‘More ovals, please’: Jimmie Johnson hoping to make another big splash at Gateway

For both the good of the NTT IndyCar Series and his future of continuing to race the circuit, Jimmie Johnson left Iowa Speedway last month with a simple request.

“More ovals, please,” Johnson said with a smile. “Especially what I experienced in Iowa on a short oval, I’m just much more in my element and less thinking and more reacting. And it put on a great show. So I’m fired up for St. Louis.”

Saturday’s race (6 p.m. ET, USA) at World Wide Technology Raceway Gateway (which is located just outside of St. Louis in Madison, Illinois) will mark the last oval of the 2022 season and one of only four that played host to five of 17 races this season.

INDYCAR AT WWTR GATEWAY: Details, schedules, start times for this weekend

Though the 2023 schedule is expected to be unchanged, there is speculation about the future of Texas Motor Speedway (both with IndyCar and its surface), and there remains hope the season eventually will be reimagined with more equal weight given to ovals, which comprised nearly half the schedule as recently as seven years ago.

A rebalanced slate also might help shore up the chances of keeping Johnson in the No. 48 Dallara-Honda.

After running part time as a rookie on street and road courses, Johnson moved full time this year and wants to return in IndyCar for 2023 depending on sponsorship (primary backer Carvana likely will wait until the end of summer to decide on its funding for next year).

“Still actively selling,” Johnson said. “Still out there working. I haven’t heard, ‘No,’ yet, so that’s a good sign.”

Given his success at exclusively turning left this year – a career-best fifth in the second race at Iowa Speedway, a sixth at Texas and a solid May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before a late crash in the