Jimmie Johnson opens up on COVID experience that cost him a playoff spot

Legendary NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson had to miss a race last year due to a COVID-19 scare and it cost him a trip to the playoffs. 

Perhaps there’s no one in the driving world happier to be vaccinated than Jimmie Johnson. Now that he’s received his doses, he can focus on recording so many more memorable races behind the wheel.

Unfortunately for the legendary driver, things were a bit rough for him last season. After testing positive for COVID-19, he ended up missing a key NASCAR race last July at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He missed out on the playoffs by six points, which made things even more heartbreaking for him.

Jimmie Johnson revealed how tough it was to miss a race after a positive COVID test

With missing that race, Johnson tested positive once, but then recorded two negative tests shortly after. He originally got tested because his wife tested positive, and he wasn’t feeling ill at all.

“So it was a really tough time, and now looking back, there are so many things that I would have handled that environment differently,” Johnson said via Beyond The Flag. “We just know so much more about COVID-19, and I still have a lot of speculation if I was even positive or not because I had a positive test and a couple days later had two negatives. So you live and learn. But sadly, I did miss that race.”

Johnson also admitted that with him missing that race, he knew in his gut that it could prove to have a monster impact on his chances of making the playoffs. In the end, he did miss out, which of course stings quite a bit. Despite that, Johnson is ready to push forward and not look back.

“Thankfully, no one in my family was really ill,” Johnson said via Beyond The Flag. “If I did have it, I was asymptomatic. My wife certainly was asymptomatic, and we’ve survived a pandemic now. We’re fully vaccinated and ready for the world to open back up!”