‘I’ve Never Seen This Before’: How Jimmie Johnson’s IndyCar Stint Pleasantly Surprised Series Veteran Scott Dixon

While it’s been nearly three years since Jimmie Johnson last drove an Indy car, the seven-time NASCAR Cup champion definitely made an impression during his two part-time seasons in the open-wheel series.

Now that may seem unusual, given Johnson had just one top-five and another top-10 finish in 29 career starts over the 2021 and 2022 seasons.

But that fifth place finish Johnson earned in 2022 at Iowa Speedway for Chip Ganassi Racing, with six-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon as his teammate, and the way Johnson reverted to some of his NASCAR-style piloting behind the wheel, definitely impressed Dixon.

“Well, I think he did a hell of a job,” Dixon said on this week’s edition of the Never Settle podcast with host Marty Smith of ESPN. “The first time I saw Jimmie, and I was like, ‘Man, this guy is crazy.’ It was at Iowa. You were up on the high line and then kinda down on the bottom.

“You were all over the place and I said, ‘Man, I’ve never seen anybody do this before in this category,’ and it was so impressive to watch. I know if you’d stayed after for at least one more season, you were going to get some crazy-good result.”

But at that point, Johnson was on the verge of turning 47 years old (he’ll be 50 this September 17th) and he felt that he had given IndyCar his best shot and it was time to move on to other things, like being part-owner and running Legacy Motor Club (formerly Petty GMS Motorsports).

“We knew more time would have helped but I was just at a point where I was ready to move on,” Johnson said. “But I wish I would have come to IndyCar sooner. The time at CGR with you guys, I will forever cherish. We had so much damn fun.”

To which Dixon deadpanned, “Let’s just say I’m glad you didn’t come to IndyCar sooner or earlier.”

Dixon and Johnson both get serious on safety in racing

While they had a good time together on the podcast, Dixon and Johnson also turned serious when asked about their thoughts how every race car driver cheats death every time they get behind the wheel of a race car.

“I love driving, but unfortunately I’ve had teammates that have passed (away),” said Dixon, who turns 45 on July 22. “My first initiation of that was Tony Renna (killed during a tire test for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2003 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway).

“Sometimes (it) lingers in the back of your head. Yes, we have some of those check moments. It’s not a single thing you ever want to see in our sport. Maybe I’m crazy, but you never think it’s going to happen to you. For me, doing what I love far outweighs not doing it.”

Johnson understands that lure all too well. “You just don’t think it’s going to happen to you, wrong or right,” Johnson said. “Then you have these moments that are scary and you’re just wired to brush it off. When you have kids and get older, it’s a little different. You just have this ‘It’s not gonna happen to me’ mentality.”

Johnson earned 83 wins in his Cup career and officially ‘retired’ after the 2020 season. But after his two-year stint in IndyCar, Johnson came back to NASCAR.

He has competed in 14 races in the last three seasons, including two thus far this year. This past February, Johnson showed he still has it, finishing third in the Daytona 500, which he previously won in 2006 and 2013.