After making the jump to IndyCar this year, seven-time NASCAR winner Jimmie Johnson announced on Monday that he was resigning from full-time motorsport in favor of pursuing “bucket list events.”
The 47-year-old American driver, who finished sixth at the Grand Prix of Iowa in July, declared in December that he will race in all 2022 IndyCar races. While racing for Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda in the IndyCar series in 2021, Johnson’s best finishes were 17th in the year’s playoffs two events, which were held on the road and street circuits.
Jimmie Johnson Has Finally Decided To Retire
In 2022, though, he drove the Carvana-sponsored #48 car full-time and, as expected, excelled on oval tracks, finishing sixth at Texas Motor Speedway. The next year, seemingly unfazed by a pair of spectacular rescues, he qualified 12th for the Indianapolis 500 and, despite crashing out of the race with only a handful of laps remaining, was named the Indy 500 Rookie of the Year.
In Jimmie Johnson’s rookie season of IndyCar competition, Johnson focused solely on street and road courses; this year, the Chip Ganassi Racer is taking on the additional challenge of ovals. As Johnson struggles to adjust to the radically different driving style required in an open-wheeled vehicle, his results thus far have left fans, the team, and even him wanting more. Next year, the El Cajon, California native hopes to take it easy, participating in no more than 10 races.
Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti, Jimmie Johnson’s colleagues at Chip Ganassi Racing, were instrumental in convincing the ex-Hendrick Motorsports driver to travel to England for the prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed. Moreover, he said he planned to “let things settle” beginning in 2022. “I am simply going to take some time to ponder, to find out what I would like to do,” he stated.
