Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson has tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss this weekend's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The 44-year-old Johnson is the first driver in any NASCAR series to test positive and the news on Friday evening cast a shadow over the historic NASCAR-IndyCar doubleheader races coming up Saturday and Sunday.

He was tested earlier Friday after his wife, Chani, tested positive after experiencing allergy-like symptoms.

Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson has become the first NASCAR driver to test positive for COVID-19 and will miss this weekend's Brickyard 400.

Johnson earlier Friday held a Zoom session with reporters to discuss Sunday's race and an upcoming test of an Indy car on the road course at the fabled venue.

He will now miss that test, as well as what was supposed to be his final Brickyard 400.

Next week's test of the road course at Indy in Scott Dixon's car has also been scrapped.

Although Stewart-Haas Racing and Team Penske both said they've had positive tests from shop-based team members, Johnson is the first driver.

Earlier Friday, Brazilian sports car driver Felipe Nasr said he had tested positive and will miss Saturday's IMSA event at Daytona International Speedway.

Johnson earlier Friday discussed the Indy car test scheduled with Chip Ganassi Racing, which he said was the first step in determine if actual races are in his future.

Johnson has long said safety concerns would keep him from racing on IndyCar oval tracks, but Friday he offered a surprisingly softer stance about the Indy 500.

NASCAR said Johnson must be symptom free and have two negative COVID-19 test results, at least 24 hours apart?

Johnson has his eye on the street course race in Long Beach, California, a race that was canceled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic but is one of the most storied events on the IndyCar calendar at a track just a couple hours from his native El Cajon.

'When I was a kid growing up, the closest IndyCar racing for me was at Long Beach so one of my hopes is that I am able to race at Long Beach,' Johnson said.

He has also been actively prepping for a whirl in an Indy car and had been scheduled to test with the McLaren team before the pandemic

'I do not want to go race in any series and not be competitive,' he said