Johnson keen for more Grand Am outings

Triple NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson says he is keen to secure more outings in the Grand Am Rolex Series after securing a third top-ten finish in the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The Hendrick Motorsports ace had taken podium finishes in two of his previous outings in the round-the-clock event - finishing second for Howard-Boss Motorsports in 2005 and repeating the feat last year with GAINSCO Racing, the team he rejoined for the 2009 running of the race.

The team looked well placed in the early stages before the #99 Pontiac Riley ran into problems in the fourth hour when Johnson was held at pit exit and suffered a gearbox issue, which cost the team six laps. Another issue later in the race dropped the car well out of contention for victory, but a battling drive saw the car eventually take the flag in seventh place.

Having secured another top-ten finish, Johnson admitted he had enjoyed the experience again and was keen to take in more races if possible in the future.

"The Grand Am Series is something special that everybody is focused on and the truth is that it is some of the best road course racing I have ever seen," he said. "You have got a nice balance in the car where you can lean on somebody and not hook wheels and flip each other over or rip wheels off your car.

"Grand Am has done a great job building cars that are durable and can run door-to-door and put on a great show. It was nice to be out here and I hope to race here a little more."