Jimmie Johnson Could Fall Prey to Chevrolet’s Ponzi Scheme After New Signing

For 7-time Cup Series winner Jimmie Johnson, scaling a new racing team (Legacy Motor Club) to new heights has been a challenge. Back in August, one of Jimmie’s drivers, Noah Gragson, had liked an allegedly insensitive meme on social media. The action set off a spiral of events that cascaded down to Johnson naming 20-year-old Carson Hocevar as the #42 car’s driver in the upcoming playoff race at Darlington Raceway. The youngster is a Craftsman Truck Series regular and has featured in a Cup Series race once before.

Despite seeming like a usual consequence, it is quite possible that one other change that Johnson had made could be at play behind this decision. On the latest episode of their Rubbin’ Is Racing podcast, co-hosts Spider and Large Barstool spoke about the ordeal and considered the chances that an unlikely entity might be behind it.

Is Chevrolet plotting behind Jimmie Johnson to field the inexperienced Carson?

Chevrolet as an organization has significant influence on the NASCAR community. The most successful car maker on the field, it partners with Legacy Motor Club to field two entries in the Cup Series. In a twist of events, Jimmie had announced earlier in the year that his Legacy Motor Club would be moving from Chevrolet to Toyota in the 2024 season.

Considering this fact and the potential idea that Carson Hocevar might be racing for the Spire Motorsports-Chevrolet partnership next season, the question of whether the American car maker might be behind this unlikely replacement arises. Troubled with the thought, Rubbin’ Is Racing podcast co-host Spider put forth a question.

Talking about how the young Carson has a little bit of Ross Chastain in him in regards to his aggressive driving style, Spider asked, “I think the #42 right now is a great starting point. I just have some questions, like, theoretically… If that #42 were a Toyota team right now. Is Carson Hocevar driving the 42 Toyota Legacy car?”

With an answer already brewing in his mind, the co-host acknowledged, “Part of me feels like this is Chevy going to Legacy and saying ‘Hey, we want Carson Hocevar to get some more Cup looks. You guys have an open seat, put him in the seat. Let’s see how he does.'” 

Considering the motive behind Chevrolet possibly doing this, he said that this could be a way for the carmaker to make sure that the youngster could be more prepared for the #77 Spire Motorsports ride in 2024.

Watch Story: Hendrick Motorsports Faces Playoff Disappointment

The podcast’s senior host, Large, was in line with his counterpart’s reasoning. But he did have his reservations as he spoke about the youngster’s performance in the Truck Series. Carson currently stands at 4th, ahead of Zane Smith. Claiming that Carson wasn’t the best option that Jimmie and Chevrolet had, he moved ahead to address Spider’s theory.

Jimmie Johnson’s Toyota move could’ve pushed Chevrolet’s potential rush job

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Large said, “I think to your point that if they just want to get him in a Chevy and see how he wheels around in the cup series… Even though Chevy really hasn’t been supporting their cars with Legacy, I think that’s a good idea. But otherwise this is a little bit of a rush job.”

With Jimmie moving his tools to the garage of Toyota, the Japanese carmaker will be fielding eight cars come 2024. With the growing competition, it makes sense that Chevrolet too would want to make the best use of their options at hand. After the groundbreaking success that Jimmie had with Chevrolet as a driver, his move as a co-owner did come as a surprise.

Bags will have to be packed and shifted soon. But before then, 10 more enthralling races await us. After his maiden appearance in the No. 7 car of potential future team Spire Motorsports, Carson Hocevar will be seen again at the Darlington Raceway on Sunday. Hocevar will be behind in Jimmie’s Chevrolet, and NASCAR nation can’t wait to see how much of a liking The Lady in Black has in store for the youngster.

Read More: Jimmie Johnson Delivers Shocking Update Amidst Noah Gragson Fiasco