Jimmie Johnson not thinking retirement, says ‘I’m not done’

Jimmie Johnson understands he’s at an age when many of his contemporaries are retiring, that his ace crew chief is in a contract year, and that his longtime sponsor announced this week it won’t return next season.

Despite all the uncertainties Johnson, 42, is steadfast he will not be joining Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart in retirement any time soon. Instead, Johnson wants to continue his pursuit of a record-breaking eighth Cup Series championship and insists his career is not reaching its ending point.

“Retirement hasn’t been on my mind,” Johnson said Friday at Auto Club Speedway, site of Sunday’s Auto Club 400. “I want to win. I want to win an eighth championship.

“It’s really my desire to compete and to compete at a high level. I’m not done yet.”

Hendrick Motorsports announced Wednesday Lowe’s will end its sponsorship of Johnson’s No. 48 team at the end of the season. The home improvement company has been with Johnson since 2001 and the combination is recognized as one of the more successful driver-sponsor pairings in NASCAR history.

Lowe’s cited a desire to focus on other marketing initiatives as its reason to withdraw its NASCAR sponsorship. The North Carolina-based corporation will not shift to a different team, but completely end its involvement in the sport. Johnson said NASCAR’s declining popularity did not factor in Lowe’s decision. Before linking with Hendrick and Johnson, Lowe’s had sponsored a Cup Series team full-time since 1995.

”It’s a business decision that Lowe’s needed to make,” Johnson said. “That stuff happens. If you look at how long they’ve been in the sport, I’m not sure there’s been a sponsor that stuck around this long.

”I’m very proud of their contributions to their industry.”

Johnson does not have an exact timetable on when he may retire, though fulfilling his contract with Hendrick that runs through 2020 remains a distinct possibility. Crew chief Chad Knaus, who’s been with Johnson since 2002, is not signed past this season, while the No. 48 team is mired in an uncharacteristic prolonged slump that has seen Johnson not win in the past 27 races.

Yet, Johnson is unconcerned with the fact that his career being near its conclusion could deter a potential replacement for Lowe’s from signing on.

“Marketing today has changed quite a bit, and as much as we all want to think corporations look at a 10-, 15-, 20-year run for a marketing plan, they really do look year to year,” Johnson said.

”Regardless, of how many years I drive, however you look at it, it’s much in the traditional thought the way marketers work. I don’t see it as a big issue at all.”

Johnson, whose seven Cup Series titles has him tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for most all-time, said Hendrick has already begun the process of finding a new sponsor for the No. 48 team. Johnson has been included in those discussions and plans to be involved going forward.

“This is really a unique opportunity, and it’s also a great learning and growing moment for myself,” Johnson said. “I want to be involved in this process and learn along the way, and maybe a relationship or two I’ve made through the years will come to fruition and maybe help with the sponsorship, too.”