Nascar Great Jimmie Johnson’s ‘Reinventing The Wheel’ A Home Movie Of His IndyCar Season

When Carvana decided to join forces with seven-time Nascar Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson’s quest to switch gears and become an IndyCar driver, the online automotive sales company saw it as a tremendous opportunity to spread its message “outside of the box.”

For Johnson, he was reinventing himself.

He showed no fear in tackling a form of racing that was completely different from his incredible 19-year Nascar Cup Series career. It was a career that saw him tie legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt as the only drivers to win seven Cup Series championships in their career.

He scored 83 Cup Series victories in the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in a career that began in 2002 and ended in 2020.

Rather than fade off into the sunset, Johnson reinvented himself by starting over in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda.

Carvana believed Johnson was “Reinventing the Wheel.” That became the perfect name for Carvana’s and Shutterstock Studio’s eight-part docuseries that chronicled his full season in IndyCar in 2022.

It gives global viewers an all-access, behind-the-scenes look at Johnson as he navigated his second IndyCar season after a legendary career in Nascar racing.

To watch the entire docuseries, visit carvana.com/racing.

It features the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of Johnson’s new career, one that began in 2021 when Johnson competed in all 12 of the street and road courses races on the IndyCar schedule.

He made the decision to drive in all 17 IndyCar races in 2022, including his first appearance in the Indianapolis 500 on May 29.

In many ways, it’s a home movie for Johnson, his team, his family and for his fans.

I have covered Johnson’s Nascar Cup Series career since 2002 and have covered every race of his IndyCar career, getting a behind the scenes view of “Reinventing the Wheel.”

It has become a labor of love for both Johnson and Carvana.

“I’m a huge fan of documentaries and docuseries,” Johnson told me. “That’s what I consume the most, myself. When I go back to the HBO special a few years ago, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m going to be in a series I’m a fan of and watch on a regular basis.’ I still continue to watch docus all the time.

“I’m a big fan of it and the way it is being shot and edited, it really is a piece to be proud of and a home movie for me for years to come.”

The project was underwritten by Johnson’s sponsor, who loved the storyline of Johnson reinventing himself with a dramatic career change.

“Ernie Garcia, founder of Carvana, just loves the story of me crossing over from Nascar to IndyCar,” Johnson said. “The weekends are so well covered, they wanted to help tell the story of what happens during the week. What happens between races. Different aspects of the team. What I’m dealing with in life. What my challenges are.

“As far as a specific storyline, it changes from episode to episode, but the crew is around a lot and films and captures everything they can. They capture the storyline and put together the edit.”

Daniel Bradley led the filming crew in charge of “Reinventing the Wheel” as Director and Executive Producer. He is a graduate of the famed S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and is a well-acclaimed producer of documentaries. He has worked at Vice Media and has won a Producer’s Guild Award as well as nominated for an Emmy in the sports documentary category.

Bradley understands the importance of being invisible on such a project.

“That’s what making a documentary is all about,” Bradley told me. “You have to figure out when to hide in the background and when to bother him and have a conversation. We are mainly around on race weekends and that is a pretty hectic time for him. You don’t want to be in his face all the time.

“But it has been fun, too, to show the characters around him because I think they are a good representation of who he is, too. It’s all people that really care about him and they all really like each other so it has been fun to show.”

In addition to earning the trust of Johnson and his family, the crew also has to gain the trust of his crewmembers. Many of the scenes are shot during the race inside the pit area and focus on communication between Johnson, crew chief Mike LeGallic, race strategist Blair Julian, driver coach Scott Pruett and race engineer Eric Cowdin.

“It’s walking that fine line and making sure we are always out of the way,” Bradley said. “What we are doing isn’t as important as what they are doing. They actually have somebody’s life in their hands. We have to make sure we remember that.

“It also comes with experience. We’ve been in operating rooms and riots, so you know where to stand and where not to and when to push buttons and when not to.

“There are a lot of times they are talking about proprietary knowledge and making sure even before the cut gets to them, that stuff is gone. That is how you lose trust and people get upset.”

Johnson, along with his Chip Ganassi Racing crewmembers, his wife, Chandra, and his two young daughters, Genevieve Marie, and Lydia Norriss, are able to go about their lives while followed by the film crew at Shutterstock.

Being in the spotlight as one of only three drivers ever to win seven Nascar Cup Series championships prepared Johnson for being shadowed in the docuseries.

“I’ve gotten used to it,” he said. “When I go back to doing ‘24/7’ on HBO a few years ago, that was the icebreaker, not only for myself and my family, but the teams are becoming more familiar with film crews around all the time being a fly on the wall.

“We ultimately don’t have editing rights. It’s their edit. They spent some time with me in July in Colorado. We haven’t held anything back. It’s really up to their discretion and how they want to cut and edit.

“I’ve adjusted, the team has adjusted, and the crew are top-notch pros. They have made it really easy.”

All eight parts of “Reinventing the Wheel” have already been released, including the dramatic finale that came two weeks after the season ended.

Johnson used “Reinventing the Wheel” as the vehicle to announce he would not return to full-time racing in 2023. Instead, he his putting together a “Bucket List” schedule that could include IndyCar, a few Nascar Cup Series contests, another run in the Imsa Rolex 24 at Daytona Sports Car race and a chance to be part of the Garage 56 entry in the famed 24 Hours of LeMans endurance race for Hendrick Motorsports and Nascar.

What is most important about Johnson’s career switch is tackling a new challenge without fear of failure. He made driving a stock car look easy, but in IndyCar, he discovered a massive challenge that he was committed to conquer.

“This has been harder than I ever expected, for sure,” Johnson said. “I did 12 races last year and 17 this year and four test sessions. Add up all the seat time and maybe I had 50 hours in the car last year.

“It’s really tough for anyone right now coming along without testing with short practice sessions and if you don’t come up through the junior categories in any given sport, I think you are further behind that you realize. That’s the situation I’m in.

“I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world. I had a great career in Nascar. I got plenty of test time then. I raced in the junior ranks and worked my way up. To make the switch now from the top of Nascar to the top of open wheel, it’s a bigger gap that I first thought.

“The docuseries definitely touches on that. It covers so much, it’s hard to say there is one story being told. They do a great job of capturing that.”

That’s a skill that Bradley and his crew take great pride, the ability to tell the story of an athlete without sugarcoating the results. He has previously made documentaries featuring Carmelo Anthony of the NBA and Jalen Ramsey of the NFL.

“It’s also been a dream come true not to only experience an IndyCar season but to experience it with Jimmie Johnson,” Bradley said. “Carvana had the idea and wanted to make a series following Jimmie. I spoke to a couple of people in media over there. They were aware of my work on sports docs. They liked my style.

“I liked they were willing to do something where the brand was all around it, but it wasn’t brand first. They aren’t actually talking about selling cars. They were down with telling the story of Jimmie and his season and the ups and downs and bumps and bruises along the way. Jimmie was down with that, too.

“From the beginning, we got on our first call with Jimmie, and he was referencing the work I’ve made in the past. That’s a guy that has done his homework, is really invested, is really involved and that’s the perfect person to work with.

“Jimmie is the nicest guy in the world. Talk to anyone and they will say that. It’s true. At first, I thought everybody had to be BS’ing a little bit, but no one is. He is incredibly nice, but he is an athlete and a competitor. As much as he is having fun this year, there are definitely times you don’t want to bother him or be in his way because he is in the zone and in the moment.”

By working so closely with Johnson and the team, Bradley and his crew have discovered a colorful collection of characters from the IndyCar side, mixed in with some long-time associates Johnson brought over from Nascar.

“For us to show a little bit about who he is and the team around and the people, it’s all coming together. He has such great characters,” Bradley said. “His spotter, Earl Barban, could have his own show if he wanted. That’s been a lot of fun and Carvana has been really happy with that and been a great partner.

“Out of the gang, Earl is the most colorful character but, I love them all.”

For now, the docuseries will consist of eight episodes, but Bradley said there is consideration for making it a full-length documentary at the end of the season.

“We’re putting it out on the fly with really quick turnarounds,” Bradley said. “It’s a challenge. I think it would be really fun to put it together into one piece because it could make a lot more sense but putting it out as it goes has been amazing.

“Carvana’s response has been great. They made a big investment in Jimmie and a lot of it is more for who he is as a person and the results.”

Johnson built up a huge legion of fans during his long career in Nascar. But what will those fans learn about the seven-time champion in IndyCar that they didn’t know before?

“I don’t think they are going to learn a ton about me,” Johnson said. “I’m still me. You can see my perspective on this journey that I have. My family’s involvement, my family’s support. My kids are still growing so this is a great snapshot of who they are evolving into.

“But most of all, just how different IndyCar is. The episodes really do show the difference between Nascar and IndyCar.

“If you are an avid Nascar fan and don’t know much about IndyCar, I think you will learn a lot by watching it.”

For racing fans in both IndyCar and Nascar, “Reinventing the Wheel” gives an incredible, behind-the-curtain look at one of the greatest athletes of this century. He became a legend in Nascar, but the true character of Johnson shines through with his humility and determination to succeed in IndyCar.

“It’s a deeper dive into it all,” Johnson said. “The docuseries does a really good job showing the struggles and why things happen as they do. I have nothing to hide. Everything is so well documented these days anyhow, the docuseries and a deeper look at why and what went on is useful for everyone.

“I haven’t had any issues with it.”

Johnson revealed that from his own personal journey, he was more disappointed after the Indianapolis 500 than he was breaking his hand at Long Beach.

“To be able to get my hand put back together and the brace on, be in the race. I was running decent in the race with a broken hand,” Johnson recalled. “There were a lot of things I left there being upbeat about.

“Sure, I crashed, but damn, living on the ragged edge, driving a race car, that happens.

“I would say Indy, I was more disappointed.

“It was net-high for the month of May, but the race itself I had such higher expectations for my performance.”

Johnson finished his second season in IndyCar 21^st in points but continued to show improvement in terms of lap times and race craft to the Indy car but continued to struggle on the street and road courses while showing increased competitiveness on the ovals.

Now 47, there are other things Johnson wants to experience and achieve with his family. That is why he didn’t want to compete in any series full-time in 2023.

“I need to let the dust settle on the season and figure out what my personal and professional goals are,” he said. “There are new options developing for me that I have to take a look at.

“We have some personal goals, too. We would like to live abroad for a year or two. I’ve had my serious car racing career, and this is really about the experience. Equal the professional opportunities I have in ’23, I want to look at the personal opportunities for me and my family, and just need some to get that organized.

“I can go on record to say this year has been more of a time commitment on a full-time schedule basis than I expected. I don’t know where my Imsa plans sit. I don’t know where my IndyCar plans sit. I want to get to Le Mans. There are other things I want to do personally and professionally as well and see what works.

“But the good thing is Carvana sees how important this is all about and wants to support me in whatever way they do.”

Sounds like the making of another season of the docuseries.