Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has confirmed he is not going to contest a second full-time IndyCar season after this yr’s marketing campaign.
Johnson joined Ganassi for his debut within the season final yr, throughout which he solely contested the highway and road course occasions. He added the oval rounds to his schedule this yr and took his greatest outcomes on these, inserting fifth at Iowa and sixth at Texas. He additionally led two laps on his debut within the Indianapolis 500 earlier than crashing out.
However the long-time oval racer discovered outcomes tougher to return by in his second season on highway and road programs. Johnson’s greatest outcome away from an oval was sixteenth, just one place higher than he managed final yr. He ended the yr twenty first within the standings, forward of simply 4 different full-time drivers, whereas his three Ganassi staff mates all completed within the prime six.
Johnson confirmed his resolution to not proceed in a video posted on social media. “I spent the final week-plus with my household and definitely with my ideas, simply attempting to know what my 2023 calendar may seem like,” he defined. “And thru that course of, I’m actually at some extent the place I’m feeling very happy with the accomplishments that I had in 2022 in operating the full-time schedule.”
The 47-year-old stated he started the season anticipating he would need to race on past 2022. “This expertise, for me, has all the time been one for my causes. I made a decision to do that, made lots of people query it, however I needed to chase my unique journey and run within the IndyCar collection. And I actually felt like, as this yr began, that I’d need extra years, that I’d need to proceed on.
“However by this time period I’ve needed to mirror and feeling as full as I do from my full-time season of racing and the accomplishments I used to be in a position to have and definitely the experiences I used to be in a position to have. I’m right here to say immediately that I cannot compete full-time in 2023.”
He’s nonetheless exploring alternatives to proceed racing in some kind subsequent yr. “I’m not saying that I’m out of a race automobile or not competing in any respect,” Johnson defined. “I nonetheless very a lot have the will to compete however from a full-time standpoint and what’s required and the vitality, effort, time away from residence, all that makes all of the commitments required to be your greatest for a full-time season, I’m simply not there proper now.
“I really feel like 2022 checked so many packing containers for me and I had such an unimaginable time that I’m going to take a deep breath and assume laborious about what ’23 may seem like. I’m nonetheless engaged on my bucket checklist of races to compete in and 24 Hours of Le Mans remains to be on the market for me. I really like sports activities automobile racing, I really like IndyCar racing. I’ve all the time been curious if there may be a one-off occasion in NASCAR that may match for me or work for me. So all of that’s nonetheless in play and I actually do anticipate racing someplace subsequent yr.”
“Fortunately, I do have choices. I’ve had the most effective time at Chip Ganassi Racing and I do know that Chip doesn’t need to see me go wherever. I’m definitely some choices there. I’ve had the wonderful help from Carvana and I do know so long as I’m behind the wheel of a automobile, I really feel sure that they need to proceed the connection and be there for that journey. And I definitely need to thank the followers for all their help. And once more, this isn’t a goodbye, that is I’m going to search out some new tasks and proceed to search out new methods to problem myself.”
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