Jimmie Johnson Cleared to Return After Negative Tests for COVID-19
NASCAR rolls on this week as the circuit heads to the Bluegrass State in preparation for the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart on Saturday afternoon. It marks the 13th race since the circuit came back from their two-plus month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the green flag drops at Kentucky Speedway for that race, there will be a familiar individual back behind the wheel looking to get back to victory lane for the first time in a while.
Jimmie Johnson, who missed last week’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard of Indianapolis Motor Speedway after testing positive for COVID-19, announced that he tested negative twice and has been cleared to return to action. Missing the race last week snapped his consecutive race streak at 663 races and marked the first time he had missed a race in his career. It was a quick turnaround for Johnson, who pulled out of that race on Friday, two days before the race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He was tested after his wife Chani tested positive after suffering allergy-like symptoms.
Johnson was the first NASCAR driver on the circuit to test positive for COVID-19 since the circuit returned to racing at Darlington on May 17. Four members of his crew were tested after his positive test but each came back negative, meaning that the typical pit crew for Johnson’s 48 car will be there when the green flag drops Saturday. Justin Allgaier, who started in Johnson’s place driving the 48 at the Brickyard last week, finished 37th in the race as he crashed on lap 17. He’ll now return to his full-time ride in the JR Motorsports 7 car on the Xfinity Series circuit.
In his statement about being cleared released through Hendrick Motorsports, Johnson said: "My family is so grateful for the incredible love and support we've received over the last several days. I especially want to thank Justin Allgaier for stepping in for me at Indy and being a true pro. I'm excited about getting back to business with my team this weekend."
Hendrick Motorsports said that Johnson had tested negative for the coronavirus on both Monday and Tuesday before being cleared to return on Tuesday night by his doctor. That covered the final two-thirds of the parameters set by NASCAR for him, or anyone else who tested positive, to return to action. He also needed to be asymptomatic, which Johnson had been for the entire time since he had been diagnosed.
Johnson returns to action having dropped to 15th in the playoff standings, 46 points clear of Erik Jones, who currently stands 17th and is the first driver on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Drivers that earn a win along with the top non-winners in points make up the 16-driver field after the regular season is completed. That means that Johnson needs to turn in some solid runs and hope that there aren’t a slew of first-time winners that could potentially push him out of the field. NASCAR is still planning on having the playoffs start on September 6 with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
It’s good to see Johnson back behind the wheel and recovered from the coronavirus so he can get back to racing. This is his final season as a full-time driver on the circuit and having him go out strong would be good for him. Only missing one race is a boost for his attempts to qualify for the playoffs as the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion tries to make one last run. Here’s to Johnson remaining healthy and finishing the season strong, beginning with this week’s race.