NASCAR: Where should Jimmie Johnson compete in 2021?
By Bryce Turner
With Jimmie Johnson running part-time in IndyCar next season, which Cup or Xfinity races should he run if he decides to add NASCAR to his schedule?
Despite retiring from full-time competition, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has remained open to the possibility of a part-time NASCAR deal next year, when he is set to run the 13 road and street course races on the NTT IndyCar Series schedule for Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR).
While the number of NASCAR races for Johnson would likely be limited, here are some potential races that would make sense.
Jimmie Johnson 2021 races: NASCAR Cup Series regular season
The race that makes the most sense for Johnson is the Daytona 500.
The Great American Race, scheduled for Sunday, February 14, is well before the start of the IndyCar season. Plus, pack racing makes Daytona the great equalizer, which would give Johnson a better chance at victory if he races for a one-off team. The prestige of this event is a huge draw on its own.
Considering the fact that Johnson is set to race for CGR in IndyCar and they only have two Cup cars, there would be room for a third car to run the odd event. CGR’s alliance and Johnson’s history with Hendrick Motorsports could lend itself to some extra resources or personnel from the team to help pull that off.
Johnson has two wins, seven top five finishes and an average finish of 19.63 in 19 Daytona 500 starts.
A less practical event for him to enter would be the inaugural Bristol Motor Speedway dirt race, scheduled for Sunday, March 28.
The unknowns of Cup Series cars on this surface, the extra preparation already needed for this unique race and the possibility of a format featuring heat races makes it unlikely that CGR would consider fielding a third car there.
However, the first dirt race for the Cup Series since 1970 could draw Johnson’s attention, given his background of dirt racing as he worked his way through the ranks.
It’s possible that a smaller team with multiple part-time drivers could let Johnson take over for the Bristol dirt race if he’s just in it for the experience and to have some fun.
The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is another race that could peak Johnson’s interest, given its crown jewel status and proximity to home.
Johnson has four wins, seven top five finishes and an average finish of 15.05 in 19 Coca-Cola 600 starts, with four additional wins in the fall race at Charlotte. While that race is scheduled for Sunday, May 30, the date of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Johnson is not running any IndyCar oval races in 2021.
Another cool opportunity for Johnson could come in August, when he could run a NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He’s already slated to compete in the open-wheel race there on Saturday, August 14 and could race a third CGR stock car the following day.
Besides the opportunity of doing a double, he’ll already be at the track, and Indianapolis was the only venue he missed this year in the Cup Series due to his novel coronavirus diagnosis. This would give him a Cup swan song at Indy, though it’s the first time the series is set to race on the road course as opposed to the oval for the traditional Brickyard 400.
Johnson has four wins and six top five finishes in 18 races on the Indianapolis oval, but he has only one win and nine top five finishes in 40 career road course events.