Jimmie Johnson revealed that he has advanced talks to participate in the 2023 Le Mans 24 Hours with Hendrick, but that he needs to know the Indy schedule first
The seven-time Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson is looking for new challenges in his career. After having ventured into Indy, the plan now is to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The veteran revealed that he has advanced talks with Hendrick, which announced in March that he will participate in the race with a new generation Nascar Camaro ZL1. However, he still depends on the Indy calendar to know if he will be able to run the race.
"I'm looking forward to the [IndyCar] calendar. I'm working behind the scenes with Jay Frye [IndyCar president] and others to try to understand what the schedule can be. I want to go to Le Mans. It would be an incredible experience to participate with Hendrick and Action Express in this partnership. But I think a lot depends on the release of the schedule to understand if I can and, from the team's perspective, which drivers would be at the top of the list," Jimmie Johnson told the Motorsport website.
"I'm grateful to have had some conversations with them and I know there is interest. I certainly have a lot of interest in participating. We're just waiting for the first domino to fall. I feel the interest is great on both sides," revealed the seven-time Nascar champion.
In 2022, Jimmie is having to reconcile the Indy schedule with Ganassi and the IMSA races with Ally, and has already missed races due to the conflict of dates. For next year, the American continues to keep his options open, and knows that it is still early to start signing contracts.
"We're still at this stage, whether it's Indy, sports car racing, or any other idea I have for racing, where people are just starting to talk about options. It's usually in late summer, early fall, that papers start getting done and signed. We're at the beginning of the cycle and I'm trying to keep my options open," explained the veteran.
Asked about his desire to continue in Indy, Johnson said he has no doubt that he wants to continue in the category. "Absolutely. What I've been doing has been a lot of fun and enjoyable. I keep getting better and I hope to do something similar next year," he concluded.