MADISON, Ill. — One of the biggest names in motorsports history is heading to St. Louis for the Bommarito 500.
On Thursday, World Wide Technology Raceway announced that seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson would be in the field for the Bommarito Automotive 500 IndyCar at World Wide Technology Raceway on Saturday, Aug. 20.
Johnson had 83 wins and those seven championships on the NASCAR circuit before moving over to IndyCar.
“Honestly, I’m just super excited to get come back to the race track. I raced there a long, long time ago in the Busch Grand National Series. It’s such a pivotal point in my journey in finding a seat and a ride in the NASCAR (Cup) Series. I’ve been there to test a couple times with a Cup car over the years but have not been back in a racing capacity in gosh, the past 20 years," Johnson said in a release.
Johnson is currently 20th on the NTT IndyCar circuit with a top-5 and two top-10 finishes this season.
He said he's looking forward to coming back to race in the St. Louis area.
“I’m excited to go back, obviously building on my performance from Iowa,” said the two-time Daytona 500 winner. “I’m very excited to get on a shorter oval. It's a little bigger there than what we had in Iowa, but I feel the fundamentals – the way I approach our car set-up, passing, racing – all of that, should really apply and carry over. I certainly hope to have my career-best finish at World Wide Technology Raceway," Johnson said in a release.
The racing weekend gets started on Friday, Aug. 19 at World Wide Technology Raceway with IndyCar qualifying and the USAC Silver Crown Series Gateway 100.
The Bommarito 500 begins at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway.