The seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has signed a deal, where he will race in the NTT IndyCar Series for the next two seasons.
Johnson announced prior to the 2020 season, that this would be his final season in NASCAR, but one last shot at winning title number eight sadly didn’t happen since he didn’t make it to The Chase, where the title is decided.
He was originally scheduled to test for Arrow McLaren Schmidt Peterson with Chevrolet engine earlier in the year, but that test was cancelled due to the COVID-19 situation and the subsequent test ban for all teams. But this test was so important for the series, that he was allowed to test for Chip Ganassi Racing, who is running a Honda engine – a bit untraditional for a Chevrolet driver, who was in an all-neutral race suit that day…
Photo: Indycar.com / Chris Owens
Johnson will only do the road- and street courses so far, while he skips the ovals. It would be kind of surprising if he doesn’t at least enter Indianapolis 500, since he has already won the Brickyard 400, which is the NASCAR race at the same track. But it could be a personal decision, that he is done with oval racing, and all the dangers that surround it, even with the newly introduced Aeroscreen for this season.
The sponsor hunt starts for the 44-year old racing driver now, so CGR can enter an amazing all-star team. After all, they still have Scott Dixon with five, maybe soon six, Indycar titles.
It will most likely be the fourth Chip Ganassi Racing car, since Dixon, Felix Rosenqvist and Marcus Ericsson currently sit very firm in their respective racing seats.
