Jimmie Johnson undergoes hand surgery; expects to keep racing during full recovery

Jimmie Johnson underwent surgery Monday night for the fractured right hand he suffered in a practice crash last week for the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

In a social media update Tuesday morning, Johnson said he expects he will be ready for an Indy 500 test April 20-21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the April 29-May 1 weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.

Johnson’s surgery was performed by Dr. Glenn Gaston, the Hand and Upper Extremity Fellowship Director at OrthoCarolina. Johnson is expected to make a complete recovery and should be unaffected for his planned May 29 debut in the Indy 500.

From Long Beach to the operating room. Good news is I plan to be ready for the @IMS test in 9 days and Barber on May 1st. Thank you to all the medical staff involved. pic.twitter.com/Xt4Pm1Piz6

— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) April 12, 2022

Johnson suffered the injury during a practice crash at Long Beach last Friday when his right hand got caught in his steering wheel after an impact with the Turn 5 tire barrier. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion crashed his No. 48 Dallara-Honda again Saturday in practice and toward the end of a 20th-place finish Sunday on the 11-turn, 1.968-mile street course that is his hometown event in the NTT IndyCar Series.

The Chip Ganassi Racing driver, who is 14th in the points standings through three races, said he initially considered skipping Long Beach to put a priority on getting healed for racing in the 106th Indianapolis 500. That decision was weighed despite a large contingent of family and friends on hand last weekend to watch Johnson, who considers Long Beach his hometown race having attended numerous times as a frequent fan while growing up in El Cajon, California.

The May 1 race at