Race Weekend Central

Jimmie Johnson Cleared to Race

NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson has been cleared to race, Hendrick Motorsports announced Wednesday (July 8).

Johnson missed last Sunday’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after testing positive for COVID-19. Xfinity regular Justin Allgaier filled in for him, though an accident on pit road forced him to retire early. It was the first time Johnson missed a Cup event since 2002.

After two separate negative test results from Monday and Tuesday, Johnson was cleared by his doctor Tuesday evening. He was asymptomatic.

“My family is so grateful for the incredible love and support we’ve received over the last several days,” Johnson said in a release. “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.”

Four other Hendrick crew members were also tested for the coronavirus and all were negative.

Johnson is currently 15th in the standings and received a playoff waiver from NASCAR. He has two top fives and six top 10s in the 2020 season.

The Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway will air on Sunday, July 12 at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 1.

About the author

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

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3 Comments
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Tom B

Not a surprise, a false positive last week. Maybe this is why the new statistics say there is an increase in COVID-19 cases. Do they adjust these increase spikes after follow up testing showing negative results? You can make statistics fit your agenda.

Dan

Here we go.

Mike

Makes a person wonder how many people test negative that actually have it. Just a thought you know those statistics.

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