A look at the drivers with the top-10 odds to win Sunday’s Indy 500 and their related stats.
The 105th running of the Indianapolis 500 is set for Sunday with the green flag scheduled to fly at 12:45 p.m. ET. But NBC’s race broadcast begins at 11 a.m. ET.
For one of the biggest motor sports races in the world, the 33-car field was set last weekend with a two-day qualifying session that ended with six-time IndyCar Series reigning champion Scott Dixon starting first on the pole. And after strong qualifying performances, he and his Chip Ganassi Racing teammates are among the favorites to win this year’s Indy 500.
With about 48 hours until the race officially begins, here’s a look at the drivers (and their stats) with the top-10 odds to win Sunday’s Indy 500, per BetMGM as of Friday morning.
The starting lineup for the 105th Indianapolis 500 includes Scott Dixon on the pole and Will Power in the last row.
After two thrilling days of qualifying last weekend with 35 cars racing for only 33 starting spots, the field for the 2021 Indianapolis 500 is set, with six-time IndyCar Series champ Scott Dixon on the pole.
Dixon won the Indy 500 pole on Sunday for the fourth time in his career after knocking out the fastest laps on both Saturday, when starting positions 10 through 30 were set, and Sunday, when the Fast Nine Shootout and the Last Row Shootout determined the top-9 and final three spots, respectively.
“It’s a crazy lead up to this race,” Dixon told For The Win about the two-day qualifying process. “The race for pole is such an event in itself. … It’s really nerve-racking.
“Emotionally, it’s crazy. It’s one of the toughest things. And I think unfortunately, being a veteran of the sport, having done it for so long, it hasn’t got any better. I was so nervous on Saturday, and then on Sunday, I was so nervous.”
The 105th Indy 500 is Sunday with the green flag scheduled to fly at 12:45 p.m. ET on NBC. And this year’s race features several previous Indy 500 winners: Dixon, Hélio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Tony Kanaan, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Alexander Rossi, Will Power, Simon Pagenaud and defending Indy 500 winner Takuma Sato.
Here’s a breakdown of the starting grid for the 2021 Indy 500.
IndyCar star Scott Dixon will start Sunday’s Indy 500 on the pole after qualifying with an incredible 231.685 mph average.
With a blazing 231.685 miles per hour four-lap average, reigning IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon won the coveted pole for Sunday’s Indianapolis 500 and will lead the 33-car field to green at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won by just .03 miles per hour at the end of the two-day qualifying process.
It’s his fourth Indy 500 pole after also winning it in 2017, 2015 and 2008 — when he won the iconic race from his No. 1 starting spot. And although the 40-year-old Chip Ganassi Racing driver said winning the Indy 500 pole is one of the most challenging things to do, he knows it promises nothing about the race itself.
“It’s obviously the best starting position,” Dixon told For The Win. “But unfortunately, it doesn’t guarantee you anything. It doesn’t even guarantee going into the first corner first.”
Ahead of the 2021 Indy 500, For The Win spoke with the six-time IndyCar champ about his pole win, the magic of the Indy 500 itself and what kind of milk he hopes he’s celebrating with Sunday afternoon.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Most of us can’t fathom what it’s like to drive at 231 miles an hour. Can you describe what that genuinely feels like?
The hardest part for us is the is the fact that you did it the day before [in Saturday’s qualifying round], but you had 24 hours to sit on it, and you never actually go out in the car until that happens again. And the process is now that you’re holding the car off on your out lap, so your first lap out is kind of slow. You don’t really feel the car until you turn the boost up, you go around, down the backstraight [into] Turns 3 into 4, and then you’re going in to Turn 1 at 240-plus miles now.
And your mind is telling your foot to stay flat and to keep it flat through the corner, but you have human instincts, right? Like, this could be a pretty big crash or a big moment, and whether you come out the other side in one piece, So, mentally, it’s very tough.
It’s a crazy lead up to this race. The race for pole is such an event in itself that, you know, it’s something that the team wants to do. … It’s really nerve-racking. Emotionally, it’s crazy. It’s one of the toughest things. And I think unfortunately, being a veteran of the sport, having done it for so long, it hasn’t got any better. I was so nervous on Saturday, and then on Sunday, I was so nervous.
In the moment right before the Indy 500 is about to go green, what’s going through your mind in that moment?
Typically, after that long week of just talking about the race, you have these slight premonitions like, “We’re gonna do this, that person’s gonna do that.” For me, it’s actually really nice to get in the car. You kind of by yourself, you kind of feel at home. That hype is right there, and I think for all of us, you’re just wanting to get into that race and get it over and done with, to be honest.
The start is tricky. It can be tricky. But if you start near the front, it should be pretty calm. So you’re just wanting to get into the cycle of the race. And it’s never won in the first corner, so you want to be somewhat cautious but also aggressive at the same time.
In the 2017, Indy 500, you were in a terrifying crash, and thankfully, you were OK. But when when something like that happens, does it impact your mindset at all when you return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for this race?
That one was definitely spectacular, for sure. You try to forget about those things, but unfortunately, they get played on the video boards continuously, and you see the crash a lot. But I think for drivers, when it’s a crash like that, it was just by chance, right?
There was a slower car, it got into trouble, I had nowhere to go, and it was big and spectacular. But for drivers, it’s more if you lose the control of the car yourself, and you spin the car out or you make a mistake. Those are the ones that linger a lot more. That was that was a big crash, and lucky to only walk away with fractured ankle at that point.
But we’re very lucky to be in this year of IndyCar racing and the safety compared to the ’50, ’60s and ’70s. It’s safer in general, but we can still see some crazy things happen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QiAj5oOfz4
If you could add one track to the IndyCar schedule that’s not already on it, what what track would it be?
Oh, that’s a hard one. In North America, probably Watkins Glen [International]. I’d love to go back to upstate New York. And then internationally, I think it’d be fun as well to go back to Surfers Paradise in Australia. That was always my ideal event for IndyCar racing.
And if you were to win the Indy 500, what would be your preferred milk choice?
I think in the early days, you could actually pick strawberry, pick chocolate. I’m a big chocolate fan, so I would pick chocolate, but now they I think it’s only skim, 2 percent or full. … I’ll go for the 2 percent. I like the 2 percent. That’s what I have with my cereal.
The Indianapolis 500, one of the biggest motor sports events in the world, is all about tradition. From the process of qualifying for the race to the grand parade with drivers ahead of the race to the pre-race festivities, it’s an extravagant event.
Drivers often take a first sip or two before dousing themselves (and anyone in their vicinity) with the whole bottle. It might not be your first drink of choice on a hot day after a 500-mile race around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but drivers love it.
Plus, it’s tradition.
(AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
And drivers actually get to select their milk preference in advance. The American Dairy Association Indiana is in charge of delivering the milk to the winning driver, and polls the competitors in advance so the “milk people” know what bottle to bring out when the race is over.
Drivers’ have their choice of whole milk, two percent or fat-free. Here’s what the drivers selected for milk for the 2021 Indy 500:
As usual, whole milk is the most popular choice among drivers — although, Juan Pablo Montoya would prefer chocolate. And despite the three real choices, someone always wants buttermilk, in true Indy 500 tradition, and this year, that’s what Ed Carpenter and Simona de Silvestro wrote in.
“Three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Louis Meyer regularly drank buttermilk to refresh himself on a hot day and happened to drink some in Victory Lane as a matter of habit after winning the 1936 race. An executive with what was then the Milk Foundation was so elated when he saw the moment captured in a photograph in the sports section of his newspaper the following morning that he vowed to make sure it would be repeated in coming years. There was a period between 1947-55 when milk was apparently no longer offered, but the practice was revived in 1956 and has been a tradition ever since.”
Buttermilk is no longer an option, so after Sunday’s Indy 500, the designated “milk people” from the American Dairy Association Indiana will pull one of three bottles — one for each milk option — from a chilled cooler, which one of the milk people is often handcuffed to.
And they deliver it to the winning driver for the iconic celebration.
The 105th running of the Indy 500 is Sunday, May 30 at 12:45 p.m. ET on NBC.
“I wanted to do something to make sure he was with me every race,” James Hinchcliffe said about his helmet’s updated design.
When IndyCar Series star James Hinchcliffe debuted his new helmet this year in the season-opener earlier this month at Barber Motorsports Park, there was something different about it: A touching and quirky tribute to his late father, Jeremy.
On the helmet Hinchcliffe said he designed himself is the image of a thick, brown mustache — a look which was so synonymous with his father that Jeremy was also nicknamed “the Stache.”
“[The new helmet is] my normal design that Troy Lee paints, but this year with the added tribute to Dad,” the Andretti Autosport driver said via email.
“My Dad, Jeremy Hinchcliffe, had been battling an illness for the last two years. He was the reason I fell in love with racing, the reason I got into Karting as a kid, he was my first sponsor, my manager, my biggest cheerleader.”
Love my lid this year with a little something extra on it. Been weird not having Dad at the races, but his famous Stache rides with me now every time I strap in. Texas is up next for the Gensys 300! pic.twitter.com/lge1w0SqJX
About two months before the start of the IndyCar season, Jeremy Hinchcliffe died on February 10 after fighting an undisclosed illness, and James wanted to celebrate his father while, in a way, still having him at the race track every week.
So he tweaked the design of his helmet.
[lawrence-related id=1020450]
Whether you knew him as Jeremy, The Stache, Papa Hinch, or as I did, Dad, to know him was to love him. His guidance, his laugh and his love are three things I have, and will always, cherish. There are no words for how much we already miss you. I love you, Dad. pic.twitter.com/ZxizkBt9vk
“I knew it was going to be weird not having him at the track, so I wanted to do something to make sure he was with me every race,” Hinchcliffe said. “My Dad was such a big personality and was such a fixture at the track. He loved bonding with the crew guys, meeting fans, entertaining friends. He loved the track.
“He had this trademark mustache his whole life and his nickname to many was ‘the Stache’, so I thought that was a pretty fitting way to honor him, by putting a likeness of his mustache on my lid.”
The IndyCar Series returns to the track this weekend for a doubleheader at Texas Motor Speedway, starting with the Genesys 300 on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN) and followed by the XPEL 375 on Sunday (5 p.m. ET, NBCSN).
After retiring from NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson will make his IndyCar debut this weekend.
Jimmie Johnson didn’t retire from racing last year; he just retired from NASCAR after 19 seasons in the Cup Series, seven championships and 83 checkered flags.
Now, Johnson is about to try something new, something he’s been dreaming about since he was a kid growing up in southern California.
“IndyCar was the early dream for me,” Johnson told For The Win. “I’m excited. I’m optimistic about it. I’ve got a long way to go.”
He’ll be a 45-year-old rookie in the open-wheeled IndyCar Series, competing in 13 road and street courses for Chip Ganassi Racing this season beginning Sunday with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. And even though the ride has a totally different look, he’s still behind the wheel or a No. 48 car, which veteran IndyCar champ Tony Kanaan will pilot for the oval races.
For The Win recently spoke with Johnson about shifting into IndyCar, the extreme challenges that come with competing in a new style of racing and the silly fire suit controversy he started on social media.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
1. How does it feel to be a 45-year-old rookie competing in IndyCar, something that’s a totally different style of racing than what you’ve been doing for the last couple decades?
Definitely a rookie. I can vividly remember the feeling and headspace of being a rookie coming into Cup. And it’s very similar — the concerns you have, in your mind, self doubt, the curiosity of what’s ahead. How am I going to do? Where am I weak? Where am I strong? All that stuff’s still very much the same.
But I do feel like being older and more experienced is helpful. And I know I’ve been through this before, and I know I’m going to survive it, regardless of the outcome. Barber is going to be full of surprises. And then they’re rolling to St. Pete, and I’ve never been on a street tire or street track, and that’s gonna be full of surprises. But I’m just gonna roll with it. It’s such a fun car to drive. I can’t describe just how intense and how fun these beasts are to drive, and I love every time I get behind the wheel of one.
(INDYCAR/Chris Owens)
2. Can compare how it physically feels for you to drive an open-wheeled car like that versus a stock car?
Bristol in qualifying is similar. Dover in qualifying is similar. But in an IndyCar, that’s every lap all the time. The intensity is so high because the vehicle’s downforce performance and the weight of the vehicle and the tire — they’re just just a far superior vehicle. And then you add in the fact that you don’t have any power-steering assist, and the workload goes up 10 times.
3. Have there been times driving an Indy car when you felt scared or out of your depths?
Yeah, basically every lap I’ve made so far [laughs]. When you leave pit road on cold tires, it is so evil until you get enough tire temperature and tire pressure that you scare yourself and you pull back. And I’m learning that’s when you need to keep pushing because the quicker you can gain temperature in the surface of the tire, the quicker that turns into tire pressure, and the better the car is.
When I first started, it would take seven or eight laps to hit that target air pressure number in the tire. And now I’m able to do it on lap three or four with my teammates. So that’s been a big hurdle for me to get over, [and] that’s just one example. And then once the tires are up at a track like Barber and the commitment level that’s required to put up a lap time, my senses have never been through anything like that before. It’s insane.
It sounds like it.
These guys make it look easy, which is the crazy part.
4. Do you feel like you’ll get there as well, though?
Yeah, it just takes time. I’m under a second off my teammates at the last Barber test session — closer by a half a second off, which we’re all just ecstatic about. The last few tenths are always the hardest, and that’s what takes years and years and years. So I feel like I will make some quick gains and get to a certain point, and then I’m just going to need the reps.
5. Is there anything that’s a clear No. 1 goal for you this season?
I need to make sure that I run every lap or as many laps as I can, and that means being smart trying to make passes, being smart on my out laps on cold tires. I’m just literally at that stage learning tracks, where every lap really does make a difference, and I learned something new.
6. Is winning a race a realistic goal for you at this point?
I don’t feel like it is. I’m not saying it can’t happen. Strategy is a big part of IndyCar racing. They only make two pit stops in most cases. So fuel strategy and execution by team and driver in the race can put you in a position to win, but I think in an all-out, shootout, heads-up race, I don’t see me being there this year.
(INDYCAR/Chris Owens)
7. What course are you most excited to race on?
I would have to say Long Beach. That was an annual stop for me as the kid growing up on the West Coast and the place where I heard an IndyCar scream by on the back straightaway as I crossed the walkover bridge, and thought, “Man, I’ve got to find a way to get one of these cars and be out there.” So 25, 30 years later to being in IndyCar and being inside the ropes is really special for me.
8. What course are you most nervous to race on?
I have heard that the Belle Isle track is just so violent and so rough. And it’s a doubleheader weekend — race Saturday, race Sunday. So I’ll know more this week [after Barber] about where I am physically and how much more I need to strengthen myself to go again a second day. So but that’s the one I probably have the most concern about right now.
9. You’ve done so much other racing between the end of the NASCAR season and the beginning of the IndyCar season, and it seems like you’ve had a chance to get to know some of the other IndyCar drivers a little better than you had before. How would you describe your relationship with some of these guys?
I feel very well received. I think there’s a lot of respect we have both directions. I’ve been to a handful of different IndyCar test sessions and races and stuff, and I think people can see that I really do respect their craft and their abilities. And at the same time, I think largely through racing in the 24 Hours of Daytona, I’ve been able to build a lot of friendships with with current drivers.
That’s where I met Dario and Marino Franchitti, it’s the first place I met Scott Dixon. So I feel like some of these other races I’ve put myself in have really opened my friend group up.
10. Whether it’s a teammate or fellow competitor, has any IndyCar driver given you some advice that’s stuck with you as you prepare for a totally different style of racing?
My teammates have been so helpful — Scott [Dixon], Marcus [Ericsson], Alex [Palou], of course, Dario. They’ve been above and beyond, and I am so thankful.
One thing that does stand out to me is after the Sebring race, I made a couple of big mistakes and was feeling down and out and lost a little bit of confidence based on what I did. And I got a text from Alexander Rossi. It’s like, “Hey, man, chin up. I know how hard the transition is. I tried to get around Bathurst and the V8 supercar last year and had plenty of issues. Tons of respect for you making the switch, and chin up.”
And I know him. I’ve had some drinks with him in the past, and I’ve hung out with him socially. But for him to send that text was pretty telling to me. I was like, “That’s cool.” I really appreciated that text from him.
11. So, what’s the deal with the fire suits with the straight-leg, fitted style in IndyCar versus the boot cut in NASCAR? You posted a photo on social media recently that had some NASCAR guys calling you a traitor. Is that a personal preference or what?
Yeah, culturally, each leg cut has its home — although they were all peg legs way back in the day. But [in] IndyCar, I feel like weight is such an important item for the for open-wheeled cars, and the open-wheel suit is much lighter than the NASCAR style bootleg-cut suit. And when teams are drilling holes in bolts and shaving the bolts down to where there’s only two threads showing on the other side of a nut to save fractions of an ounce, when your suit’s two pounds heavier from one version to the other, it’s a pretty easy decision what you’re gonna do there.
If you hold up my NASCAR suit from last year to my suit this year, it is a noticeable difference in weight.
Oh, wow. I thought it’d be related to footwork or something like that, but it’s weight.
It is weight. And the footwork side — climbing in the cockpit of an Indy car is so tight that I feel many feared the bootleg material would kind of ball up, and it’d be hard to put your legs through the bulkhead of the tub of the Indy car to get up to the pedals. So actually, there’s less material, less stuff to snag, less stuff to bunch up. And then it’s just way lighter.
All those issues are more easily addressed when you’re not driving 200 miles per hour. But amazingly drivers manage, as IndyCar star Alexander Rossi recently explained.
Ahead of the start to the 2021 IndyCar season this weekend, Rossi took interview questions from kids. And 7-year-old Logan asked a very important one: “How do you pick your nose during the race without getting seen?”
Rossi simply said: “You just do it. Like, no one’s going to see you.”
The Andretti Autosport driver explained that it’s not too challenging to get his hand inside his helmet, but it’s more to scratch his nose than pick it. And it’s even easier when the race is under caution, as opposed to going full speed.
Nose picking aside, Rossi went on to share a story of sneezing while racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when he was comfortably driving faster than 200 miles an hour. And he had no choice but to close his eyes for a split-second.
He explained:
“I did sneeze once at Indianapolis, and that was a wild experience. Like, I sneezed going down the front straightaway. … It came out of nowhere because I would have tried to hold it in otherwise. I don’t know if it was allergy season, but yeah, I was just driving along, and it was just this massive sneeze. And that was fine, but then when you open your eyes again, it’s, like, weird. It was a weird — it took a half-second to refocus.”
Just… terrifying. But, of course, the 2016 Indianapolis 500 champ handled it like a pro.
The 2021 IndyCar Series season begins Sunday with the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park (3 p.m. ET, NBC).
James Hinchcliffe is back to full-time IndyCar racing in 2021, and he had jokes.
IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe is back with a full-time ride this season and reunited with Andretti Autosport, they announced Wednesday.
The big news comes after a challenging couple years for Hinchcliffe, who unexpectedly lost his Arrow McLaren SP ride in 2019. The six-time IndyCar race winner and fan-favorite driver then ran a handful of races for Andretti Autosport during the 2020 season for his second stint with the team. Hinchcliffe also raced for Andretti for three seasons from 2012 to 2014, earning three of his career wins during the 2013 season.
Now, with the No. 29 Honda, Hinchcliffe and Andretti are together again for the complete 2021 IndyCar season. Unsurprisingly, the 34-year-old driver was in a joking mood for the big announcement, and he showed off his delightful senseof humor by opening with a Friends joke.
“To steal a line from Ross…’We were on a break!'” Hinchcliffe said with a chuckle, minutes after announcing his full-time return to Andretti Autosport for the 2021 IndyCar season. “We’re back together now, and that’s all that matters.”
Overall, this will be Hinchcliffe’s fifth IndyCar season with Andretti Autosport and his 11th in the series. For 10 races in 2021, including the Indianapolis 500, he’ll be sponsored by Genesys, and his remaining sponsors have yet to be announced.
“This program is something we’ve been working on since the day we signed our three-race deal with Andretti Autosport last March,” Hinchcliffe said, via IndyCar. “Being back full time has always been the goal, and it feels so great to know that I will be back on the grid and with such an amazing team, one I’ve had a lot of great memories and success with.”
The 2021 IndyCar Series season begins at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama in April.
“Six sounds a lot better than five with championships,” Scott Dixon said about his latest IndyCar championship.
Scott Dixon is now a six-time IndyCar Series champion —and one title away from tying racing legend A.J. Foyt’s all-time record.
Dixon didn’t need to win Sunday’s Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg to claim another championship. The 40-year-old Chip Ganassi driver finished third behind race winner and fellow title-contender Joseph Newgarden, but Dixon was crowned the champion because he earned more points in the championship hunt.
A Ganassi driver throughout his career, Dixon’s first championship was in 2003, and he won again in 2008, 2013, 2015 and 2018. He won four races in the 2020 season.
For The Win sat down with Dixon, virtually, Monday morning following his championship win about the season, the giant trophy and his future — which includes being teammates with NASCAR’s seven-time champion, Jimmie Johnson, who’s retiring from full-time NASCAR at the end of the 2020 season.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Have you had a chance to get any sleep get any rest at this point?
Honestly, you know, we went later to just grab a bit of food around maybe 8:30 and then a couple of drinks. But I think we were back in the motorhome and asleep by probably 11:30 or 12. It was it was actually a really physical race [Sunday]. The temperature was pretty high. I think it was almost an all-time high for this time of year here, almost 90 degrees. But it was so humid. So I was definitely pretty worn out as far as hydration, so I shut it down pretty early [Sunday] night.
Little bit different of a celebration than when you won your first championship?
Very, very different. I kind of remember blips of that night in 2003, and it was definitely a pretty wild night. But yeah, I think recovery at the age of 23 was much easier at the age of 40.
When you look at six championships, how do you how do you view that and as you continue to establish your place in IndyCar history?
It’s a testament to the team, and obviously, been part of this team for 19 years going into my 20th season next year with them. And I think the adversities this year for everybody has been crazy. Did we even think there was going to be a season? I feel super lucky and super privileged that I get to race cars, for one, [because of] the NTT IndyCar Series, with the help of NASCAR, I think, with the protocols with COVID and things like that.
So it does feel very special to win in a season like this. Even for the first race when you’re in Victory Lane — bring a mask, and you’re celebrating by yourself. It was just the bizarre-ist scenarios that were very new situations for all of us.
But you know, six sounds a lot better than five with championships. So it feels amazing. It hasn’t really sunk in too much yet, just to really sit back and capture the season. The competition that we have nowadays — it’s just it’s through the roof, and so to do it as a team has has been phenomenal.
Chip Ganassi and Scott Dixon in 2003. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
You mentioned COVID and other complications that we’ve seen this season. When you look at it in that context, how does this championship compared to others?
It’s funny: I think championships is kind of like having kids. You love them all equally, but but they’re all very different. And their personalities are different and the achievements and how you actually enabled it.
But for me, this year was way more stressful than others. I think it’s the first time I’ve ever led a championship from start to finish. We had a 117-point lead at one stage, and that dwindled to under 20. Obviously, there was there was almost a period of trying to stop the bleeding.
It’s a year that none of us are going to forget. But for me, this championship, I think, is really special for a lot of those scenarios.
Are you already eyeing AJ Foyt’s record seven IndyCar championships?
Seven sounds a lot better than six. So yeah, absolutely. You try to soak up situations like this a little bit. But we start testing again this week at the speedway and then the following week in Alabama. It just kicks off quite quickly. So we’ll need a little bit of time to analyze the season, obviously dig deep through what we need to make better.
But, yeah, goal No. 1 next year — or two goals, as always: First, win the Indianapolis 500, and secondly, try to win a championship. So we’ll definitely be trying hard to pull both of those off.
It’s very heavy. I don’t know what it weighs. It’s gotta be 50, 60 pounds. And when you’re done after a two hour race of mayhem and heat exhaustion and things like that, and they’re trying to tell you to lift it over your head, you’re like, ‘OK, you know, get it, get the picture quickly.’
But it’s so amazing, the Astor Cup, and how they brought that back into the cycle of IndyCar racing. There’s this long history and long story there. But yeah, I think I prefer just sitting there and giving it a good kiss. That’s, that’s the best situation for me.
I don’t think you can take the top off. You need to be able to take that off, so you can pour some champagne in there or some beers and drink out of it. But it’s definitely a pretty sweet trophy.
Next season, you’re getting a new teammate in Jimmie Johnson, and you have 13 championships between the two of you. He’ll be learning from you quite a bit, but are there things that you can teach each other next year from one champion to another?
Appreciate having @scottdixon9 come out to the test today to share pointers and give feedback.
Just finished reviewing his in-car footage compared to mine then took a ride on the track together to check brake points and areas to gain a little speed. pic.twitter.com/VjgueGgj3k
First of all, it’s fantastic. I can’t believe Jimmie, with all that he’s done, and he still has the drive. I think [it’s] not necessarily an age thing, but after all his accomplishments to take on such a big battle — it’s going to be a very steep mountain.
But already I can see just how competitive the guy is. You can see why he’s a seven-time champion. The intensity is insane. We haven’t even done a test together yet. I’ve gone to one of his tests, and he’s done some simulators. But the way he’s trying to kick out his training level to reaction stuff and everything involved, he tries to cover all the bases, and that’s why he’s been so good and so competitive. It’s really big for for IndyCar. I can’t wait to spend more time with him.
Jimmie Johnson is teaming up with Chip Ganassi Racing to make his IndyCar dream a reality.
Jimmie Johnson is officially one step closer to running multiple IndyCar Series races next year, following his retirement from full-time NASCAR racing in November at the end of the 2020 season.
The seven-time NASCAR champ has repeatedly expressed his interest in trying out IndyCar in the future — particularly the series’ road and street races — and he announced Wednesday he’s teaming up with Chip Ganassi Racing to make that happen. This news follows his IndyCar test run in July at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the help of Ganassi and five-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon.
“This is what I want to do in 2021, and now it’s time to get to work and figure out where we can get sponsorship for the team,” Johnson said in the video he tweeted announcing his IndyCar plans. “What I experienced [during the IndyCar test], I checked that box. This is what I want to do in ’21 and ’22.”
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. pic.twitter.com/Y4VdVN0UP1
However, Johnson and Ganassi, who also has a NASCAR team, still need to “finalize sponsorship on a two-year program” they plan to run, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The almost-45-year-old driver said there is some sponsor interest in funding all 12 races for a uniformed look, and that’s the goal. But he added that “there could be a scenario where you break it off into three-to-four race blocs”.
Last month while a guest on Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast, Johnson said it would be his “dream” to run 12 IndyCar races next season. He’s explained he’s not particularly interested in running IndyCar’s oval races, but the road courses and street circuits are what appeal to him most.
Before the 2020 IndyCar season was redesigned because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were 12 total road and street races planned.
“Ganassi was highly motivated to give me a chance to drive a car to see what I thought and the experience was all that I hoped for and more,” Johnson told The Associated Press. “I left a good impression with them where there’s definitely interest on their side and now it’s time to formalize things and get the ball rolling.”
Johnson is retiring from racing full-time in NASCAR when the 2020 season ends in November. He’s spent all 19 full-time season racing for Hendrick Motorsports and in a Chevrolet, and he’d be in a Honda with Ganassi in IndyCar.
On Earnhardt’s podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, in August, Johnson said after one year in an open-wheeled Indy car on road and street courses, he’d “maybe look at” the Indianapolis 500 as a possible option in 2022.
But that’s further into the future. For now, IndyCar and other race car drivers were quick to congratulate Johnson and welcome him in.
