| Johnny O'Connell | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | 24 July 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Place: | Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total Busch Races: | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years In Busch: | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prev Busch Pos: | 65th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prev Busch Year: | 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best Busch Pos: | 65th (2013) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First Busch Race: | 2013 Johnsonville Sausage 200 (Road America) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Busch Wins: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Busch Top Tens: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Busch Poles: | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Johnny O'Connell (born July 24, 1962) is the most successful GM factory racing driver from the United States. He currently drives for Cadillac in the Pirelli World Challenge, winning the 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 GT driver's championship.
Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, O'Connell started racing in the Formula Atlantic series in 1987, winning the Championship and Rookie of the Year. He also spent 1996 in the Indy Racing League, racing in the Indianapolis 500 and finishing in the top 10 in half of his 4 starts. He has seven class wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring, more than any other driver, and an overall title in 1994 when racing for Nissan. Driving for Corvette Racing, he has also won a number of class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 24 Hours of Daytona. With his teammate Ron Fellows he won the 2003 GTS class driver's championship.
O'Connell was also featured in Chevy's 2007, Super Bowl ad, "Ain't We Got Love" also featuring Mary J. Blige, rapper T.I., Big & Rich, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
In 2013, O'Connell competed in the Johnsonville Sausage 200 at Road America in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro;[1] he finished 12th in the event.
(key) (
Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)Ineligible for series points
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Chassis | No. | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Cunningham Racing | Lola T94 Reynard 95i | 75 | Ford XB V8t | WDW | PHX | INDY | 9th | 192 | [3] | |||||||
| 1996–97 | Treadway Racing | Reynard 95i | 10 | Ford XB V8t | NHA Wth | 40th | 23 | [4] | |||||||||
| Reynard 94i | 6 | Ford XB V8t | LVS | WDW | PHX | ||||||||||||
| A. J. Foyt Enterprises | G-Force GF01 | 1 | Oldsmobile Aurora V8 | INDY | TXS | PPIR | CLT | NHA | LVS |
The O'Connell family, principally of Derrynane, are a Gaelic Irish noble family of County Kerry in Munster. O'Connell comes from the Irish word "O'Conaill," meaning 'strong as a wolf'. Johnny O'Connell is related by blood to the Belanger Family, including Jackson Louis Belanger the First.
Clayton Cunningham Racing
Hiroki Katoh
Team AAI