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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – OCTOBER 25: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally designed by Noah Sweet Chevrolet, poses in front of the Texas Motor Speedway gate entering victory lane, renamed in his honor prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on October 25, 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas. Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to retire from full-time NASCAR racing after 2020. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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FORT WORTH, TEXAS – OCTOBER 25: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally designed by Noah Sweet Chevrolet, poses in front of the Texas Motor Speedway gate entering victory lane, renamed in his honor prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on October 25, 2020 in Fort Worth, Texas. Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to retire from full-time NASCAR racing after 2020. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
Recently, NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson appeared on a show with Graham Bensinger. In the show, there was a Rapid Fire segment, where Johnson had to choose between two entities. In that section, he was asked to choose between Jeff Gordon or Mario Andretti. After a quick laugh, Johnson promptly said, “Gordon“.
Clearly, Johnson has a lot of respect for his former colleague, so it wasn’t really surprising. However, he also acknowledged Andretti’s greatness in the motorsport scene. Lately, Johnson seems to be following in Andretti’s footsteps, as he has retired from NASCAR and is competing in IndyCar.
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Obviously, the 7-time NASCAR champion is enjoying himself and looking forward to the new season. This season did not see any spectacular results, but he can be forgiven as he was still finding his feet. Additionally, age is also a factor in this, as he is 46 years old.
What else did NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson say?
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On a more serious note, Johnson spoke about the direction that NASCAR is taking. According to him, the biggest issues facing NASCAR are a decline in revenue and a packed schedule. He noted that any team earnings and potential was down by 50%. As per his observation, the change was practically halved from what it was in 2015.
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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 08: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet, sits in his car prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Season Finale 500 at Phoenix Raceway on November 08, 2020 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Part of the reason is the low tune-in numbers, which in turn impacts the sponsorship numbers. He revealed, “I’ve heard rumors where these drivers can’t afford permanent or temporary insurance. Which is just kind of standard issue in a sport with so much risk. And you hear drivers [say], ‘I can’t afford it. I’m not gonna do it.’”
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Coming to the schedule, Jimmie Johnson believes that the calendar should be trimmed down to a maximum of 28 races. He also said that he has often had these conversations with the NASCAR executives. Now, the driver will be hoping that these changes will be implemented in the future.
READ MORE: “P*ssed Me Off” – Jimmie Johnson Makes a Brutally Honest Admission Regarding His Old Crew Chief
