After running the entire IndyCar schedule in 2022, Jimmie Johnson announced Monday that he is retiring from racing full-time and will scale back to racing part-time while focusing on his family. Johnson will now focus on racing in no more than 10 bucket list events, plans which he made clear while speaking to reporters on Tuesday morning.
After retiring from NASCAR at the end of the 2020 season, the seven-time Cup Series champion raced an extensive IndyCar schedule over the past two seasons, running the road courses in 2021 before running the entire season in 2022. Now, the 47-year old Johnson said he will focus on major events across sports cars, open-wheel cars and stock cars, with an eye towards attempting to become the latest driver to complete the Indy-Charlotte double by competing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the same day.
"I'm seriously considering it," Johnson said in a report by the Indianapolis Star. "When I look at bucket list opportunities, there's Le Mans, the shot of winning the Rolex 24, and there's 'The Double.' Those three are really at the top of the list."
I couldn’t have asked for a better experience in the @Indycar series. Looking ahead, I will not return to INDYCAR full time in 2023 but will continue to look for new ways to challenge myself and participate in bucket list events. Hear more: https://t.co/H3e7X6PTLG pic.twitter.com/0kujpWdCaw
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) September 26, 2022
Johnson will continue to have sponsorship from Carvana for his racing efforts, and the opportunity could exist for him to put a NASCAR ride together for the Indy-Charlotte Double -- Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks has previously expressed interest in hiring Johnson for the team's PROJECT91 program, which fields a Cup car in select races for international racing superstars. However, Johnson said Tuesday that he has yet to have any extensive talks with NASCAR teams about his 2023 plans.
"Justin, he's been a longtime friend and somebody that I stay in touch with, and he's certainly made it known that the Project91 car is available if I have interest, so I would need to continue those conversations forward," Johnson said, per Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports.
Johnson also shared that he has no manufacturer obligations, which opens up his options moving forward. Johnson raced for Chevrolet for the entirety of his NASCAR career, but raced a Chip Ganassi Racing Honda in IndyCar.
After tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most championships in NASCAR Cup Series history, Johnson has spent the past two seasons focusing on different racing disciplines after completing his career in stock cars. In addition to IndyCar, Johnson has also run the Rolex 24 at Daytona the last two years in a row in a Cadillac DPi-V.R.
Johnson's final race of 2022 will come this weekend at Road Atlanta, where he will make another appearance in sports cars at the Petit Le Mans.
