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Photo: Jimmie Johnson at the news conference announcing Carvana sponsorship

Carvana will sponsor 7 time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson when he begins his Indycar adventure next March. Johnson will drive for Chip Ganassi Racing and will keep his former series number, 48.

In a news conference between practice and qualifying for the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Johnson admitted, “I have a very steep learning curve ahead of me.”

Ernie Garcia, CEO of Carvana, said as an industry leader, he is excited to join with another industry leader.

Johnson said he is most looking forward to racing at Long Beach, where he fell in love with Indycar, and at Laguna Seca. He said he has always wanted to drive the corkscrew and didn’t think he would ever get the chance.

Chip Ganassi said the plan is to run the 48 car the entire schedule, which means he has to find another driver for the four oval races. Johnson ruled out driving in the Indianapolis 500 for 2021.

The official release:

Carvana Partners with 7-Time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing in INDYCAR

Chip Ganassi Racing and Johnson revving up for 2021 racing season

PHOENIX (Oct. 24, 2020) — Leading online auto retailer Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) announced today it will be the primary partner for 7-time NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) Champion Jimmie Johnson and Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR) for the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES racing season in the newly-formed Carvana Chip Ganassi Racing entry.

Johnson co-holds the NCS record with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty for most premier series championships and is the only driver to win five consecutive titles (2006-2010). Johnson’s 83 career wins is tied with Cale Yarborough for sixth all-time and is tops among active drivers. With an impressive record any athlete would envy, Johnson saw his next challenge in INDYCAR, and recently announced his plans to race with CGR in his continued pursuit of excellence. 

“Jimmie Johnson has already made his mark as one of the best NASCAR drivers in history, yet he’s continuing to push himself with a new challenge,” said Carvana Chief Brand Officer Ryan Keeton. “He’s not resting, but raising the bar, and that’s a mindset we can very much relate to. We’re looking forward to that shared challenger mindset, teamed up with Chip Ganassi Racing, for what is sure to be a fun, exciting racing season.”

Ahead of the upcoming season, Johnson is scheduled to participate in tests with CGR in the No. 48 Carvana Honda at Barber Motorsports Park and Laguna Seca in November. Johnson’s new paint scheme will be unveiled prior to the start of the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season where he is scheduled to compete in the full road and street course calendar.

“Carvana is a young, tech-forward, smart and aggressive company and is the perfect partner for this next challenge in my career,” said Johnson, who will be competing for 2021 INDYCAR Rookie of the Year. “I’ve dreamed of racing in INDYCAR since I was a little kid. Going from one championship organization to another with CGR, you know the resources, including great people, are going to be there. To have friends like Scott (Dixon), Dario (Franchitti) and Doug (Duchardt) there to lean on and learn from just makes this transition so much better. 2021 is going to be a lot of fun!”

“I think this is a perfect fit for our organization – Carvana is a very exciting technology company that is always continuing to challenge themselves to be the best they can be,” said Team Owner Chip Ganassi. “Like us, they value innovation – and when you add it all up, we seem to have a lot in common, which is why I think this relationship can really grow and be successful. You all know Jimmie and his accomplishments. Jimmie is a champion and a winner and will bring tremendous value to our organization. I think we’re going to learn as much from him and his approach as he is going to learn about INDYCAR racing. It will only move the team in a positive direction.”

As the pioneer of online car buying, Carvana created an easy, transparent way for consumers to purchase their next car – the ability to shop more than 20,000 vehicles, finance, purchase and schedule touchless delivery, all in as little as five minutes from the comfort and safety of home.

Six schedule revisions, cancelled races, races run in front of empty stands, and races with severely limited attendance are what most will recall about the 2020 NTT Indycar Series. It has not been easy for team owners, sponsors, drivers, crew, or fans. Yet, I find it impressive that the series will have run 14 races this season, and I find some optimism for 2021 in the way things have played out as we head to the season finale at St. Petersburg in a little more than two weeks.

The protocols in the paddock have appeared to work well with masks and distancing in place. Teams kept to themselves. Media interviews mostly were on Zoom, and in-session talks with team personnel conducted with microphones on poles.

Accommodating fans presented other issues. It is challenging for tracks to regulate individual behavior. As the season wore on, I noticed improvement in track management and fan compliance.

Road America was the first race of the season to allow fans. protocols like temperature screening at the gates, mask wearing, and social distancing were in place. I must say the track staff wasn’t strict on enforcing the mask requirement, and while most people kept their distance, I observed many who did not.

Iowa limited the crowd each night to 5,000. In the stands people stayed within the boundaries of their assigned seats and stayed with the group they came with. White circles on the hills kept groups at a proper social distance. mask compliance was somewhat better than at Road America.

At World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway), I noticed even better mask compliance. the crowd was small enough that social distance was easily maintained. In the first turn grandstand, two rows of seats were blocked from spectators followed by one row of seating.

Mid Ohio had a 6,000 per day fan limit. Track personnel reminded fans to wear masks and respect the limits of the squares marked in the general admission areas.

At Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, the 10,000 fans allowed each day could choose either a north or south bubble to sit in. Each area had its own entrance and moving from one area to the other was not allowed. Mask compliance was good, as was social distancing.

The fans improved in adapting to the rules as the season went on. I have concerns about 20,000 fans at St. Pete. Spectators will need to be spread out quite a lot. We’ll see how it goes.

I have hope that next year’s schedule will go pretty much as planned unless there is another significant surge of the virus. First, all tracks now have a COVID plan in place for the paddock and fans. Tracks have worked with local and state governments to determine safe fan limits.

Any concerns about races might come in the early part of the season, but I hope that by the end of the year things will be closer to normal. I don’t look for any race to be allowed full capacity until 2022 at the earliest. Fans hoping to get paddock access in 2021 may be disappointed. I don’t see that perk returning for awhile.

While there will still be some limits at races, I think we will see a more normal schedule with fewer disruptions. It will take time to return to a completely regular routine with no attendance or movement limits. We may also see shorter race weekends as well. the series has learned this year how what can be accomplished in a shorter time frame.

Saturday at IMS:

8 am- Gates Open (gates 1 & 9)

8:30-10 Indianapolis 8 Hour/GT World Challenge America pre qualifying

10:20-10:50 Indycar Qualifying -Race 2

11:10-11:50 TC America/TCR Race 2

12:10-1:10 Indianapolis 8 Hour/GT World Challenge America Qualifying

2:30-5:00 Indycar Harvest Grand Prix Race 2 (NBC)

5:30-5:45 Indianapolis 8 Hour/GT World Challenge America Pole Shootout

Can Indycar top yesterday’s race? Some attribute the great racing to the weather conditions. Today’s high is expected to be 64 degrees. race time temperature should be around 61 with partly cloudy skies. No rain is in the forecast.

Temperatures for qualifying will be in the low 50s.

From last night:

Harvest Grand Prix Race 1- Quick Thoughts

https://thepitwindow.blog/2020/10/02/harvest-grand-prix-race-1-quick-thoughts/

This is an important day for Scott Dixon. He needs to regain some momentum back and try to extend his points lead over Josef Newgarden. The lead has shrunk from 116 points going into Mid Ohio to just 40 after yesterday.

Can Rinus VeeKay continue to be a factor today? He should be fun to watch.

Indycar, Chevy, and Honda have a major announcement at 11:50 this morning regarding the new hybrid engine.

I’ll be back after qualifying with a quick report. Enjoy the day.