Seven-Time Nascar Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson Will Not Compete Fulltime In IndyCar In 2023

Jimmie Johnson will not compete full-time in racing in 2023, the seven-time Nascar Cup Series champion announced Monday morning. For the past two seasons, Johnson has been a competitor in the NTT IndyCar Series with Chip Ganassi Racing.

“I’ve made the decision that I will not compete full-time in 2023,” Johnson said. “This was a difficult choice for me, but in my heart, I know it’s the right one. I’m not exactly sure what the next chapter holds but if an opportunity comes along that makes sense, I will consider it.

“I still have a bucket list of racing events I would like to take part in.”

That includes the “Garage 56” Nascar entry in next year’s 24 Hours of LeMans in France. Johnson has expressed a desire in running more sports car and endurance races and wants to join the list of impressive drivers that have competed at LeMans.

He also left open the possibility of competing in selected IndyCar races in 2023, just not a full-time schedule.

Driving the No. 48 Carvana/American Legion Honda at Chip Ganassi Racing, Johnson showed improvement from his first IndyCar race in 2021 throughout the 12-race partial schedule he ran that season. That encouraged him to run the full season in 2022, including the 106^thIndianapolis 500.

At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Johnson was among the fastest drivers in nearly every practice session and in qualifications at the 2.5.-mile oval. He had a momentary bobble on the first lap of his qualification attempt and started 12^th in the 33-car field in the Indy 500.

But he struggled in the race, eventually crashed with five laps to go, and finished 28^th. He was named Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year because of his month-long effort before his race day disappointments.

Johnson scored his career-best finish of fifth place in an Indy car at Iowa Speedway in the July 24 Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300.

Johnson’s best races were on the oval tracks, but he found the road and street courses very challenging.

“Competing at this level in IndyCar has been such a great experience,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better team to race for than Chip Ganassi and Chip Ganassi Racing. Everyone worked extremely hard for the last two seasons, pushing to get the best performances out of me every single week.

“The support from my crew and teammates Dario (Franchitti), Scott (Dixon), Tony (Kanaan), Marcus (Ericsson) and Alex (Palou) went above and beyond anything I could have ever asked for.”

As late as Labor Day Weekend at Portland, Johnson said he wanted to return to a full-time IndyCar effort in 2023 but that depended on whether Carvana was returning as the primary sponsor.

Ironically, Carvana agreed to return, but Johnson reconsidered his efforts and wanted to think about it before making a commitment.

“I’m thankful for the partnership with a company like Carvana for allowing me to take this journey in IndyCar, for seeing the value in our partnership and being open to future opportunities together,” Johnson said. “They have truly showed me that there are no finish lines in life.

“Along with Carvana, The American Legion, Ally, cbdMD and Frank August were there every step of the way, and I couldn’t have done it without all of them. Most importantly – and the true rockstars in all of this – my family – Chani, Evie, and Lydia… they have always allowed me to chase my dreams and we are all just really excited about what the future holds for all of us.

“I have enjoyed every minute of these last two years.”

Team owner Ganassi helped give Johnson a chance to try his dream of racing an Indy car after he retired from Nascar in 2020 with seven Cup Series championships.

“We are fully supportive of Jimmie,” Ganassi said. “He has been a valued member of our team and if we can find a way to continue working together, we would like to do so.”

Of course, it takes sponsorship to make that happen and Johnson had two of the most committed in Carvana and The American Legion.

“During the past two years, Jimmie Johnson has been so amazing to collaborate with,” said Ryan Keeton, Carvana Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer. “Our team admires his passion, hard work and commitment to continuous improvement while also having fun, and we look forward to continuing to support him next year in this new chapter.”

Carvana Racing’s eight-episode docuseries “Reinventing the Wheel” has chronicled Johnson’s sophomore year in IndyCar, and the season finale which debuted today features a final clip from Johnson in which he explains his decision to step back from a full-time schedule.

To watch the eight-episode video series, as well as the new episode which follows Johnson through the final race of the season at Laguna Seca, go to Carvana.com/Racing

Johnson’s best finish on a road course was 16^th, which he accomplished at Mid-Ohio on July 3 and WeatherTech Raceway at Laguna Seca in the season’s final race on September 11.

When Johnson made the career-decision to retire from NASCAR after the 2020 season, and switch to IndyCar beginning in 2021, he knew he had to lower expectations. He was starting over at 44 when he drove his first IndyCar race in April 2021 at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama.

Two years later, Johnson is 46 and realized driving an Indy car is much harder than he ever dreamed it could me.

“This has been harder, 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.”

Although he received positive news from major sponsor Carvana that the online automotive sales platform would sponsor him in 2023, the final decision was up to Johnson.

“I know that opportunity that I have in IndyCar way earlier than I have any other year,” Johnson said on September 10. “I’m very thankful to be in this position I don’t have any pressure from the team or sponsor.

“I’ll soak it all in and see what I want to do.

“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.

“I’m going to go through my normal process. Take a bit of time, digest it, think about it, meeting with Team Johnson 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.”

Johnson was asked point-blank if he would definitely do the Indianapolis 500 in 2023?

“It’s all part of the process,” Johnson said earlier this month. “I feel like I just need to let the dust settle on the season and figure out what my personal and professional goals are.

“I also feel like professionally, there are new options developing for me that I’ve got to take a hard look at as well. Good options. In motorsports. They’re all motorsports.

“Chani (his wife) is looking to expand her gallery but just life. We have some personal goals, too. We would love to live abroad for a year. There’s just a lot of elements that play into this.

“I feel very fortunate that I 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.”

After the final race of the season at Laguna Seca, Johnson shared some laughs with his crew, and posed for photos.

Was this a celebration of the end of a long season that saw Johnson score a career-best fifth-place finish at Iowa Speedway in the July 24 Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 and become a threat on the oval tracks?

Or was this a chance to say goodbye in case Johnson decides to take his Bucket List to Le Mans, the Rolex 24, IMSA, and other forms of racing?

Johnson took a big risk to pursue his racing dream of comping in IndyCar. It all began when he was a teenager and used to attend the CART Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach with his father.

When he arrived for his first IndyCar race at Barber in April 2021, he knew he was seconds off the pace and simply wanted to say out of the way when he was able to get lapped.

Two seasons later, Johnson was able to challenge big-name IndyCar drivers, especially on the ovals. But at tracks like Laguna Seca, he finished ahead of 2016 IndyCar champion and 2019 Indianapolis 500 winner Simon Pagenaud, IndyCar winner Graham Rahal, four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Takuma Sato.

“I’m light years ahead of where I was when I started my first race at Barber in 2021, but I still have a long way to go,” Johnson said. “I feel like I’m in a better place now. I feel the car correctly, give the right input, know where the turns are, know where to park my rental car when I show up at the track.

“There are many elements of this that are much easier now and I feel a part of IndyCar.”

Before the end of the weekend at Monterey, Johnson posed with his race crew, thanking them for their efforts this season.

“I thought I would have started the season further up the field,” Johnson said. “I did make a lot of improvements. We have the data to show it, but the whole field got better.

“Overall, from an experience standpoint, it exceeded expectations, especially with running the Indy 500. I had a little higher goal for myself on the street and road courses. I felt like on the ovals, I met expectations in my head.

“All in all, an amazing year. I’m thankful for the support of all of my partners and for this great team that Chip Ganassi Racing put behind me.”

Johnson is one of the few racers in this era that wasn’t afraid to go outside of his comfort zone and try something different.

He wasn’t afraid to fail and because of that, his journey can still be considered a success.