Petty GMS All But Confirm $20 Million Jimmie Johnson NASCAR Rumor on LinkedIn

14 Cup Series and truckloads of other wins and trophies in one team; what could beat that? Hard to find an answer to that question. The Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson collaboration has been discussed for quite a while now. But there were no official statements or acknowledgments of any of those rumors. Not anymore.

Petty GMS brought on Jimmie Johnson on board to bolster the ranks even further. As per the announcement made, he is entering Petty GMS in a part-driver, part-owner capacity which possibly signals the possibility of a third car for the outfit in the Cup Series. 

On a LinkedIn post by Petty GMS, putting out the official announcement between Johnson and Petty GMS, the latter commented: “Big things to come!”. With the seemingly innocuous comment, fans have gotten excited hoping that this would mean a return for the legend to the Cup Series.

Joey Cohen, the Cup Series director for Petty GMS, said “Kind of through the rumbling of the circles, I think a lot of people knew that an open car was coming on our end, and it generated more interest, and there’s people out there that are looking to run races next year.”

“We looked at the (Daytona) 500, and I’m sure we’re just the very beginning of a multiple amount of teams considering running an open car. I would say that that car will have an opportunity to run more races with other drivers in it next year as well.” 

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In comparison to the career, Petty had, his team has only been scraping the barrel. With charters costing upwards of $20 million these days, the decision is crucial in terms of both finance and sporting competitiveness.

How did Richard Petty woo Jimmie Johnson?

The Superman had been racing IndyCar after having retired from the Cup Series in 2020. His time at Chip Ganassi Racing in IndyCar was largely unremarkable, with having trouble adjusting to the car and frequenting crashes. He probably was waiting for a hand.

That hand came in the form of Petty GMS. After finishing his IndyCar commitments for the season, Johnson was spotted visiting the Petty’s shop too. Joey Cohen spoke to Jimmie before he finalized his entry into the team.

He said to him “Here’s what we’ve done in nine months. If you give us another nine months, we’ll double or triple this. We’ll force-multiply this effort that we’ve put in, and it’s going to be another level that we’re going to be at in nine months. Now, if you come on board, I mean, we weren’t planning for you to come on board, now it’s gonna happen even faster with you as a part of it.”

Cohen showed great confidence in what the team is doing and in the plan to bring in Jimmie. Yet he also showed caution in not getting carried away, and end up throwing the proverbial baby out of the bathwater with this move.

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A return to Cup Series for Jimmie would be a win for all sides – Jimmie, Petty GMS, and the fans. But with the cliffhanger the team has left fans on, the question is – will he return?