NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson to make ‘big announcement’ this afternoon

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is set to make a “big announcement” at some point later this afternoon.

Two days after returning to victory lane for the first time since June of 2017 at Dover International Speedway by winning the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series preseason exhibition, the Advance Auto Parts Clash, at Daytona International Speedway, Hendrick Motorsports’ Jimmie Johnson is back in the headlines, this time for something other than the 17-car wreck that resulted in him winning the Clash.

The seven-time Cup Series champion is reportedly set to make a “big announcement” at some point this afternoon, but there are not yet any specifics known regarding this “big announcement”.

NASCAR on NBC posted on their Twitter account about this impending “big announcement”.

The 43-year-old El Cajon, California native, however, downplayed this “big announcement” on his own Twitter account.

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There has been speculation that Johnson may be preparing to announce that the 2020 season will be his final season of full-time competition in the Cup Series, as that is when his current contract with Hendrick Motorsports expires. He signed this contract, which was a three-year contract extension, in June of 2017.

The end of the 2020 season is also when the team’s sponsorship agreement with Ally Bank is set to expire. This sponsorship agreement was announced for the 2019 and 2020 seasons this past October.

However, all we really know about this announcement at this point is that it’s “big”, an assessment with which Johnson may not even agree to a full extent, and that it is set to come this afternoon. As far as what time this announcement is set to be made, this is also not public knowledge.

What will Jimmie Johnson’s “big announcement” pertain to later today? Will it pertain to his NASCAR Cup Series career in any way? In just a few short hours, the answers to these questions will likely be revealed.