite a racing career, and this 4th Pirelli World Championship is just more icing on the cake for a driver who continues to impress. He has more class and overall wins at Sebring than anyone, has won the Rolex 24 at Daytona overall, has won class at Le Mans four times and has also been on the podium at Le Mans 9 times in his career.
So what is next for Johnny? As he told us: “I’m hoping for championships five, six and seven. I have been very fortunate. With GM alone I have 58 major sports car wins. I love what I am doing and I’m with the best people in the world. The people at GM and Cadillac are tops.”
Even after such a long and successful career, there is no slowing down for Johnny O’Connell. Still on his list of things to do is to return to Sebring and Le Mans to add to his success there in the past. Both tracks are among his favorites and both races hold special meaning for him.
Johnny has legions of fans and even visiting Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, he cannot walk more than a few feet before fans looking for a photo or autograph stop him. One of the nicest guys in the paddock, Johnny always makes time for those fans. He developed quite a following from his years with Corvette Racing, and that following has continued to grow since he made the switch to Cadillac.
We are certain that Johnny will get that opportunity to go back to Sebring and Le Mans, because he is one determined driver. As he told us, in his career when one door closed, another opened. The rest is racing history.
We look forward to seeing Johnny O’Connell win races and championships for many years to come.
Jack Webster has been shooting motorsports since the early 1970’s, covering Formula One, CanAm, F5000, TransAm, GrandAm and American Le Mans races, among others. In addition to his photography, he has also worked on racing teams, both in IMSA and IndyCar, so has a complete knowledge of the inner workings of motorsport. Both his photography and writing can be seen here on racingnation.com. Eddie LePine has been involved in motorsports for over 30 years as photographer, columnist, and driver. Eddie also is now a retired racer (well, retired unless a good ride pops up). You can usually find Eddie in the paddock area, deep in conversation with a driver.