INDIANAPOLIS – Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson tested positive for the corona virus and will miss the race this weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,
The 44-year-old Johnson is the first racer in any NASCAR series tested positive and Friday night’s news overshadows the historic NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader race that comes Saturday and Sunday. There is no indication that race will be affected.
Hendrick Motorsports said Johnson would not return until he was permitted by a doctor. He was tested earlier Friday after his wife, Chani, tested positive after experiencing symptoms such as allergies.
Johnson showed no symptoms.
“My first priority is the health and safety of my loved ones and my teammates,” Johnson said. “I have never missed a race in my Cup career, but I know it will be very difficult to watch from the sidelines when I am supposed to be out there to compete. Even though this situation is very disappointing, I will again be ready to win the race and put ourselves in a playoff fight. “
Johnson had earlier held a Zoom session with reporters to discuss Sunday’s race and the upcoming test of Indy’s car on the road in a fairytale place. He will now skip the test, as well as what should be his last Brickyard 400. Justin Allgaier will replace him in the No. Chevrolet 48.
“Jimmie has handled this situation like the champion,” said Rick Hendrick, owner of Hendrick Motorsports. “We are relieved he has no symptoms and that Chani is fine, and we know he will come back and be ready to leave soon. It will be difficult for him to get out of the car and get away from his team, but that is the right thing to do for Jimmie and everyone involved. “
Hendrick Motorsports said it had implemented detailed procedures to protect the health of its team members. They include daily COVID-19 screenings at team facilities; separation of facility operations and travel personnel; separate work schedule; strict face covering and social distance requirements; and increasing levels of disinfectant and sanitation in all work areas.
Johnson is scheduled to retire from the full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the season and tries to tie Jeff Gordon and Michael Schumacher as the only five-time winners in Indianapolis.
Johnson has made 663 consecutive Cup Series starts – the longest line among active racers – and is currently 12th in the standings, 63 points in the playoff picture. NASCAR rules state the driver must be symptom free and have two negative corona virus tests within 24 hours to return.
NASCAR said it had given Johnson a playoff relief.
“Jimmie is a champion who is truly tested in battle, and we hope he recovers well,” the series said.
Johnson also has the potential to miss the Cup race in Kentucky and the All-Star race in Bristol. Next week’s road test course at Indy in Scott Dixon’s car has also been canceled.
NASCAR was one of the first sports to restart the competition from the close of the pandemic and has completed 11 Cup races since the return of May 17. The sanctions body did not test the corona virus but participants were required to carry out temperature checks when they entered the facility.
The driver has been asked to isolate on the track and there is little interaction outside the radio conversation between competitors and his crew.
Although Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske both said that they got a positive test from a shop-based team member, Johnson was the first driver. Earlier Friday, Brazilian car racer Felipe Nasr said he had tested positive and would be absent at Saturday’s IMSA event at Daytona International Speedway.
Johnson earlier Friday discussed the scheduled Indy car test with Chip Ganassi Racing, which he thought was the first step in determining whether the actual race was in his future. If he is good, he said, he will be open to participating in all 12 road and road events on the IndyCar schedule.
Johnson has long said safety issues will prevent him from racing on the IndyCar oval trajectory, but on Friday he offered a softer attitude about the Indy 500. IndyCar this year launched an aeroscreen windshield designed to protect drivers from debris when they sat in the open. air cockpit. Saturday will mark only the second race with the device, but it seemed trouble-free last month on the oval at the Texas Motor Speedway high-speed.
“Their safety in the oval has improved dramatically this year with the windshield. So, I will keep an eye on things there and see how the level of security looks, “Johnson said.” I always wanted to race with the Indy 500. I had to make many sales to my wife to get that permission, but my true desire now is just running a road course. “
Johnson oversees a street course race in Long Beach, California, a race that was canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic but was one of the most tiered events on the IndyCar calendar on the track just hours from where El Cajon came from.
“When I was a kid, the closest IndyCar race for me was in Long Beach so one of my hopes was that I could race in Long Beach,” Johnson said. “I often hung on the fence when I was little, watching and dreaming. … There are many sentimental values with that race and I hope to race there. “
He was caught in a three-year losing streak but Hendrick Motorsports has improved dramatically this season and Johnson has been competitive. He has also been actively preparing for a whirlpool in Indy’s car and has been scheduled to test with the McLaren team before the pandemic.
“This is a test, this is a trial and this is a two-way street. “A two-way trial for the team to see me and for myself to see the team,” he said. “If I’m about four seconds of speed, then that might be a quick sign that I don’t need to be in one of these cars. If I’m in a certain amount of time and I have a good feeling about the car, then for me, I feel like it’s the first step the important thing is that I need to know that I can compete.
“I don’t want to compete in any series and not be competitive,” he said.
