Jimmie Johnson is set to return to the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023 with Petty GMS Motorsports, but he doesn’t yet have a car number.
Near the end of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season, Petty GMS Motorsports announced that they had signed seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson as not only a part-time driver for the 2023 season but as a co-owner of the organization.
Johnson spent 19 seasons competing full-time in the Cup Series, all with Hendrick Motorsports, before retiring at the end of the 2020 season and going to IndyCar.
In all 686 of his Cup Series starts — and even all 29 of his IndyCar starts — he used the No. 48. However, with Rick Hendrick’s team keeping the No. 48 for Alex Bowman’s Chevrolet in 2023, that number isn’t an option for Johnson in 2023.
A Petty GMS Motorsports announcement is scheduled for later today, though there is no confirmation regarding whether this will have anything do with Johnson’s number.
Which number will he ultimately run? Here are five possibilities.
Possible Jimmie Johnson numbers: No. 1 – No. 94
When Richard Petty Motorsports, which already ran the No. 43 Chevrolet, joined forces with GMS Racing ahead of last season to become Petty GMS Motorsports, the decision was made to have the second Chevrolet use the No. 42 as a nod to the Petty family legacy.
GMS Racing had initially planned on entering the Cup Series for the first time as a one-car team in 2022, with Ty Dillon as their driver. But Dillon, who did end up driving the No. 42 Chevrolet last year, was originally supposed to drive the No. 94 Chevrolet.
With the addition of Johnson, could Petty GMS Motorsports ultimately go with the number that the majority owner of the team was planning on using?
Possible Jimmie Johnson numbers: No. 2 – No. 84
As stated in the introduction, Jimmie Johnson hasn’t had to worry about picking a new number throughout his career at the top level of motorsport, and that even includes his two seasons in IndyCar when he competed for Chip Ganassi Racing.
So the easiest thing for him and Petty GMS Motorsports to do would be to switch the numbers 4 and 8 in No. 48 and go with No. 84 for his return to the Cup Series.
Interestingly, before putting together a sponsorship deal with The American Legion, Tony Kanaan’s Indy 500 entry with Chip Ganassi Racing last year initially looked like it was going to use the No. 84, as Johnson was set to make his debut in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” behind the wheel of the No. 48 Honda.
That ultimately changed to No. 1 as a part of The American Legion’s “Be the One” campaign, plus the fact that teammate Alex Palou had opted not to replace his No. 10 with No. 1 as the reigning series champion at the time.
During Johnson’s rookie IndyCar season in 2021, when he only drove the No. 48 Honda in the road and street course races, Kanaan drove the No. 48 Honda in the oval races.
In fact, Kanaan had a deal to do the same in 2022, but he stepped aside when Johnson committed to running full-time. He put together a sponsorship deal on his own to run the aforementioned fifth Chip Ganassi Racing entry in last year’s Indy 500.
Possible Jimmie Johnson numbers: No. 3 – No. 75
The reason for this one is simple; Jimmie Johnson was born in the year 1975, and the No. 75 is indeed available. The 47-year-old El Cajon, California native is set to be the oldest driver in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2023, edging out Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, the oldest remaining full-time driver.
Johnson joked about using the No. 75 for this very reason, when both he and Petty GMS Motorsports were lightheartedly poking fun at how fans were trying everything they could possibly try to figure out what Johnson’s number car would ultimately be upon his Cup Series return.
One would assume that, for such a well-kept secret, Johnson wouldn’t just “give it away” himself in a tweet, several weeks in advance.
But what if it wasn’t a joke? After all, at this stage in his career, there aren’t going to be many drivers born in 1975 who are joining new organizations, so it’s not likely that the number is ever going to be in high demand in the near future.
As a co-owner of the team, Johnson is likely going to have some say in what number he will run in whichever races he ends up competing throughout the 2023 season and beyond. If he decides that this number is the most significant option, don’t rule it out.
Possible Jimmie Johnson numbers: No. 4 – No. 44
Several numbers have ties to the Petty family legacy, including the two numbers already run by Petty GMS Motorsports. Rookie Noah Gragson is set to replace Ty Dillon behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chevrolet, and Erik Jones, who drove for Richard Petty Motorsports before they merged with GMS Racing, is set to return for a third year behind the wheel of the No. 43 Chevrolet.
Other numbers with deep ties to the family, such as No. 41 (Stewart-Haas Racing) and No. 45 (23XI Racing), are already being used by other teams, but there is a significant one that isn’t.
That number is the No. 44
Aside from the No. 43, the number that Richard Petty Motorsports had used most recently (prior to their partnership with GMS Racing) was No. 44. Brian Scott drove the No. 44 Ford during the 2016 season. Before that, the number was used by the team when A.J. Allmendinger competed for them in 2009.
Both Maurice, Richard’s brother, and Kyle, Richard’s son, drove a No. 44 car in the NASCAR Cup Series at some point as well. In 1960 and 1961, Maurice used the number for his Plymouth entry in select races, and from 1997 to 2000, Kyle piloted the No. 44 Pontiac.
The No. 44 was used last season, but by a team that haven’t confirmed any plans for 2023. That team, NY Racing Team, only competed in five races last year, so it’s hard to see Petty GMS Motorsports not being able to use the number if they’d like to do so.
Possible Jimmie Johnson numbers: No. 5 – No. 49
This option is by far the one that makes the most sense for the most reasons, as it has ties to each of the team’s co-owners.
First of all, both Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty are seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champions. Neither the No. 7 nor the No. 77 are available, as both are used by Spire Motorsports, but seven times seven equals 49.
The No. 49 is also the closest available number to No. 48. The No. 47 is just as close, but it is already being used by JTG Daugherty Racing for Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Chevrolet.
Secondly, several numbers in the 40s have deep ties to the Petty family, as mentioned in the slide about No. 44. The No. 49 isn’t one of them, but using it on Johnson’s entry could give Johnson the chance to add to that legacy in a way that nobody else can.
And finally, the No. 49 is what you get when you switch the numbers in No. 94, which is the number that GMS Racing were initially going to use in 2022 before forming their partnership with Petty GMS Motorsports and running the No. 42 instead.
It simply makes too much sense to overlook the possibility of the No. 49 being used, and Petty GMS Motorsports Mike Beam even discussed the option a few weeks ago.
The only thing you might have to question is whether or not Beam would really “give it away”, per se, considering the fact that this has really been such a well-kept secret.
Will Johnson run one of these five numbers during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, or will he and Petty GMS Motorsports surprise us with something else?