Jimmie Johnson adds COTA and Coke 600 to his schedule

DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 16: Legacy Motor Club team owners, Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #84 Carvana Chevrolet, (L) and NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty pose for photos prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #1 at Daytona International Speedway on February 16, 2023 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Spread the love

Jimmie Johnson will join former F1 drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button at COTA on March 26. Legacy Motor Club announced Tuesday that Johnson will race at COTA and at the Coke 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

The co-owner of Legacy Motor Club raced in this year’s Daytona 500 where he finished 31st after being swept up in a late race crash. He had previously announced he will race in the Chicago Street Course in July.

While he’s never raced at COTA, a track that was added to the NASCAR schedule in 2021 a year after he retired, he has won a total of eight races at the 1.5-mile Charlotte Motor Speedway. Wyndham resorts will sponsor the effort through its Club Wyndham brand.

“COTA has been on my racing ‘bucket list’ for a very long time,” said Johnson. “But my timing was off by a year or so. I was hoping it was going to be on the INDYCAR schedule – and it wasn’t – and then they added it to the NASCAR schedule after I left. I’m excited to finally be able to check this one off the list and thankful to Club Wyndham for making it happen. From everything I’ve heard, NASCAR drivers have had a lot of fun racing at COTA, so to say I’m looking forward to it is an understatement.”

Four of Johnson’s Charlotte wins were in the 600-mile event on Memorial Day Weekend.

“The Coke 600 is one of those premiere races on the schedule,” said Johnson. “For fans, it’s truly one of the greatest days in motorsports with Monaco (Formula 1), INDYCAR’s Indianapolis 500, and then NASCAR’s longest race that starts in the afternoon and ends at night. Last year I lived out another ‘bucket list’ item and was able to race in the Indy 500. I’m looking forward to driving this NextGen car at Charlotte and putting on a great show for Club Wyndham.”

 

Greg Engle