IndyCar: 5 possible replacements for Jimmie Johnson in 2023

Possible Jimmie Johnson replacements for 2023: No. 5 – Nicholas Latifi

Nicholas Latifi has recently emerged as a serious candidate to join Chip Ganassi Racing in 2023, as Williams have announced that the 2022 Formula 1 season will be his third and final season with the team. However, a deal for him would likely only be for the road and street course races.

It is, of course, entirely possible that Chip Ganassi Racing downsize from four cars to three for the 2023 season, which could in turn give Dale Coyne Racing the opportunity to land the engine they’d need to add a third car for Linus Lundqvist without loaning out David Malukas.

Chip Ganassi Racing downsized from four cars to two after the 2017 season, and they didn’t add a third car again until 2020. They only added a fourth car again in 2021 when Jimmie Johnson arrived as road and street course driver, and they hired Tony Kanaan in the entry for the oval events.

With Johnson out after a full season in 2022, perhaps they will be content to run a three-car program, as they did in 2020 when Scott Dixon became the first driver to lead a championship wire-to-wire in nearly two decades. All three of their other drivers — Dixon, Alex Palou, and Marcus Ericsson — have finished in the top six in the standings in each of the last two seasons.

However, there is also a chance that Johnson returns to the fourth car for select races, likely the Indy 500 and perhaps some of the other oval races, which seems to be what he’s learning toward.

With financial backing from Carvana, there is little reason to see Chip Ganassi Racing turning that down, and such a move would eliminate the need for another full-time driver.

If the #48 Honda is still fielded as a full-time entry, this opens the door for the 27-year-old Canadian to compete in the road and street course races — possibly even the Indy 500 in an additional entry. Based on his Formula 1 career, financial backing should not be an issue.

Johnson started out as a road and street course driver, as did Romain Grosjean, who, like Latifi, is a former Formula 1 driver. Given Chip Ganassi Racing’s situation, Johnson’s situation, and Latifi’s situation, it’s a move that would make a ton of sense.

Who will replace Jimmie Johnson behind the wheel of the #48 Honda for the 2023 season? Will it be one of these five drivers, or will Chip Ganassi Racing decide against naming a full-time replacement? Will the #48 Honda be back in some capacity either way?