Jimmie Johnson's IndyCar career will officially kick off on Saturday at Watkins Glen, sort of. On Friday, the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion was added to the entry list of the IndyCar iRacing Challenge, where drivers will be virtually competing against one another on a digital recreation of the course.
Johnson helped spread the news of this announcement with a gif on Twitter.
https://t.co/YFj77jwRkI pic.twitter.com/kUEyjylkh8
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) March 27, 2020
The NASCAR driver does have some experience in this realm of the IndyCar world, with his home racing simulator being set up to mimic the conditions of an IndyCar race rather than a NASCAR one. The experience on the rig will almost certainly come in handy for someone who is racing on a track that he never once conquered during his NASCAR career. Watkins Glen, Kentucky Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway are the three tracks at which Johnson does not have any wins in his NASCAR career.
But regardless of how he ends up actually doing, this opportunity will allow him to take one step closer to knocking something off of his professional racing bucket list, something he's been talking about for the better part of a year now.
I won’t be testing in April but @IndyCar is still on my bucket list. I’m looking forward to the day I get out there and rip a few laps pic.twitter.com/sNEA92xqXo
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) March 20, 2020
Johnson debuted in online stock car racing on March 22 when he participated in the NASCAR iRacing event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was a far cry from the success he experienced when he was actually behind the wheel, as he caused a notable caution and finished 31st.
