Jimmie Johnson won seven NASCAR Cup Series titles, yet his IndyCar debut had a lot more to do with NASCAR than one would imagine. 

While Johnson revealed that IndyCar had always been a dream for him, the circumstances under which he chose to make the shift from stock car to open-wheel racing were unique and not what many would have expected from one of the most successful NASCAR drivers. 

Johnson stepped away from his full-time Cup Series duties in 2020 and debuted in IndyCar in 2021 and ran for 2 seasons before walking back to select NASCAR races from 2023 for the team he co-owns, Legacy Motor Club.

On the Racin with the Boys podcast, Johnson was asked what the reasoning was behind him making his IndyCar debut at the age of 46. Johnson said, “Having some time to look back on it, the grind of the season, the age of our children, just kind of life where it was, the commitment it takes to run a 38-race schedule.”

Johnson added, “And we still had testing going on and the sim thing coming to life. Plus I had a 150 sponsor appearance and obligations to make throughout the course of the year. I was just cooked.”

The former HMS driver said that, though he was much older than his competitors, he had seen his heroes attain their best years later in life. Johnson said that he thought he could carry the experience over and he felt like he still had a lot of racing left in the tank. 

Speaking about IndyCar, he said, “I needed a fresh start, and I knew I wanted less races. IndyCar was really my childhood four-wheel dream. As a kid, there were a lot of motorcycle and dirt racers in the Southern California area that made it to IndyCar. And so as a kid, that was kind of a dream of mine.”

Johnson, who raced with Chip Ganassi Racing, revealed that he had found the pressure less in comparison to the Cup calendar, and he found the right team, which made it work out. 

Seven-time champ reveals attitude towards simulators didn’t help him

For drivers like Jimmie Johnson who mastered all their craft on the racetrack and who saw the boom in terms of technological advantage erupt around the time he was still driving, changing approach to race day preparations can be quite taxing. 

There are two ways to go about it: you either embrace it or you stick to your roots and trust your instincts. Johnson was all praise for Alex Palou, whom he debuted alongside in 2021, and said that Palou was single-handedly responsible for restoring Honda’s simulation programme. 

Johnson revealed that while he was blown away, there were internal regrets. On Racin with the Boys, Johnson said, “Some resentment but then some annoyance at myself. I was like, this isn't gonna play out. What I've developed in the car, that'll never be replaced.”

Johnson added, “So there's some arrogance around that that I wish I would have not had, near the end of my career, cause I think it would have helped my final few years.”

Do you think Johnson had an 8th title in him had he taken to the sims better? Let us know.

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Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason