IndyCar: Jimmie Johnson Wants to Extend his Time in IndyCar

Jimmie Johnson, the driver of the No 48 entry for Chip Ganassi Racing, is excited about being able to run the Indy 500 for the first time this season.   Already  passing his rookie test for the track, Johnson is hoping his time in IndyCar will be extended a few years past 2022.

” I’ve been to IMS plenty, but just so fired up.  I’ve never wanted to compete in a race so badly as I did watching the Indy 500 last year.  I knew it would take me one way or the other, either in or out, and after watching the first car go by, I looked at Steve Letarte, we were both working for NBC, and he goes, okay, what happened, do you want in or out, and I said, I want in, and he just started laughing. ”

“There’s really nothing formal after this year. But my intent and desire is to keep racing in IndyCar as long as I can. For many reasons, first and foremost, I’m just having so much fun and really enjoying this challenge.  I also feel like the more reps I get, the more years that I’m around, the better my performance will be.”

“I certainly want to run better and be more competitive on road and street courses. But on the oval journey, I think I will perform better and look better, run better.  In a year or two of oval races, I might be able to be an INDYCAR winner, and that would ultimately be the goal to pull that off.”

” There are a lot of steps between now and announcing or getting that done, but I feel like Chip is open to it.  I know the team, other members of the team, everybody would be really excited to have me back another year.   All the wonderful people at Carvana and their involvement, if I’ve had a lot of fun in the INDYCAR Series, I think there’s only one group that’s had more fun, and that’s been them.  They’ve really enjoyed their experience, been welcomed into the sport really well. ”

“Long story short, there’s still a lot of work to be done, but my intent is to try to return in ’23. Or ’24 or ’25, whatever. 50-year-old INDYCAR driver out there. I did read that Mario (Andretti)  won his final race at 53, so that gives me a lot of  hope.”