Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is switching gears and moving to IndyCar.
The 44-year-old driver and Chip Ganassi Racing announced a new partnership on Wednesday. They currently are seeking the funding for Johnson to race on the road and street courses on the IndyCar schedule in 2021 and 2022.
Johnson is nearing the end of his final full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he drives the No. 48 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports.
“I will be soaking up the next nine weeks of my full time @NASCAR career. I’m sad to see it coming to an end but I’m excited to announce a future partnership with @CGRTeams in @IndyCar,” Johnson posted Wednesday on Twitter.
Johnson has won 83 races in the Cup Series, including the Daytona 500 in 2006 and 2013. He won his seventh Cup Series title in 2016, tying the record shared by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
With Chip Ganassi Racing, Johnson would form a formidable driver duo with five-time IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon.
“To pair Jimmie with the likes of Scott Dixon is quite an opportunity,” Ganassi said, per the Indianapolis Star. “They are truly in rarefied air and I think everyone knows by now that ‘I like winners’. The goal right now is for us to run Jimmie in an Indy car for at least the next couple of seasons, and we want to show people we’re serious about the program. We felt it was important to get the partnership done and start putting the financial building blocks in place to make this a reality.”
(Field Level Media)
