The NASCAR legend appeared to grab too much curb at right-hand Turn 5 in his #48 Chip Ganassi Racing-Honda, and bounced nose-first into the tire wall on corner exit, his right hand still holding the steering wheel.
The incident brought out the red flag, and Johnson initially told NBC that his hand was fine, However, the IndyCar sophomore was unable to take part in the autograph session due to a huge splint on his right forearm.
He took to social media to apologize for his absence from that session and to explain he was heading for further examinations.
“Hey everybody, as you can see I’m a little banged up and have a splint on. First and foremost, apologies to the fans at the autograph session that I wasn’t able to attend. I’d already got something else going on here [pointing to sore arm].
“I’m on my way to be further evaluated, just to get a good honest look and understand what my options are. We really don’t have any clarity at this point, and I look forward to updating you all very soon.”
Were Johnson forced to miss the race, his place could feasibly be taken by Sebastien Bourdais who set a brilliant pole for Ganassi’s Cadillac team today.
Update from Long Beach pic.twitter.com/pRGO2jPLmm
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) April 9, 2022
