KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Jimmie Johnson said there is nothing unusual about his latest contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports and that the new, two-year deal mirrors that of primary sponsor Lowe’s.
Hendrick Motorsports officials announced two-year extensions, to run through 2017, with Johnson and Lowe’s on Monday. It was mentioned in the announcement that crew chief Chad Knaus had previously signed an extension to remain with the team through 2018.
Johnson, participating in an open test for Sprint Cup Series teams Wednesday at Kansas Speedway, said his contract is through ’17 but that it does not include a third-year option. That doesn’t mean it’s his last contract, however.
“Not that I’m aware of,” he said.
“Mine is a two-year deal and it parallels the Lowe’s extension,” he said. “I think the number has created some concern or questions among fans but my contracts have always really paralleled the length of time that the sponsor’s contract has been there.
“People can speculate, good or bad or whatever … there’s really nothing behind it. I’ve got two more years and hopefully in a year or so we will re-up with Lowe’s once again and extend longer.”
Lowe’s has been the primary sponsor of the No. 48 Chevrolet since Johnson moved into Sprint Cup competition in 2002.
Johnson, who turns 40 on Sept. 17, is attempting to become just the third driver in the history of the Sprint Cup Series to win seven championships, a mark currently held by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. He is the only driver to win five consecutive titles (2006-10), and his 74 career victories is just two shy of Earnhardt’s 76 career total.
The re-signing of Knaus didn’t have any bearing on his own contract talks with team owner Rick Hendrick, according to Johnson.
“No, ideally we wanted everything done and together and announced at the Lowe’s industry meeting that takes place in January,” he said. “So (by) January ’15 we wanted to have that done.
“The contract did change a little bit between Rick and I, and with the automotive side it just took a while to get everything in place for that.”
Auto dealership ownership, similar to that done with teammate Jeff Gordon earlier in his career, was reportedly a part of the latest contract extension.
“They got Chad’s done and out of the way and finally got mine done,” he said. “Once we got busy racing, we were focused on racing and forgot about the contract because we’re all three so secure with our situation.
“To be honest, it’s just a very casual situation — sponsor, team, driver, I think we all feel highly committed together … it just happened a little later than … what we had in mind.”
Hendrick Motorsports teams have won 11 premier series championships and 237 races since debuting in NASCAR in 1984.
In addition to Johnson, the organization, located in Concord, N.C., also fields Sprint Cup Series entries for drivers Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne.
Gordon, a four-time series champion, will retire from driving at the end of 2015 and will be replaced by defending NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott.
Earnhardt Jr. is signed through the ’17 season, Kahne through ’18.
Johnson, Earnhardt Jr. and Gordon are among this year’s 16 drivers competing in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, which kicks off this weekend with the myAFibRisk.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway (3 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR).