More IndyCar on the horizon for NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson?
By Asher Fair
The third time was the charm for NASCAR’s Jimmie Johnson, who finally got to make his debut behind the wheel of an open-wheel car driving for the Chip Ganassi Racing IndyCar team. Is there more IndyCar in his near future?
It might have taken nearly four months longer than expected, but seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson can finally say that he got to drive an open-wheel race car in preparation for a potential debut in the NTT IndyCar Series next year.
Johnson, who announced in November that the 2020 Cup Series season would be his 19th and final season behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, has long said that he would like to run IndyCar road course races when he retires from NASCAR competition.
The 44-year-old El Cajon, California native has gone as far as saying that he may like to compete in each of the non-oval races on the schedule in some future season. He recently even said that he may consider running the Indianapolis 500, given how many safety improvements have been made over the years, despite having previously ruled it out.
He finally got the chance to test a Honda-powered car for Chip Ganassi Racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Tuesday.
Third time’s a charm pic.twitter.com/gMeLUUQLXz
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) July 28, 2020
Johnson drove the #10 Honda that is driven by second-year driver Felix Rosenqvist around the 13-turn, 2.439-mile (3.925-kilometer) road course in Speedway, Indiana.
He would now like to “sign up for more”.
Today was incredible. Sign me up for more! pic.twitter.com/oz69CimIAp
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) July 28, 2020
Five-time series champion Scott Dixon, who drives the #9 Honda for the team, was there to give his fellow racing legend pointers and feedback.
Appreciate having @scottdixon9 come out to the test today to share pointers and give feedback.
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) July 28, 2020
Just finished reviewing his in-car footage compared to mine then took a ride on the track together to check brake points and areas to gain a little speed. pic.twitter.com/VjgueGgj3k
On two occasions prior to this week, Johnson had been slated to make his debut behind the wheel of an IndyCar. But both times, those opportunities fell through due to circumstances completely out of his control.
After attending preseason testing at Circuit of the Americas as a guest of McLaren, he had been slated to test a Chevrolet-powered car for Arrow McLaren SP at Barber Motorsports Park on Monday, April 6, following Sunday’s IndyCar event at the track.
More from IndyCar
- IndyCar: Two teams with no drivers confirmed for 2024
- IndyCar: Chip Ganassi Racing news hints Alex Palou announcement
- IndyCar: ‘Addition by subtraction’ could pay off in a big way
- Team Penske should make a bold driver signing for 2024
- IndyCar: 5 teams that still have open seats for 2024
The team even acquired the number 48 from Dreyer & Reinbold Racing, indicating that Johnson could potentially run actual races with the team starting next year.
But due to the coronavirus pandemic, that test did not happen. In fact, April saw no NASCAR or IndyCar action whatsoever, despite the fact that there had originally been a total of three Cup Series races and three IndyCar races on the schedule for that month.
Then Johnson was supposed to test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Wednesday, July 8 for Chip Ganassi Racing, but that test did not take place as planned since Johnson himself tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of the previous week.
He was even forced to miss that Sunday’s race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, which ended a streak of 663 consecutive starts dating back to when his full-time career began in 2002.
Next. Top 10 NASCAR drivers of all-time. dark
But on Tuesday, July 28, he finally got the shot he had been waiting for, and it seems to have gone well. Will he make his true IndyCar debut next year? At this point, the better questions may be where will he make his debut, and for which team will he be driving?