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An image of NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson staring into the distance

NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson explains IndyCar switch

NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson explains IndyCar switch

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson
An image of NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson staring into the distance

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NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson has opened up on his decision to switch Cup Series racing for IndyCar.

Although still not retired, Johnson has had a remarkable racing career, winning seven Cup Series titles between 2006 and 2016, five of which came consecutively.

With 83 Cup Series race victories, Johnson also ranks highly on the all-time wins list in sixth, but ahead of the 2021 season, he swapped stock car racing for an open-wheel cockpit.

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Jimmie Johnson explains IndyCar switch

For the next two seasons, Johnson would race in IndyCar with Chip Ganassi Racing, although he could not repeat his NASCAR success.

Johnson went on to make 29 IndyCar appearances, his best result being a fifth place at Iowa Speedway in July 2022.

Opening up on his IndyCar switch in a recent interview with fellow Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick on his Happy Hour show, Johnson opened up on the 2021 swap.

"Everything in my career has been driven by fear, and that just takes a toll on you. When I stepped away [from NASCAR], I didn't want to be driven by that anymore," Johnson explained.

"I didn't like kind of who I was becoming in the way my headspace was during the course of a season and living through those moments.

"Kids really helped define that, and I'd realize and see 'man, I just didn't handle that right, or I wasn't thinking right, or my head wasn't right,' whatever it was."

READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series star hit with massive penalty at Daytona

IndyCar was the dream

Johnson concluded: "When I went into IndyCar racing, that was the dream when I was a kid and I'm like, 'my give a s*** meter's broke', I don't care.

"I'm not driven by fear anymore. I want to enjoy. I want opportunity, and that's why I just kind of ignored the challenge that I had ahead of myself and committed to it and just went to go have fun."

After two seasons in IndyCar, Johnson eventually returned to Cup Series action part-time in 2023, racing in multiple races in 2023 and 2024 with Legacy Motor Club - the team he co-owns.

In 2025, Johnson has raced in the two biggest races of the year outside of the championship race - the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600.

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NASCAR NASCAR Cup Series IndyCar Jimmie Johnson
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