Jimmie Johnson's sponsor is staying in NASCAR, but how long will he keep racing?
Jimmie Johnson's current NASCAR contract is up in 2020, but he might have just dropped a hint about his future.
Jimmie Johnson is not ready to retire from NASCAR just yet, but he’s also shared few specifics about how much longer he wants to continue racing.
The 44-year-old seven-time Cup Series champion — arguably the greatest NASCAR driver of all time — acknowledged back in May that in the middle of his 19th full-time season, he doesn’t have five more years in him. But — despite generally being vague in his answers about his future with his contract being up at the end of the 2020 season — he also said in September: “I’m not done yet. That fire is way too intense.”
Well, Friday on Twitter, Johnson may have just dropped a hint about his plans in a somewhat cryptic tweet.
Ally Racing became Johnson’s (and the No. 48 Chevrolet team’s) primary sponsor this year, replacing his longtime sponsor, Lowe’s, which left NASCAR at the end of the 2018 season. And now the company is committed through 2023.
Reacting to the announcement, Johnson said it’s great for his team, Hendrick Motorsports, and NASCAR with no mention of how this might benefit him personally.
Johnson signed a three-year contract extension with Hendrick in 2017 and has been repeatedly questioned about his future, especially with his and the No. 48 team’s struggles the last couple years. For the first time in his career, he didn’t made the playoffs this season, and his last win was in June of 2017.
When For The Win asked Johnson about his plans last month at Richmond Raceway, he explained how his two daughters, 9-year-old Genevieve and 6-year-old Lydia, growing up will have an impact on his decision.
“Where I’m at is trying to balance my kids, my family life, the demands on all of that,” Johnson told For The Win.
“And when the pressure comes to make a decision, I just need to be able to have a little time with my family to figure out what we’re going to do. I know Chani [his wife] wants me to race until the fire goes out, so we’ll see. I have full support.
“I feel like as my kids get older, you hear some passing comments about wishing I was around, … so you do feel a sense of missing out on things. So I could see another year or two potentially, but it wouldn’t go much further than that.”
So to recap, Johnson has said five years is too much and one or two beyond 2020 is more realistic. And Ally, his dedicated sponsor, just committed to the No. 48 team through 2023.
Speculating, it seems like after the 2023 season might be the perfect time for Johnson to call it a career.
As a guest on his friend and former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast last month, Johnson was also grilled about his desire to continue racing. He said: “I’m sure Mr. Hendrick’s going to be pushing on me for an answer.”
Johnson then told For The Win almost two weeks later that the spring of a contract year is about the time team owner Rick Hendrick has initiated extension talks. He also joked he hopes Hendrick didn’t listen to him on Dale Jr.’s podcast.
“I keep waiting for Rick to call,” Johnson told FTW about initiating that conversation. “I’ll probably need all the time I can have before I can make a decision.”