Jimmie Johnson injures right hand during practice accident; Long Beach status unclear

LONG BEACH, California – The status of Jimmie Johnson for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach was uncertain Friday after an injury to his right hand in an IndyCar practice accident.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver’s hand still was on the steering wheel as it snapped around after his No. 48 Dallara-Honda made head-on contact with a tire barrier in Turn 5 during a Friday afternoon session for his hometown IndyCar race.

After missing the post-practice autograph session that is mandatory for IndyCar drivers, Johnson appeared wearing a splint (with his ring and pinky fingers immobilized) in a video posted to Twitter.

“Hey everybody, as you can see, I’m a little banged up here and have a splint on,” Johnson said. “First and foremost apologies to the fans at the autograph session I wasn’t able to attend. Clearly, I’ve got something else going on here.

“I’m on my way to be further evaluated just to get a good honest look and understand what my options are. I really don’t have any clarity at this point. And I look forward to updating you all very soon.”

Update from Long Beach pic.twitter.com/pRGO2jPLmm

— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) April 9, 2022

If Johnson needed an injury substitute, an obvious candidate would be three-time Long Beach winner Sebastien Bourdais, who won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship pole position (breaking the track record by nearly 2 seconds) on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn street course in Ganassi’s No. 01 Cadillac.

“I heard about it just jumping out of the car because Jimmie posted a video,” said Bourdais, who moved into racing full time in IMSA this season after nearly 20 years in IndyCar. “I think he’s got to run some tests and see how he feels. If the team wants me to drive the car, obviously I’m