Closing Shot: Jimmie Johnson Takes A New Road

Fans cheer Jimmie Johnson as he takes a final ceremonial lap at Phoenix Raceway, the last race of his full-time NASCAR career that dates to 2002.getty images

Jimmie Johnson’s retirement lasted all of a day.

The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion ended his full-time stock-car racing career Nov. 8 at Phoenix Raceway, where he passed the torch to his teammate Chase Elliott — the 24-year-old prodigy who won his first title that day.

Johnson ended his full-time career that began in 2002 with 83 wins in the Cup Series, all of them in Hendrick Motorsports’ No. 48 Chevrolet with Lowe’s as sponsor — a remarkable streak of partnership consistency that will be hard to match. Johnson had a new primary sponsor for the final two seasons of his career with Ally.

Early into his career, Johnson was among a crop of up-and-coming drivers who brought added attention to NASCAR. In 2004, for example, he was part of the launch of the Gillette Young Guns, an advertising campaign sponsored by the razor maker that also touted Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.

Now, with his NASCAR career in the rearview mirror, the 45-year-old Johnson has quickly changed gears to his next gig: becoming an IndyCar driver for Chip Ganassi Racing. After the NASCAR season finale in Phoenix, he went to California, where the next day he played a round at the Pebble Beach Golf Links before heading to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey on Tuesday to test out his new race car.

Johnson has a new sponsor for the IndyCar venture in online car retailer Carvana, a deal that he helped set up personally. The company has been increasing its advertising presence nationally, but it had yet to make a play in motorsports, and industry executives were impressed with how Johnson was able to strike the partnership.

His new IndyCar arrangement will see him contest 13 of the 17 races in next year’s NTT IndyCar Series season — all of the road and street courses, and none of the four ovals. Johnson has ruled out the Indianapolis 500 race for next year as he gets accustomed to driving the different cars. However, industry executives are keeping an eye on whether Johnson could contest the famed 500 in 2022 if next season goes well.

Outside of racing, Johnson is a passionate athlete who runs in marathons and has a house in Aspen, Colo., where he regularly skis in the offseason. He also is a part owner of taco restaurant SouthBound in Charlotte.

Johnson had an adventurous final NASCAR season that included him missing the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway due to a positive COVID-19 test — though he was quickly back in action the next weekend and unsure if his initial test was a false positive.

After the Phoenix race, where he finished a competitive fifth, Johnson said: “The last couple years on track weren’t as I dreamed up, but I’ve experienced the highest of highs and worked with the greatest people, been with one team through this entire journey, and just very thankful for all the people that have helped me get here.

“All those emotions and all that pride rolled up into just a huge smile today walking out on the grid.”