NASCAR Cup Series: Jimmie Johnson makes his ‘big announcement’

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson made the “big announcement” that was promised on Monday for this afternoon.

After it was revealed by NASCAR on NBC’s Twitter page that seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson had a “big announcement” to make at some point this afternoon, fans began speculating about what this announcement might be.

Johnson is 43 years old and is in his 18th season as a full-time Cup Series driver, and his current contract, which he signed in June of 2017, with Hendrick Motorsports expires at the end of the 2020 season.

Also, the team’s sponsorship agreement with Ally Bank, which was announced in October of 2018, does the same.

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With all of this information considered, many fans speculated that the El Cajon, California native may announce that the 2020 season will be his final season of competition in the Cup Series.

However, Johnson fans can take a deep breath and Johnson haters will have to keep waiting, as the 83-time Cup Series race winner has no immediate plans to retire.

In fact, this “big announcement” ended up having absolutely nothing to do with his Cup Series career directly, which may be why Johnson questioned, albeit somewhat jokingly, why NASCAR on NBC considered it a “big announcement”.

Instead, Johnson announced that he is set to compete in this year’s Boston Marathon on Monday, April 15. He is set to do so with an exemption from Gatorade, which has been a longtime personal sponsor of the driver of the #48 Chevrolet.

Here is what Johnson had to say about the matter, according to NBC Sports.

"“Away from the car, there are plenty of goals that occupy my free time.Endurance sports is a big part of that. Watching the Boston Marathon the year of the bombing (in 2013), something clicked about me wanting to run that race, and once the bombing happened, I wanted to be part of Boston Strong.”“It’s very aggressive. A difficult place to get a (personal record). The competitor in me wants to go fast and put up a respectable time. I don’t know what 26.2 (miles) feels like. I’ve been to 20 a handful of times already in the training. It takes two days to feel normal again. The challenge of completing the accomplishment, I’m drawn to that stuff. I’d love to see how far I can push myself. We’ll see how it shakes out on April 15.”"

How will Jimmie Johnson perform in his first Boston Marathon, especially since it is scheduled to take place just two days after the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, the ninth race on the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series schedule, on Saturday, April 13?