IndyCar: Jimmie Johnson ‘announcement’ confirms rumors

After several months’ worth of rumors, Jimmie Johnson has confirmed his updated plans with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2022 IndyCar season.

Jimmie Johnson made the switch from NASCAR to IndyCar after the 2020 season, his 19th and final season as the full-time driver of the #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Cup Series.

The seven-time Cup Series champion and 83-time race winner joined Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar team and piloted the #48 Honda in the 12 road and street course races on the 16-race 2021 calendar. Tony Kanaan drove the car in the four oval races.

Both Johnson and Kanaan signed multi-year deals to fulfill these roles, but throughout the season, talks began to heat up that Johnson may be interested in attempting an oval race in 2022 — possibly even the 106th running of the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Johnson took part in multiple oval tests, including one at the Racing Capital of the World in October, and multiple reports suggested that he would indeed be attempting to compete in at least the Indy 500 next year, in addition to the 12 road and street course races on the 17-race schedule.

On Tuesday evening, Carvana, the primary sponsor of Johnson’s #48 Honda, took to Twitter to let fans know that the 46-year-old El Cajon, California native would be making an announcement on NBC’s TODAY Show on Wednesday morning, one that fans would “want to tune in for”.

And on Wednesday morning, Johnson confirmed that he is set to become a full-time IndyCar driver in 2022.

Johnson is set to join Marcus Ericsson, six-time champion Scott Dixon, and reigning champion Alex Palou in Chip Ganassi Racing’s full-time driver lineup next year. Those three drivers all competed for the team full-time in the 2021 season as well.

In his first season, Johnson recorded an average finish of 21.1 with top finishes of 17th place at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and on the streets of Long Beach, California.

The 2022 IndyCar season is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 27 with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, where Johnson finished in 22nd place in his second career start this past season.

The first oval race of the year is scheduled to be the season’s second race, the Genesys 600, on Sunday, March 20 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 106th running of the Indy 500 is scheduled to take place on Sunday, May 29.