When Jimmie Johnson announced in 2020 that he would step away from the NASCAR Cup Series to try his hand at IndyCar, many expected him to thrive there as well. That belief was not misplaced. Given more than two seasons, Johnson likely would have found his footing and enjoyed greater success. Instead, his IndyCar stint was cut short, though he had a perfectly valid reason for walking away despite the evident potential.
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The seven-time Cup champion said during an interview with The RACER Channel last year, “I found myself in a very similar cadence that I did in NASCAR, being gone all the time. I just didn’t… it wasn’t feeling right.
“I knew that a third year was there, but I just wanted a change of pace and I wanted to be with Chani and the girls,” Johnson added.
And so, Johnson walked away from a fully funded opportunity to run a third season in the IndyCar Series. He explained that his sponsor, Carvana, and car owner Chip Ganassi were more than willing to see him continue and flourish in open-wheel racing. In his first year, Johnson finished 26th in the standings without a single top-10 result. In his second season, however, he showed clear progress, finishing sixth at Texas and fifth at Iowa.
Those results marked a noticeable upward trend, and another year might have done wonders for his development. Ultimately, though, Johnson made the conscious decision to put his family first after spending years prioritizing motorsports. The fact that very few drivers, Tony Stewart being a rare example, have successfully transitioned between NASCAR and IndyCar only underscores how difficult that challenge truly is.
Johnson is set to participate in the 2026 Daytona 500
Years after his stint in the IndyCar Series, Johnson is now a co-owner of Legacy Motor Club and participates in Cup Series races occasionally. His first appearance in 2026 will be in the Daytona 500. Thanks to the recently launched “Open Exemption Provisional,” Johnson has been automatically approved to start the event.
The provisional allows exceptional drivers from NASCAR’s past and other racing series to start the race even without qualifying for it. And Johnson has been approved for the same. He will start regardless of whether he qualified or not. However, he will not earn any prize money or points if he has to make use of the provisional to start.
Following Daytona, he is also scheduled to race during NASCAR’s visit to San Diego in June. He will be taking on a double-header weekend, with races scheduled in both the Cup Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.
