NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson won’t drive the No. 48 car in 2023
By Asher Fair
Jimmie Johnson will be using a new number during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, with Hendrick Motorsports keeping the No. 48.
Jimmie Johnson made his NASCAR Cup Series debut with Hendrick Motorsports in 2001, and he became a full-time driver in 2002. He competed full-time from 2002 to 2020 before retiring and moving to IndyCar.
But after spending the 2021 IndyCar season competing in the road and street course races for Chip Ganassi Racing and the 2022 season competing full-time for the team, Johnson announced that he is set to return to the Cup Series in 2023.
The 47-year-old El Cajon, California native has joined Petty GMS Motorsports not only as a driver but as a co-owner.
He is set to compete part-time in a third entry for the team, alongside full-time drivers Noah Gragson (No. 42 Chevrolet) and Erik Jones (No. 43 Chevrolet), throughout the 2023 season, beginning with the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Not much has been confirmed about Johnson’s plans for the 2023 season, beyond the fact that he is set to make his team debut in the season opener.
He doesn’t yet have a confirmed crew chief, and his full schedule hasn’t been announced. In fact, the number of races in which he is set to compete hasn’t even been determined.
What also hasn’t been confirmed is the car number which will be used on his new Chevrolet entry.
Johnson has only run one number throughout his Cup Series career, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet in all 686 of his starts from 2001 to 2020. However, he will not be using the No. 48 in 2023.
After Johnson retired following the 2020 season, Alex Bowman, who had driven the No. 88 Chevrolet, moved to the No. 48 Chevrolet, and he has driven it ever since. Despite Johnson’s return to the Cup Series next year, Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports are set to continue running the No. 48 Chevrolet.
Several numbers have been floated as possibilities for the seven-time champion for the 2023 season, and Johnson and the team have had some fun with fans who have been trying to figure out what this new number could be.
And then my mind says, I was born in 75… so maybe that’s my move. https://t.co/YUxoklMG8J
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) December 17, 2022
Next. 3 possible car numbers for Jimmie Johnson in 2023. dark
The Daytona 500 is scheduled to get the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season underway on Sunday, February 19. Fox is set to broadcast the race live from Daytona International Speedway beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.