NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson gives timetable on future announcement

Jimmie Johnson has given a timetable on when Hendrick Motorsports will know about his NASCAR Cup Series plans for beyond the 2020 season.

Jimmie Johnson signed a three-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports back in June of 2017 to remain with the team through at least the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

The seven-time champion has never driven for a team other than Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series since he began competing in the series back in the 2001 season.

But when primary sponsor Ally Financial signed a three-year contract extension a few weeks ago to continue sponsoring the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on a full-time basis after their initial deal only ran through the 2020 season, Johnson’s contract was not extended.

The 44-year-old El Cajon, California native himself hinted at the time that the 2020 season may be his last before he retires, but he did say that he may decide stick around for the 2021 season.

Per NBC Sports’ Nate Ryan, NASCAR on NBC’s Jeff Burton interviewed Johnson about his plans for the future, and this interview is set to air on NBC before this Sunday’s playoff race at Kansas Speedway. Race coverage is slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET, with the Hollywood Casino 400 itself scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET.

In this interview, Johnson discussed his future plans, and he gave a timetable on when Hendrick Motorsports will know these plans for beyond the 2020 season. Here is what he had to say.

"“I’ve got to start spending some time on it first and foremost, because in the next four to six months, [team owner] Rick [Hendrick] is going to start asking me. I know it’s out there. He’s hinted. He hasn’t put the true pressure on me yet. I’m very thankful to have Rick as an owner and to be in this position with Ally that, ‘Hey look, we’re going to (sponsor the car). We want you as long as you want to drive.’“I don’t think many drivers get that opportunity. So I’m so thankful for that. I want to keep racing. I’d like to not race 38 times a year at some point in the next couple of years. I love racing in general. I love our sport. I want to be involved in our sport. I also love other types of racing. I’ve got to balance family, the schedule and then some other goals that I have to complete in other series, too, at the same time and make a decision on all that within four to six months.”"

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Johnson, who missed the playoffs this season for the first time in his career, has stated multiple times that he wants to compete in other forms of racing after he retires from NASCAR, the most notable of which being IndyCar. He has stated multiple times that he would like to compete in IndyCar road course races, and there are several teams out there already that would be more than willing to give him the opportunity to do that.

When Johnson stated in February that he had a “big announcement” coming, many fans speculated that it may have something to do with him retiring. It ended up being an announcement that he would compete in the 2019 Boston Marathon, which he did quite successfully back in mid-April.

But this time around, the “announcement” that is slated to come within the next four to six months, bringing us to right around the start of the 2020 season to two months into it, is about his NASCAR future, and perhaps his future as an ex-NASCAR driver.

Will the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season be Jimmie Johnson’s final season in the sport, or will he wait until after the 2021 season concludes to step away? What does his post-NASCAR future hold as it pertains to competing in other racing series?