Jimmie Johnson
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Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional
auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
driver. A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competes part-time in the series driving for Petty GMS Motorsports. Johnson's seven Cup championships, the first five of which are consecutive, are tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all-time. Many analysts and fellow drivers consider Johnson to be one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time. From 2021 to 2022, Johnson competed in the
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
for Chip Ganassi Racing. Johnson is also known for his appearances in
sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...
, where he drives the No. 48 Cadillac on a part-time schedule for
Action Express Racing Action Express Racing (AXR) is a sports car racing team that currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team is owned by NASCAR CEO Jim France and run by Bob Johnson and former NASCAR champion crew chief Gary Nelson. ...
. Johnson was born in El Cajon, California, and began racing motorcycles at the age of four. After graduating from Granite Hills High School he competed in off-road series. He raced in
Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) was a sanctioning body for an American short course off-road racing series that took place inside stadiums. Some events were televised, including on TNN and ESPN. History Mickey Thompson raced desert ...
(MTEG), Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (SODA), and
SCORE International SCORE International (Southern California Off Road Enthusiasts) is an off-road racing sanctioning body in the sport of desert racing. Founded by Mickey Thompson in 1973, SCORE International was purchased from Sal Fish in late 2012. and is run b ...
, winning rookie of the year in each series. In 1998, Johnson and his team, Herzog Motorsports, began stock car racing. He moved to the national
American Speed Association The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt and dirt tracks ...
(ASA) series for
late model A late model car is a car which has been recently designed or manufactured, often the latest model. (An early model car or classic car is a car old enough to be of historical interest; there is no usual intermediate term.) The precise definition ...
touring cars, and won another rookie of the year title. In 2000, he switched to the NASCAR Busch Series (now
Xfinity Series The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
). His talent was noticed by Hendrick Motorsports driver
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, who convinced owner
Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949), nicknamed "Mr. H", is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Au ...
to sign Johnson in the Winston Cup Series full-time for 2002, with Gordon as a part-owner of his car. After finishing fifth in the points in his first full season, he was second in 2003 and 2004 and fifth in 2005. Johnson won his first Cup Series championship in 2006 and with further wins in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, he became the first and only driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive championships. Johnson finished sixth in the points standings in the 2011 season and third in 2012 before winning his sixth championship in 2013. In 2016, Johnson won his seventh championship, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most Cup Series championships of all time. Johnson is also a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, winning in 2006 and
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
. Between 2002 and 2017, Johnson recorded seven championships, 83 career race wins, 222 top fives, 341 top tens, and 35 pole positions.


Racing career


Beginnings


Off-road racing

Johnson started racing motorcycles in 1980 when he was four. Three years later, he won the 60cc class championship, despite having an injured knee. Afterward, he moved to the
Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group The Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG) was a sanctioning body for an American short course off-road racing series that took place inside stadiums. Some events were televised, including on TNN and ESPN. History Mickey Thompson raced desert ...
(MTEG) Stadium Racing Series where he won several more awards. In 1993, Johnson was given the opportunity to drive for Herb Fishel. He refused the deal and continued racing buggies and trucks in off-road stadium and desert races. He also reported for
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
in the Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (SODA). Three years later, Johnson drove for Herzog Motorsports in the off-road truck series in 1996. By 1997, Johnson had progressed to SODA's Class 8; Class 8 is short-course off-road racing's class of two-wheel-drive
Trophy Truck A trophy truck, also known as a Baja truck or trick truck, is a vehicle used in high-speed off-road racing. This is an open production class and all components are considered legal unless specifically restricted. Although any truck that meets t ...
s which generate about 800 horsepower. He battled Scott Taylor and Brendan Gaughan for the championship. That year, Johnson won both races at
Lake Geneva Raceway Lake Geneva Raceway (also LGR) was a motocross, demolition derby, off-road racing, stock car, and kart racing racetrack in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, US. It was billed as "Wisconsin's Busiest Racetrack." The track closed on December 31, 2006, and ...
's first race weekend in May. He also won the season's third event at Antigo before finishing second to Gaughan at Antigo's second race. Johnson returned to Lake Geneva in July, winning the Saturday race and finished second on the following day. Taylor ended up winning the championship with Gaughan second and Johnson third. In SCORE, he won races and had a few memorable finishes, like that in the 1995 Baja 1000, after leading over 900 miles, he fell asleep behind the wheel and woke up to find himself going off course. His Trophy Truck, Butch (the paint scheme of which was used for a throwback for Johnson's 48 car in the 2019 Southern 500, and the car that was used by Larry Ragland in wins such as the 1991 Baja 1000), was wrecked. During his time in the SODA, SCORE, and MTEG series, he accumulated over 25 wins, 100 top-three finishes, six championships, and received Rookie of the Year honors in all three leagues.


ASA and Busch Series

In 1997, he began racing on asphalt ovals when he ran three races in the
American Speed Association The American Speed Association (ASA) is a sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States formed in 1968. The Association was based in Pendleton, Indiana, and later in Daytona Beach, Florida. The ASA sanctioned asphalt and dirt tracks ...
(ASA), making his debut at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. Driving for Herzog Motorsports' stock car program, he won the ASA Pat Schauer Memorial Rookie title in 1998. One year later, he had two wins and finished third in the standings. Johnson finished second in the two races at Fairgrounds Speedway he participated in over those two years. Johnson made his
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
Busch Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) debut at the
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
Indianapolis Raceway Park Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park (formerly Indianapolis Raceway Park, O'Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, and Lucas Oil Raceway) is an auto racing facility in Brownsburg, Indiana, United States, about northwest of downtown Indianapolis. I ...
event, where he finished 25th for ST Motorsports. He continued his limited slate in 1999 with Herzog Motorsports before moving to a full-time schedule in
2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
. At
Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
, he had a spectacular accident on lap 46 when his brakes failed entering the first turn. He had to swerve quickly to the right to avoid the No. 86 of Dennis Demers, but went into the grass on the inside of turn one, then went back across the track, caught some air on the gravel trap before finally crashing head-on into the Styrofoam barriers at the far end of the turn while still more than 150+ MPH. He eventually climbed out of the car unscathed and raised his fists in the air like he had won the race. Johnson noted he was "so happy to be alive and OK. The next couple of days I was really sore." Otherwise, in a rather uneventful season which featured one DNQ at Daytona and six top-10s, he finished tenth in the point standings. In 2001, he recorded one win at Chicagoland Speedway, and finished eighth in the point standings, his win at Chicagoland was his only throughout his career at the track. During the year, he joined Hendrick Motorsports for a four-race schedule in the Winston Cup Series, making his series debut in the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The opportunity was made available when he connected with Hendrick driver
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
during the 2000 Busch season; with Herzog facing shutdown due to sponsorship issues, Johnson approached Gordon and was informed of the team's intention to field a fourth car for him. Johnson formally moved to Hendrick in 2002, driving the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet.


NASCAR Cup Series


2002–05

Johnson began racing full-time in the Winston Cup Series during the 2002 season. He earned his first career pole position for the Daytona 500, becoming the third rookie to do so (the first were
Loy Allen Jr. Loy Allen Jr. is a former professional NASCAR Winston Cup, Busch, and ARCA series race car driver, turned real estate developer and embry-riddle-trained commercial pilot. On February 12, 1994, he became the youngest and first rookie in NASCAR Wi ...
in 1994 and Mike Skinner in
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
). In his 13th career start, Johnson scored his first career win in the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at Auto Club Speedway. Johnson became the first rookie driver to lead the point standings and to win twice at the same track during a season, by sweeping both races at Dover. In the Coca-Cola 600, Johnson led 263 laps before he got a penalty for overshooting his pit box. He recorded four pole positions and three wins (tying the rookie record set by
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
in 1999), as well as six top-fives and twenty-one top ten finishes. He finished fifth in the final point standings. However, despite the strong season, Ryan Newman won rookie of the year honors over Johnson, partially due to Newman having 22 top tens compared to Johnson's 21. During 2003, Johnson finished ninth on the all-time list for consecutive weeks ranked in the top ten in points with 69. He won three races (Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and both New Hampshire races), two poles (at
Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
and Pocono Raceway), fourteen top fives, and twenty top-ten finishes, including a second-place finish at Rockingham after leading 78 laps. He also was able to win the All-Star race for the first time, as well as finishing second with just 90 points behind
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
and 207 ahead of his future teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. In 2004, Johnson started slowly at Rockingham Speedway and
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
with results of 41st and 16th, after a top ten finish in the Daytona 500. However, he quickly was able to rebound winning the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at
Darlington Raceway Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located in Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is ...
. Subsequent victories in the
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
, the
Pocono 500 The Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, with the other being the Pocono 350, held th ...
, and the Pennsylvania 500 came in the middle of the season, seeing Johnson sweep the Pocono races. However, finishes of 37th and 32nd at Talladega Superspeedway and Kansas moved him toward the bottom of the point standings. Afterward, he was able to win the UAW-GM Quality 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The second victory of the 2004 Chase for the Nextel Cup, at the
Subway 500 The Xfinity 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. The race is traditionally held in the fall and has been run in every NASCAR Cup Series season, starting with the sixth e ...
at Martinsville on October 24, 2004, was marred by tragedy. Owner
Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949), nicknamed "Mr. H", is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Au ...
's son Ricky, twin nieces, brother, and chief engine builder Randy Dorton as well as Joe Turner, Scott Lathram were killed in an airplane crash en route to the race. All eight passengers and both pilots died in the incident, and Johnson was told after completion of the race. Johnson had a total of eight wins, 20 top-five and 23 top-ten finishes. At the end of the season, Johnson finished second in the point standings. In 2005, Johnson won at
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, Lowe's Motor Speedway,
Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...
, and then again at Lowe's. In total, Johnson had four consecutive wins at his sponsor ( Lowe's) sponsored track in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
. He won the Coca-Cola 600 that year, which broke the record for the most yellow flags in a Cup Series race, by beating
Bobby Labonte Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. L ...
by .027 seconds. Johnson had a chance to win the championship coming into the November 20 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but finished 5th in points after crashing at the midway point of the event with a tire problem. He scored 13 top-fives, 22 top-10 finishes, and one pole position.


2006–2010: Championship streak


=2006

= In 2006, Johnson began the season by winning the Daytona 500. The Daytona 500 also marked his first race with Earl Barban as the spotter, who won five championships with Johnson and the No. 48 team. He finished second in the next race at
California Speedway Auto Club Speedway, originally opened as California Speedway, is a , low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in unincorporated San Bernardino County, California, near Fontana. It has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1997. It was also previo ...
and won the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
by passing Matt Kenseth on the last lap. Johnson won his third race of the season in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega, followed by two more victories at Indianapolis and Martinsville. One highlight of the season was when he saved the car from slamming into the wall when he spun out during qualifications at the first Dover race. Throughout the season, he became the only modern era driver to win at least three races in each of his first five seasons. He started the chase with unfortunate mishaps in the first four races; a DNF at
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
, a pitting mistake at Dover, a penalty at
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
(he led the most laps in the race), and, while trying to make a pass for first at Talladega, getting clipped and spinning out. He and the team kept their hopes up and rallied with 5 straight top 2 finishes including a win at Martinsville to come back from 8th in the points standings to take the championship. At the end of the season, he recorded one pole, 13 top fives, 24 top tens, and his first championship title (this was also the first in his NASCAR career). In December, Johnson won the 2006 Driver of the Year Award.


=2007

= During the 2007 season, Johnson continued on a streak and recorded 10 wins, four poles, 20 top fives, and again 24 top-ten finishes. Those 10 wins included sweeping both races at Richmond, Atlanta, and Martinsville. He also won at Las Vegas, Auto Club, Texas, and Phoenix. Afterward, he won his second consecutive championship title and was named the 2007 Driver of the Year. Johnson also had the best average finish in the Chase with 5.0. At the end of the season, he had a total of 33 career wins, placing him 18th on the all-time wins list. In December 2007, Johnson commenced a program of exercise sessions and a run schedule supervised by John Sitaras, in order to balance his strength. Sitaras' initial assessment found that half of his body was much tighter, having acclimated to offsetting the g-force load from turning left while driving. In two years, Johnson's body fat percentage dropped from 20% to 8% (visible also in the change of the shape of his face), while his strength and stamina greatly improved. Johnson later became the first racing driver to be named
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to ...
(in 2009).


=2008

= After the 2008 season, Johnson became the second driver to win three consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championships, the first being Cale Yarborough. During the season, he won seven races (including a sweep at
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
), a career-high of six poles, 15 top fives, and 22 top tens. In five of those seven wins, he started from the pole. He became the only driver to record three wins in each of their first seven seasons. In 2008 Jimmie Johnson also raced in his first-ever truck series race, the O'Reilly 200 at Bristol, where he led 28 laps before spinning out on lap 101. That weekend was the first time he had ever sat in a racing truck. In the Chase for the Championship, he recorded 14 wins, eight more than any other driver. One of those included
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
in which he won on low fuel and high tire wear after crew chief
Chad Knaus Chad Anthony Knaus (; born August 5, 1971) is an American former NASCAR crew chief. He is currently employed at Hendrick Motorsports as the Vice President of Competition. Knaus has 81 victories as Jimmie Johnson's crew chief and is the only NA ...
decided to stay out late in the race. He also was named the 2008 Driver of the Year and won an
ESPY An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the form ...
as the Best Driver. After the season, he also moved to third on the active winners' list.


=2009

= In the 2009 season, Johnson recorded his fourth consecutive championship, becoming the only driver to win four back-to-back season titles. Throughout this season, he won seven races (including a third consecutive Checker Auto Parts 500 and both Dover races), four poles, 16 top fives, and 24 top-ten finishes. Johnson now became the only driver to win at least three races in each of his first eight seasons, as well as the only driver to qualify for the Chase for the Championship every year since 2004. During the season, he moved up one spot up to second on the active winners' list and went to 13th on the all-time wins list. After the season concluded, he won an ESPY for the second consecutive year, and won the Driver of the Year award for the third time, tying
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
,
Mario Andretti Mario Gabriele Andretti (born February 28, 1940) is an Italian-born American former racing driver. One of the most successful drivers in the history of motorsports, Andretti is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, t ...
, and Darrell Waltrip as the only three-time drivers to win the award.


=2010

= During 2010, Johnson won his fifth consecutive championship, becoming the third driver who made up points to win the title since 1975. During the season, he scored two poles, 17 top fives, 23 top tens, and six victories. He also remained the only driver to qualify for the Chase every year since its inception in 2004. He became the 12th driver to win 50+ NASCAR races when he won at Bristol in March and went up to 10th on the all-time wins list. His wins in 2010 included Auto Club, Las Vegas, where he passed Jeff Gordon with 16 laps to go for the lead, Bristol, Sonoma, his first and only road course win, New Hampshire, and Dover. At New Hampshire, with eight laps remaining, Kurt Busch, who was running second, bumped Johnson to become the leader, but Johnson returned the favor a couple of laps later to the lead the final two laps. Johnson said, “Kurt knocked me out of the way. At that point, I thought, I don’t care if I win or finish. I’m going to run into him one way or the other ... I tried once and moved him. (I thought) I’ve got to hit him harder. The second time I did and moved him out of the way.” Johnson was also named Driver of the Year for the fourth time in his career, joining Gordon as the only drivers to win the award that many times. Johnson had been fighting for the championship with
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and ope ...
all season, but eventually passed him in points in the season finale at Homestead. He also won
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
's charity race, the
Prelude to the Dream The Prelude to the Dream was a dirt late model race held at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio from 2005 to 2012. It was a pay-per-view event on HBO, and frequently attracted drivers from various disciplines such as NASCAR, IndyCar Series, NHRA, ...
, his first victory on a dirt oval.


2011

In 2011, Johnson began the season with a fourth-place finish in the Budweiser Shootout, after starting from the 23rd position. One week later in the
2011 Daytona 500 The 2011 Daytona 500, the 53rd running of the event, was held on February 20, 2011 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Trevor Bayne, driving for Wood Br ...
, he started 23rd, but finished 27th after being involved in a
crash Crash or CRASH may refer to: Common meanings * Collision, an impact between two or more objects * Crash (computing), a condition where a program ceases to respond * Cardiac arrest, a medical condition in which the heart stops beating * Couch su ...
on lap 29. During the Subway Fresh Fit 500, he managed a third-place finish. Following a 16th-place finish after the Kobalt Tools 400 he collected two consecutive top-five finishes. Statistically, Johnson's 2011 season was one of his worst performances to date, even though he finished sixth in the points. He only won two races during the season. The first was the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway, where Johnson started on the outside pole and tandem-drafted with Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the entire race. On the last lap, with Johnson in front, he and Earnhardt Jr. were in fifth and sixth off of turn 4, behind two other pairs of cars – their Hendrick teammates
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
and
Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series s ...
, and the Richard Childress drafting pair of
Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...
and
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
. In the tri-oval, Earnhardt Jr. gave Johnson enough of a push to nip Bowyer at the finish line by 0.002 seconds. This was the closest recorded finish in Talladega history and tied the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 for closest margin of victory in NASCAR history. After finishing in the first 15 positions in the next four races, Johnson failed to finish the
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
after his engine failed. Three weeks later, in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, Johnson spun off turn two, flattening multiple tires, and breaking the
sway bar An anti-roll bar (roll bar, anti-sway bar, sway bar, stabilizer bar) is a part of many automobile suspensions that helps reduce the body roll of a vehicle during fast cornering or over road irregularities. It connects opposite (left/right) whee ...
which prompted him to a finish of 27th. During the
Toyota/Save Mart 350 The Toyota/Save Mart 350 is a stock car racing event in the NASCAR Cup Series that has been held annually at Sonoma Raceway at Sears Point in Sonoma, California since 1989. The race has been known as the Toyota/Save Mart 350 since 2007. The r ...
, Johnson finished seventh after starting 12th on the grid. The finish moved Johnson to third in the Drivers' standings. After returning to
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...
for the
Coke Zero 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series c ...
, Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. ran together for most of the race, like at Talladega, until Johnson pitted under a caution flag. Johnson fell down the grid and was involved in a last-lap accident, prompting him to finish 20th. During the next two races, Johnson finished third and fifth in the Quaker State 400 and the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. Two weeks later, Johnson found himself finishing 19th during the
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...
after coming to pit road with 30 laps remaining in the event. Johnson finished fourth in the Good Sam RV Insurance 500, after bumping Kurt Busch on the final lap. In the next
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, Johnson finished tenth. Johnson finished in the top-five in the following three races. During the last race of the regular season, the Wonderful Pistachios 400, Johnson finished in the 31st position. While at Chicagoland Speedway for the
GEICO 400 The Camping World 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, from 2001 to 2019. Previously, the race was held in July from 2001 through 2010, with night races held from 2008 to 2010. Fr ...
, Johnson finished 10th. Afterward, Johnson finished 18th in the
Sylvania 300 The ISM Connect 300 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race that was , traditionally held in mid-September at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, the other one being the Ambetter 301 in July. The New England ...
, then second in the AAA 400. One week later, Johnson recorded his second victory of the season in the
Hollywood Casino 400 The Hollywood Casino 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. This race is the second of ten races in the NASCAR playoffs, Cup Series playoffs; since 2022, it is the second race ...
. During the
Bank of America 500 The Bank of America Roval 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race that is held annually at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, United States, with the other one being the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, the race. As of the 201 ...
, Johnson was involved in a crash and finished 34th. In the following
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, Johnson finished second. For the next two races, Johnson finished 14th in each and finished 32nd in the
Ford 400 The Dixie Vodka 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Homestead–Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida. The inaugural race was held in 1999 and was the final race in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2002 until 2019, as well as the final race of the ...
to finish sixth in the Driver's championship standings. The third NASCAR Championship for
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
marked the first time since 2005 (coincidentally Stewart's second) that someone other than Johnson was the champion.


2012

Johnson began the 2012 season with a 14th-place finish in the Budweiser Shootout after crashing on lap 74. During the Daytona 500, Johnson was involved in a crash on lap 2 when he turned into the wall after contact from Elliott Sadler, then was t-boned by David Ragan, also collecting Danica Patrick, Kurt Busch and
Trevor Bayne Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...
. Damage to the car was severe, prompting him to retire and finish 42nd. Afterward, he finished fourth and second in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and Kobalt Tools 400. While at Bristol Motor Speedway for the
Food City 500 The Food City Dirt Race is an annual 250-lap, NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. It was the ...
, Johnson finished in the ninth position, moving him up to 11th in the Drivers' Standings. Next, Johnson finished tenth in the
Auto Club 400 The Pala Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) and has been since 2022 as well as f ...
, despite having an oil leak, but the rain saved Johnson from a low finish. He went on to finish twelfth during the spring event at Martinsville after being involved in a crash on the first green-white-checker attempt. In the following event, the
Samsung Mobile 500 The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth, Texas. Even though it is advertised as a "500-mile" race, because TMS is a track that is in length, the actual race distance is ...
, Johnson finished second after leading much of the race before he was passed by Greg Biffle. Afterward, he recorded a third-place finish in the STP 400 at
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
on April 22, 2012, and a sixth-place finish in the Capital City 400 at Richmond one week later. On May 6, 2012, Johnson started 19th in the Aaron's 499 at Talladega, but finished 35th after suffering a broken oil pump belt on lap 62. Johnson won his first race of the season one week later in the
Bojangles' Southern 500 The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is and consists of 367 laps. From ...
at Darlington. The win was also
Rick Hendrick Joseph Riddick "Rick" Hendrick III (born July 12, 1949), nicknamed "Mr. H", is an American businessman. He is best known as the owner of the NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports. He is also a co-owner of JR Motorsports and founder of the Hendrick Au ...
's 200th NASCAR Cup Series win. A week later, he matched Gordon and Dale Earnhardt with three wins in the
NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race The NASCAR All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston from 1985 to 2003, the Nextel All-Star Challenge from 2004 to 2007, the Sprint All-Star Race from 2008 to 2016, and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from 2017 to 2019, is an annual NAS ...
after winning the 2012 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race. Next, in the
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
, Johnson finished 11th in the race after a penalty on lap 354. After the Coca-Cola 600, Johnson went on to win his second race of the season in the FedEx 400. In the
Pocono 400 The Pocono Organics CBD 325 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first of two NASCAR Cup Series races at Pocono Raceway, with the other being the Pocono 350, held th ...
, he recorded a fourth-place finish after starting 24th on the grid. During the next two races, Johnson placed fifth, moving him to fourth in the standings. Afterward, Johnson finished sixth after winning his first pole position of the season in the Quaker State 400. However, in the
Coke Zero 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series c ...
, Johnson finished 36th after retiring from a crash on lap 124. After finishing seventh during the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, Johnson recorded his third victory of the season and his fourth career win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tying
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
for what was the record for the most wins in the
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...
. At
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
, he was leading late in the race with 6 laps to go when his engine blew up, giving the race to Greg Biffle. After making the
NASCAR Chase for the Championship The NASCAR playoffs is a championship playoff system used in NASCAR's three national series. The system was founded as 'The Chase for the Championship' on January 21, 2004, and was used exclusively in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2004 to 2015. Si ...
, Johnson secured three straight top five finishes in the
GEICO 400 The Camping World 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held annually at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois, from 2001 to 2019. Previously, the race was held in July from 2001 through 2010, with night races held from 2008 to 2010. Fr ...
,
Sylvania 300 The ISM Connect 300 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series stock car race that was , traditionally held in mid-September at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, the other one being the Ambetter 301 in July. The New England ...
and AAA 400. Following a seventeenth-place finish in Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500, Johnson recorded four top-ten finishes, including two consecutive wins from the pole position at Martinsville and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, which was his sixtieth win in the series, to take a seven-point lead over
Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
. Johnson was able to hold off Keselowski's hard racing, which even prompted Tony Stewart to say that he was driving with a "death wish". At Phoenix, Johnson blew a right front tire, which caused him to collide into the wall and finish in the 32nd position. He was racing for the win and the championship the following week at Homestead, but his chances of winning the championship were over after he had a pit road penalty and had a gear failure and he finished 36th in that race, and finished third in the Drivers Championship behind Keselowski and Bowyer.


2013: Return to championship form

In
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...
, Johnson began his season with a 14th-place finish in the 2013 Sprint Unlimited when he crashed on lap 14 along with
Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...
, Kurt Busch,
Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series s ...
,
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, and
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and ope ...
. Afterward, he placed fourth in the first Budweiser Duel, resulting in a ninth-place starting position in the 2013 Daytona 500. In the Daytona 500, Johnson started well, assuming the lead from
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
on lap 32 and leading a handful of laps before falling back to the middle of the pack. Over the last few laps, Johnson was racing alongside
Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
for the lead until a caution came out for debris. Johnson took the advantage of leading on the last restart. With five laps to go, Johnson led a lane with Greg Biffle and Danica Patrick. He then held off a last-lap charge from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and
Mark Martin Mark Anthony Martin (born January 9, 1959) is a retired American stock car racing driver. He has the second most wins all time in what is now the Xfinity Series with 49. He scored 40 Cup Series wins. He finished second in the NASCAR Cup Series s ...
to win his second Daytona 500. This was Johnson's first Daytona 500 win with Knaus, as he won the 2006 race with Darian Grubb as Knaus was serving a five-race suspension. It was also the first time since his 2006 win that he finished better than 27th in the Daytona 500, after a streak of six years where he had never finished better than 27th because of crashes and mechanical failures. The following week at Phoenix, Johnson started inside the top ten and finished second behind
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. ...
. He followed this with a sixth-place finish at Las Vegas. At Bristol, he was running on the lead lap until a spin late-race forced him back to a 22nd-place finish. At Fontana, he struggled for most of the race, racing near the back of the pack, but salvaged a 12th-place finish. Johnson won his first pole position of the season at Martinsville and had the dominant car, leading 346 of 500 laps on the way to his eighth Martinsville race win. Johnson also assumed the point lead as well, which he held for the remainder of the regular season. Johnson's consistency was enough that there were points in the summer where he was more than a full two-race wins' worth of points ahead of
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. ...
or
Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...
. Afterward, Johnson finished sixth at Texas. At Kansas, he led nine laps and finished third behind
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
and
Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/ Procore Technolo ...
. Johnson finished 12th the following week at Richmond, allowing him to build even further on his point lead. At Talladega, he was the only driver besides
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
to lead double-digit laps (16) and finished in fifth place. A fourth-place finish the following week at Darlington allowed Johnson to further solidify his point lead over Edwards. In the 2013 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, Johnson won his record fourth All-Star race after a fast pit stop allowed him to start the final 10-lap sprint in second, and later passed
Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/ Procore Technolo ...
for the victory. One week later, Johnson finished 22nd after spinning sideways late in the race. At Dover, Johnson led 143 laps but finished 17th when he jumped
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...
on the last restart causing NASCAR to issue him a penalty. He was able to redeem himself for this mistake the following week at Pocono by earning the pole position, leading the most laps, and winning his third race of the season, which increased his point lead to 51 points over Edwards. This also snapped a nine-year winless streak for Johnson at Pocono since sweeping both of the track's 2004 NASCAR Cup Series races. At the
Quicken Loans 400 The NASCAR Cup Series has held stock car races annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The A ...
at Michigan, Johnson closed in on Greg Biffle for the lead with less than ten laps left, but suffered a flat tire with less than five laps to go. Johnson finished the race in 28th, his worst finish of the season to that point. Johnson then finished ninth at Sonoma. At Kentucky, Johnson started third. He had the dominant car of the race, leading 182 of 267 laps. However, on a restart on lap 246, Johnson was slow to get up to speed and was subsequently touched and spun by
Joey Logano Joseph Thomas Logano (born May 24, 1990), is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske, and part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Ser ...
, costing Johnson a shot at the win and giving the race to
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
. Johnson was able to charge through the field after the caution and restart to salvage a ninth-place finish. Returning to Daytona for the
Coke Zero 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series c ...
, Johnson led 94 laps and held off
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
and
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
on a green-white-checker finish to win his fourth race of the year. In winning the race, Johnson became the first driver since
Bobby Allison Robert Arthur Allison (born December 3, 1937) is a former American professional stock car racing driver and owner. Allison was the founder of the Alabama Gang, a group of drivers based in Hueytown, Alabama, where there were abundant short tracks ...
in 1982 to sweep both Daytona races in a season. This was a significant improvement in Johnson's runs on the restrictor plate tracks, as he had been crashed out of the running at both Daytona races in 2012, had an engine failure early while leading at Talladega in the spring and was part of a crash on the last lap in the fall. Also, he was one of only three drivers to sweep the top ten, the other two drivers being Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. At New Hampshire for the Camping World RV Sales 301, Johnson qualified second, but failed post-qualifying inspection after his car was found to be too low, and started the race in 43rd, the first time in his career he started dead last. In the race, Johnson passed seven cars in the first four laps and reached the Top 20 by lap 50, while reaching the top ten by lap 165; Johnson finished sixth. He almost won the pole position at Indianapolis but was bumped to second by Ryan Newman. Johnson led the most laps and almost won, but a slow final pit stop cost him the race to Newman. The following week at Pocono, Johnson won another pole position, setting another track qualifying record. He led 43 of the first 80 laps before he cut a right-front tire that knocked a spark plug loose and affected the handling of the car. Johnson's pit crew worked hard to repair the car, fixing the plug on the last pit stop, and managing to salvage a 13th-place finish after racing near the back of the pack for most of the race. Returning to Michigan, Johnson qualified third but crashed in happy hour, forcing him to a backup car and a 43rd starting spot. After running up to the lead through pit stop strategy, Johnson lost an engine on lap 55, relegating him to a 40th-place finish. This was followed by a streak of three poor finishes of 36th at Bristol, 28th at Atlanta, and 40th at Richmond due to crashes and mechanical failures. Johnson started the Chase seeded in second place. He started the Chase with a fifth-place finish at Chicago, followed by a fourth-place finish at New Hampshire. At Dover, Johnson led 243 laps and held off Dale Earnhardt Jr. over the last 25 laps to win his eighth race at the track, also redeeming himself for the restart line violation that had cost him a shot at winning the June race. Johnson spent the next several races chasing
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
for the points lead, eventually gaining it at Talladega, though losing it when he and Kenseth tied for the points lead at Martinsville. Returning to Texas, Johnson had the dominant car, leading 255 laps to his sixth win of the season. The following weekend at Phoenix, Johnson avoided trouble in tight racing on two separate occasions (a near scrape in turn 4 on the first lap, and later a near spin after contact with
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. ...
in turn 1) to escape with a third-place finish. He also capitalized on Kenseth suffering from a poor-handling car. With Kenseth finishing 23rd, Johnson took a 28-point lead to the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. In the finale, Johnson raced conservatively to a ninth-place finish to secure his sixth title. He closed out the season with six wins, three poles, 16 top-five, and 24 top-ten finishes, with an average finish of 9.8 and an average start of 10.7.


2014

Statistically, 2014 was one of Johnson's worst seasons to date. He started the season on an up-and-down note but went winless through the first 11 races of the 2014 season (his best finish was 2nd at Martinsville). Skepticism began to arise, as he had never gone more than 12 races into a season without a win, and hadn't gone that long since the first few years of his Cup career. However, Johnson won the Coca-Cola 600, his first win in the race since 2005. Afterward, he went on to win at Dover the following week, making it the 13th time he had back-to-back wins. A few weeks later, Johnson recorded his first win at Michigan, after several years of being deprived of a shot at victory as the result of running out of gas or blowing an engine. However, he didn't keep up with the momentum. After finishing in the top ten at Sonoma and Kentucky, Johnson was collected in an early wreck in the Coke Zero 400, finishing 42nd. Johnson's streak of misfortune continued the next several weeks, finishing 42nd for the second week in a row at New Hampshire. This was followed up by an inconsistent run at Indy (14th), and poor showings resulting from accidents at Pocono (39th) and Watkins Glen (28th). Despite the poor finishes, Johnson qualified fourth for the Chase. In the Chase, Johnson finished 12th at Chicagoland, fifth at New Hampshire, and third at Dover to advance to the Contender Round. However, trouble struck when he finished 40th and 17th in the next two races. At Talladega, Johnson started second and led a high of 84 laps. However, a 24th-place finish kept him from advancing to the Eliminator Round. At Martinsville, Johnson started seventh but finished 39th after being involved in a crash early in the race. Returning to Texas, Johnson dominated and held off
Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
,
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
(and
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, who cut a tire on contact with Brad Keselowski late in the race which led to a post-race brawl) to score his third straight win in the fall Texas race, and also ended an 18-race-winless-streak. At Phoenix, he struggled for most of the day and finished 38th after blowing a tire and crashing out. At the season finale at Homestead, Johnson finished ninth and closed out finishing 11th in points. This marks the first time in Johnson's NASCAR Cup career that he has finished outside of the top ten in the final points.


2015

Johnson began his season with a win in the
Budweiser Duel The Bluegreen Vacations Duel, formerly known as the Twin 125s, is a NASCAR Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, which both serve as a qualifying rac ...
. He started the season by finishing fifth in the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row. The following week, he won the
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. William Byron is the defending race winner. This race was originally Atlanta's second race of the season and was run as a late-se ...
at Atlanta. At Las Vegas, Johnson crashed twice into the outside wall, leaving him with a 41st-place finish. He rebounded with an 11th-place finish in Phoenix and a ninth-place finish at California, his first top ten there in two years. At Martinsville, he struggled to a 35th-place finish. However, his momentum returned at Texas when he held off
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win. At Bristol, he avoided tight trouble early in the race and came home second to polesitter
Matt Kenseth Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX) Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
. At Richmond, he finished third. These finishes moved him back up to fourth in the standings. At Talladega, Johnson started fifth and led 50 laps, only to finish second to Earnhardt Jr. At Kansas, Johnson gambled by staying out on the last round of pit stops and held off Harvick and Earnhardt again to win his third race at Kansas and of the season. In winning, he established a Cup record of 23 wins on 1.5-mile tracks, taking what was both his 200th top-five and his 300th top ten finish. At Charlotte, he spun out on two occasions. The first time was early in the race while running 16th coming out of turn 4 but he was lucky to avoid hitting anything. He wasn't so lucky on the second spin late in the race; while running fifth, he spun out again at the same place, and hit the wall in pit road, causing some nose damage. Those spin-outs left him with a 40th-place finish. He rebounded the following week with a win at Dover, and also became one of four drivers to have won 10 or more races at one track. This gave him a total of 74 career wins, two fewer than Dale Earnhardt's 76. At Pocono, Johnson cut a tire on lap 88 but did not take major damage. He was able to work his way through the field to finish in third place. He finished 19th at Michigan after the race was called for rain on lap 138. At Sonoma, Johnson led the most laps at 45 laps, but a late-race caution caused by
Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978) is an American professional off-road and stock car racing driver. He has raced in IndyCar, NASCAR's three national series including 15 seasons in the Cup Series, SCORE International, and the Stadium Super ...
' broken wheel axle cost him, and he was passed by
Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...
with five laps to go and slipped back to sixth place. Returning to Daytona, Johnson started 12th and led 35 laps before finishing second to Dale Earnhardt Jr., in a repeat of the Talladega race. At Kentucky, Johnson started sixth and ran inside the top ten for most of the night, finishing ninth. At the second stop in Pocono, Johnson, along with two of his Hendrick teammates, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr, took advantage of several cars running out of fuel to finish in the Top 6 (Gordon finished 3rd, Dale Jr. took 4th, Johnson grabbed 6th). At Watkins Glen, despite suffering two penalties (lap 3: Overshooting the entrance to the inner loop, and caution No. 1 (lap 26–28): Speeding through pit road) Johnson rallied to finish 10th. He wasn't so lucky at Michigan, late in the race, he got loose and spun in turn 3, and damaged the splitter on his car, resulting in a 39th-place finish (10 laps down). He rebounded at Bristol by finishing 4th but had bad luck once more at Darlington. He spun out on lap 134 in turn 4, bringing out the 7th caution, and was never a real threat. He ended up 19th. He was able to recover a bit for a 9th-place finish at Richmond and started 1st in the Chase in a three-way tie between him, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth. Johnson opened up the Chase in a rough way. At Chicagoland, he blew a left front tire early in the race but was able to charge through the field to salvage an 11th-place finish. He also was the subject of controversy when he made contact with
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
on a three-wide pass that led to Harvick cutting a left rear tire, leaving Harvick with a 42nd-place finish. At Loudon, Johnson finished 6th after blowing a tire in the 3rd position. At Dover, his Chase hopes came to an end when his car broke a driveline, leading him to finish 36 laps down in 41st place. At the fall race at Texas Johnson won, passing Brad Keselowski with 4 laps to go. This marked his fourth consecutive win in the fall race, and third consecutive win on that track, having also won the spring race. That victory also marked the 75th of his NASCAR Cup Series career, putting him one race win short of tying Dale Earnhardt's career wins. Also in the process, he snapped a 20-race-winless-streak. Johnson finished 5th at Phoenix, and for the third year in a row, he finished 9th at Homestead. Also in the process, he edged out Ryan Newman by 1 point to finish 10th in the final standings. With the retirement of his teammate and mentor, Jeff Gordon, Johnson assumed the active wins record with 75.


2016: The seventh title

Johnson began the 2016 season with a 16th-place finish at the Daytona 500. In the next race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he won his 1st race of the season and the 76th of his career, tying Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list. Johnson finished third and eleventh in the next two events of the season at Las Vegas and Phoenix. His second victory of the season came in the fifth race, the
Auto Club 400 The Pala Casino 400 is a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It is the second race of the Cup Series season (after the Daytona 500) and has been since 2022 as well as f ...
, where Johnson passed Harvick in an overtime finish. It was also the first time since 2011 that he finished in the top five at the Auto Club Speedway. In the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Johnson recorded a 9th-place finish after moving through the field after qualifying 24th. One week later, Johnson finished fourth in the
Duck Commander 500 The O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 was a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in Fort Worth, Texas. Even though it is advertised as a "500-mile" race, because TMS is a track that is in length, the actual race distance is ...
at Texas Motor Speedway despite suffering minor damage during a 13-car accident that occurred within 50 laps of the finish. In the
Food City 500 The Food City Dirt Race is an annual 250-lap, NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. It was the ...
at Bristol, Johnson finished 23rd after making an unscheduled pit stop due to a loose lug nut on lap 300. At Richmond, he led 44 laps early in the race and finished 3rd. At Talladega, Johnson was spun by Paul Menard and got involved in a multi-car accident with 28 laps to go, finishing 22nd. Johnson's streak of misfortune continued through the next several months, crashing out at Dover, Pocono, Daytona, Kentucky and at Watkins Glen, where he finished last for the first time in his career. His top-10 finishes during the period came only in the
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
and
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...
, where he finished 3rd in both races. Johnson finished 7th and 6th at Bristol and Michigan the following two weeks but finished 33rd at Darlington after he spun out of turn 4. Johnson then finished 11th at Richmond. He qualified 8th for the Chase. Johnson began the Chase for the Championship by leading a race-high 118 laps at Chicagoland, but received a speeding penalty during a green flag pit stop late in the race, ultimately finished 12th. Johnson finished 8th the following week at Loudon. At Dover, Johnson led 90 laps but once again received a pit road penalty with 105 laps to go, costing him a win. He charged through the field and finished 7th (1st car a lap down) and moved to the "Round of 12" of the Chase. At Charlotte, Johnson led a race-high 155 laps and won the
Bank of America 500 The Bank of America Roval 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race that is held annually at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, United States, with the other one being the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend, the race. As of the 201 ...
, claiming his 8th win at the track and the 3rd win of the season, also snapping his 24-race winless streak. This marked Johnson's first appearance in the "Round of 8" under the current Chase system. He then finished 4th at Kansas and 23rd at Talladega. At Martinsville,
Denny Hamlin James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and ope ...
aggressively made contact with Johnson on lap 198 and had a tire rub to cause a caution but was able to stay on the lead lap. Later during a caution on lap 362, he lost fuel pressure but was able to get the car refired and stayed on the lead lap again. After the restart, he took the lead from Hamlin and led the final 92 laps to win the Goody's Fast Relief 500. This locked him into the Championship 4 for the final race at Homestead. Johnson finished 11th in the rain-shortened race at
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, and 38th at
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
after being penalized a lap for passing the pace car coming down to pit road and involved in a wreck on a restart. Johnson claimed his seventh championship by winning at
Homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses * Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept t ...
on November 20. After losing his starting spot due to a pre-race inspection fault, Johnson started at the rear of the field. He progressed through the field, cracking the top 10 quickly, but remained stagnant around 5th place for a majority of the race. On a restart with 10 laps to go,
Carl Edwards Carl Michael Edwards II (born August 15, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, driving the No. 19 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. Prior to that, he drove the No. ...
came across the nose of Joey Logano, hit the inside wall, and triggered a massive wreck, ending Edwards' championship hopes. Johnson avoided the accident and was put into the position to win the title. On the final restart, he passed
Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champi ...
, winning the race and his seventh championship, tying Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most all-time of championships.


2017: Final NASCAR wins

Johnson came into 2017 as the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion. The start of the season didn't go as smoothly as the end of last season, however. Through the first six races of the season, Johnson only scored one top ten finish. He then rebounded with back-to-back wins at the 2017 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 in Texas (started from the rear of the field) and the 2017 Food City 500 at Bristol, his first win at The Last Great Coliseum since 2010. This would be the 14th and final time he won back-to-back races in his career. The following week, Johnson would finish just outside the top ten at Richmond, after colliding with teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr late in the event, leading to an eventual flat tire and spin for the driver of the No. 88. Johnson scored his third win of the season at Dover in June after passing
Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champi ...
on an overtime restart, which ended under caution with a multicar incident behind the two leaders. This was Johnson's record-holding 11th win at Dover and 83rd career victory, tying him with
NASCAR Hall of Fame The NASCAR Hall of Fame, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, honors drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs and owners, broadcasters and other major contributors to competition within the sanctioning ...
r, Cale Yarborough. This would eventually be Johnson's final NASCAR Cup Series win. The rest of the season didn't go smoothly for Johnson. In the week following his Dover triumph, during the Axalta presents the Pocono 400, Johnson's brakes failed into Turn 1 at a speed of over 200 MPH, resulting in a tremendous impact with the outside SAFER barrier. Similarly, directly behind Johnson, fellow competitor
Jamie McMurray James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for '' Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 ...
also experienced a brake failure, and impacted the wall hard, igniting a large vehicle fire. Both Johnson and McMurray were uninjured in the accident. Johnson suffered a big slump during the summer part of the season, failing to earn a Top 5 finish, and only netting 3 Top 10 finishes. During that stretch, in the 2017 Brickyard 400 on a late race restart, Johnson's Lowe's Chevrolet started billowing smoke while running in the 3rd position. Heading into Turn 3, the two race leaders Brad Keselowski and Kasey Kahne battled one another, allowing Johnson to close in and make a 3 wide move to the inside. Without much space into the corner, and with the obvious mechanical failure, the car broke sideways and impacted the outside retaining wall hard. The following week, Johnson had another run-in with teammate Kasey Kahne, resulting in a second consecutive DNF; his third in the last four races. Regardless, Johnson (from his wins earlier in the season) was able to qualify for the playoffs. Entering the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, the defending champion was still one of the favorites to win the title, despite his results over the summer stretch. After earning his first top 5 finish (3rd) since his Dover victory, fittingly in the fall Dover event, he advanced through the opening round and into the Round of 12. Johnson scored a 7th-place finish at Charlotte to open the second round, but the following week was involved in " The Big One" at Talladega. He was scored with a 24th-place result, after his car was disqualified for violating the NASCAR Damaged Vehicle Policy in which his crew worked on the car during the red flag. In the elimination race at Kansas Speedway, Johnson entered with a 7-point advantage. After having two separate spins, he drove his way through a large multicar accident off turn 2, involving Playoff drivers Matt Kenseth and Jamie McMurray, and rebounded with an 11th-place finish. Assisted by fellow Playoff contenders finding trouble, Johnson qualified into the Round of 8, by just 9 points. Unfortunately, Johnson's performance slipped in the third round. He finished 12th at Martinsville, but was followed by a disappointing 27th-place result at Texas. Entering the final race in the round at Phoenix, Johnson was 51 points behind the Playoff cutoff, and in a near must-win situation. However, on lap 148, Johnson's hopes at an eighth championship ended when he blew a tire in turn 3, and hit the outside wall hard, ending his day and eliminating him from the Playoffs. Johnson finished 10th in the final standings, his 15th and final top-ten in the points standings.


2018: Final season with Knaus and Lowe's

Johnson's
Speedweeks Daytona Speedweeks presented by AdventHealth is a series of racing events that take place during January and February at Daytona International Speedway. Traditionally leading up to the Daytona 500, in 2021 it concluded with the Daytona road cour ...
did not go smoothly, wrecking in each of his three races. At the Advance Auto Parts Clash, he was wrecked on the last lap by
Kyle Larson Kyle Miyata Larson (born July 31, 1992) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. Larson is the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champi ...
; this was the seventh year in a row he failed to finish the Clash. Johnson qualified third for the
2018 Daytona 500 The 2018 Daytona 500, the 60th running of the event, was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on February 18, 2018, contested over 207 laps—extended from 200 laps due to an overtime finish—on the asphalt superspeedway. It was the fi ...
but had to go to a backup car after wrecking in his Duel. On lap 59 of the Daytona 500, he got caught up in a wreck started by
Ryan Blaney Ryan Michael Blaney (born December 31, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Dave Blane ...
, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., which also involved his teammate William Byron,
Erik Jones Erik Benjamin Jones (born May 30, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 43 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Petty GMS. His nicknames are EJ, his initials, and That J ...
, Daniel Suárez,
Trevor Bayne Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...
, and
Ty Dillon Tyler Reed Dillon (born February 27, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver who competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 77 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports. He has also competed in the NASCAR Camp ...
and ended up 38th. Since then, Johnson struggled throughout the 2018 season with only two top-fives and eight top-10 finishes by the time he barely made the Playoffs for the 15th season in a row. Johnson's only great run of the season came at the Charlotte Roval race where he ran in the Top 10 for most of the day and battled Martin Truex Jr. for the win on the final lap, but he locked his brakes on turn 17 and spun out of control, taking Truex out with him in the process while Blaney passed them to win the race. Johnson finished eighth, and as a result of a three-way tie with 0 points, he was eliminated in the Round of 16. Johnson scored only one more top-ten finish afterward and wound up a then career-worst 14th in the final point standings since running full-time in 2002, winless for the first time in his career along with equaling a career-low 11 top-ten finishes for the second season in a row. Johnson notably gave teammate and friend Chase Elliott a push to the front stretch when his car ran out of fuel when being congratulated by the rest of the drivers after recording his first career win, at Watkins Glen. On March 14, 2018, Lowe's announced they would no longer sponsor the No. 48 car after the 2018 season;
Ally Financial Ally Financial is a bank holding company organized in Delaware and headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. The company provides financial services including car finance, online banking via a direct bank, corporate lending, vehicle insurance, mor ...
assumed primary sponsorship of the team in 2019 on a two-year deal. Johnson and his long-time crew chief Knaus parted ways at the end of the season, ending a 17-year partnership, the longest in NASCAR history. Johnson was paired with JR Motorsports crew chief
Kevin Meendering Kevin J. Meendering (born March 17, 1981) is an American NASCAR crew chief who works for Hendrick Motorsports as the crew chief of their No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, which is fielded part-time for Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman ...
in the 2019 season.


2019

The 2019 season started on a positive note for Johnson, as he won the 2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash after contact between him and Paul Menard sent Menard spinning while battling for the lead and triggering "The Big One" on lap 55 right before the rain arrived. It was also the first race with new sponsor Ally Financial and crew chief Meendering. He followed it up by finishing 8th in the first duel race. In the Daytona 500, Johnson ran up front most of the race, but when he came to pit road with around 40 to go, B. J. McLeod and
Cody Ware Cody Shane Ware (born November 7, 1995) is an American professional auto racing driver. A third-generation driver with experience in stock car, sports car, and open-wheel racing, he is the son of NASCAR team owner Rick Ware.O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 qualifying at Texas, Johnson got his first pole since 2016 at Texas and scored his first top-five finish since the 2018 Coca-Cola 600 two days later. At the Coca-Cola 600, Johnson ran well and ended up finishing 8th place. At Chicagoland Speedway, Johnson started 4th and took the lead on lap 7 from
Austin Dillon Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racin ...
. He went on to finish fourth place followed by a 3rd-place result at the rain-shortened
Coke Zero Sugar 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series cir ...
a week later, his best finishes of the season. On July 29, 2019, following a string of disappointing finishes during the season, Hendrick Motorsports announced that race engineer Cliff Daniels would replace Meendering as the crew chief of the No. 48. At Watkins Glen, Johnson finished 19th after being spun out by
Ryan Blaney Ryan Michael Blaney (born December 31, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Dave Blane ...
, leading to an argument between the two after the race. The animosity between them lasted until
Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...
a week later. In September 2019, Johnson missed the playoffs cut for the first time in his NASCAR career after finishing 35th in the
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...
due to contact with Kurt Busch and William Byron that sent his car crashing hard into the wall. Johnson scored four more top 10 finishes in the playoffs and wound up finishing a career-worst 18th place in the final standings, going winless for the second straight season. Many crashes throughout the season brought down his otherwise promising year. On October 4, 2019, Ally extended its sponsorship of the No. 48 for three more years through the 2023 season.


2020: Final full-time season

On November 20, 2019, Johnson announced that the 2020 Cup season would be his last full-time season of racing, although he did not rule out a part-time schedule after that. The 2020 season started with the Daytona 500 qualifying, he finished 4th for a second year in a row. Later that day, he entered the
2020 Busch Clash The 2020 Busch Clash was a NASCAR Cup Series Busch Clash, race held on February 9, 2020 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 88 laps — extended from 75 laps due to an green-white-checker finish, overtime fin ...
as the defending champion. He started 16th and finished 11th after a tire spun on the first restart in overtime. Next race was the 2020 Bluegreen Vacations Duels. He started and finished 2nd behind team-mate William Byron in Duel 2. In his last Daytona 500, he started 6th and finished 35th after
Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...
and
Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
triggered "The Big One". Next week in Las Vegas, he finished 1st in the final practice. He started 18th and finished 5th in the
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
. At his home track Auto Club, he qualified 2nd, losing the pole position to
Clint Bowyer Clinton Edward Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is an American former professional stock car racing driver and commentator for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He competed in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2005 to 2020, driving for Richard Childress Racing for eight yea ...
by 0.007 seconds. In the
race Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
, his wife and children waved the green flag at the start of the race. There was a four wide salute before the race to honor him. For most of the event, he was in the Top 10 and led 10 laps; he finished 7th. In The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington, the first race back after the delay forced by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Johnson was leading in the final lap of the first stage when he lost control of his car and crashed after contact with
Chris Buescher Christopher William Buescher (born October 29, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 17 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing. He is the 2012 ARCA Racing Series and 2015 ...
who was a lap down at the time. It marked his 100th race in a row without a win. A few days later in the Toyota 500 at the same track, Johnson bounced back with an 8th-place finish in the same track. At the
Coca-Cola 600 The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first on ...
, he qualified second, losing the pole position to Kurt Busch by 0.009 seconds. Johnson finished second in the 600 but was disqualified after his car failed post-race technical inspection. He bounced back with an 11th-place run in Charlotte's next race Alsco Uniforms 500. He enjoyed a pair of top-ten finishes at
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. At Martinsville, he overcame a start at 21st and finished 3rd in the first stage, and scored his first stage win of the year and the third of his career in the second segment, but dropped back in the third stage and finished tenth. He fell back early due to car issues at Homestead but ended with a strong run to make his way to the top 20 and finish 16th. The following week at Talladega, Johnson spearheaded a pre-race ceremony in support of
Bubba Wallace William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity S ...
after it was falsely reported a noose was in his garage; before the race, Johnson texted his peers that he intended to stand with Wallace during the national anthem, with the drivers also pushing his car to the front of pit road. In the race, Johnson was on the verge of taking the lead with three laps remaining before being spun by Harvick. On July 3, 2020, two days before the
Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...
at Indianapolis, Johnson announced he had tested positive for the coronavirus, forcing him to miss the race and Justin Allgaier to take over the No. 48. This snapped a 663-race streak in which Johnson started a Cup event. Johnson was cleared to return to racing on July 8, 2020, after testing negative twice, and he received a waiver that allowed him to remain playoff eligible should he qualify. His first race back was the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky, a track at which he had never won before. With 23 laps to go, he was coming off of the fastest three laps of the race and a strong run from ninth to third before taking the inside on a restart and being nipped by Brad Keselowski in the left rear, spinning out. He finished the race in 18th. The next week at Texas, Johnson was again one of the fastest cars, putting up a top ten lap before getting loose and hitting the wall in stage 2. On top of that, his crew committed a penalty for too many crew members over the wall. He finished 26th and only two points above the playoff cutoff in the standings. Johnson's misfortunes continued at Kansas when he was collected in a third-stage crash while running in the top ten, followed by a first-stage spin at New Hampshire while fighting for a top-five spot. Prior to the
Go Bowling 235 The O'Reilly Auto Parts 253 was a NASCAR Cup Series race on the Daytona International Speedway infield road course in Daytona Beach, Florida. Originally created in 2020 as a temporary event in response to races canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic, t ...
at the Daytona road course, the No. 48 team changed the Ally paint scheme from black to white, which Johnson branded as a "rAlly" livery in an effort to "reset" his luck. Johnson, who had experience at the road course via the 24 Hours of Daytona, finished fourth in a run that he described as "what we needed". The final three races of the regular season saw Johnson battling with Byron and Matt DiBenedetto for the final playoff spots. Entering the doubleheader at Johnson's strongest track Dover, Johnson was 25 points behind his teammate. He finished 7th and 3rd in the two races while Byron was 28th and fourth, which placed Johnson below Byron by four points with one race before the playoffs, and nine points behind DiBenedetto. The final race, the
Coke Zero Sugar 400 The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series cir ...
at Daytona, began with a strong first stage for Johnson as he finished fifth, ahead of Byron and DiBenedetto. The second stage saw him pit early to avoid having to save fuel, and he took advantage of the drivers pitting later in the stage, for another fifth-place finish. Although the three bubble drivers avoided a late wreck in the final stage, Johnson was collected in "The Big One" with two laps remaining. Although his team was able to salvage the car to meet the minimum speed and finish 17th, DiBenedetto beat him for the last playoff seed by six points. In his post-race interview, Johnson lamented his misfortunes during the year including the Coca-Cola 600 disqualification and the positive COVID-19 test; he drew praise from fans for his humility when he congratulated Knaus, who moved to Byron's team, and expressed his gratitude to Hendrick Motorsports for his career. In the first playoff race, the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, despite being out of the playoffs, Johnson ran in the top five for most of the night in a throwback scheme that combined those of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, to honor the two other seven-time champions. His teammates at Hendrick Motorsports also drove in throwback schemes to honor him in his last year. During the fall Texas race, Johnson would gain publicity by running a special scheme created by designer Noah Sweet, otherwise known as Lefty or Lefty Designs. Sweet, four months earlier in June, had created a mock Jimmie Johnson scheme adorned with pride flag colors, which had led to an excess of harassment towards Sweet and led him to take a temporary break from social media. During his break, encouragement came from most in the NASCAR community (with the hashtag #WeLoveLefty created and spread), including Johnson himself. In a few weeks, Ally president Andreas Brimmer and Jimmie Johnson would tell Sweet on a video call that he would have his chance to get his design on Johnson's car. Sweet, whose favorite driver throughout his life had been Johnson, said “I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life. I am.” The car eventually ran in the 2020 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500, finishing 36th due to engine issues. Johnson's only top ten of the playoffs came in his final start with a fifth-place finish in the
Season Finale 500 The NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona. It is one of five NASCAR races run with a length measured in kilometers; the Ruoff Mortgage 500 (the other Cup Series r ...
at Phoenix; he was the highest-finishing driver of those not in the Championship Round. After the race, he congratulated teammate Elliott on his maiden championship and performed a Polish victory lap. He ended his final season with ten top-ten finishes, the lowest of his career.


2023: Petty GMS Motorsports co-owner, part-time return

On November 4, 2022, Johnson purchased an ownership stake in Petty GMS Motorsports. In addition, he announced his return to the Cup Series on a part-time basis in
2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
, starting with an attempt to make the
2023 Daytona 500 The 2023 Daytona 530 was a NASCAR Cup Series race and the 65th running of the event. It was held on Sunday, February 19, 2023, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It was the first race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series. Jimm ...
.


IndyCar Series

In 2020, Johnson participated in a test with
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...
team Chip Ganassi Racing. He initially had a test scheduled in March with
Arrow McLaren SP The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren Racing competes under the banner of Arrow McLaren SP. This entry is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former driver Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Fellow ex-driver Davey Hamilton joined ...
at
Barber Motorsports Park Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...
before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a second attempt with Chip Ganassi Racing on the Indianapolis road course in July was postponed when he tested positive for the virus. The CGR test finally took place on July 28, 2020, it was overseen by CGR owner
Chip Ganassi Floyd Ganassi Jr. (born May 24, 1958) better known as Chip Ganassi, is a US businessman, former racing driver, current team owner and member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He has been involved with the North American auto racing scen ...
and five-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon (who is, along with Johnson, considered to be one of the best in their respective series) to discuss the car. Johnson said that driving an IndyCar was a "childhood dream" of his. On September 9, 2020, Johnson announced that he would join Chip Ganassi Racing on a part-time basis in 2021 and 2022 to drive the road and street courses on the IndyCar circuit. The deal left open the possibility of running select NASCAR Cup Series events in conjunction, as Ganassi fielded two cars in NASCAR and could've added a part-time car for Johnson, staying under the four-car maximum for Cup teams. However, in 2021, Ganassi's NASCAR operations were sold to Justin Marks and absorbed into the
Trackhouse Racing Team Trackhouse Racing is a professional stock car auto racing organization that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by Trackhouse Entertainment Group, a venture of Justin Marks and Grammy Award-winning rapper Armando Christ ...
the following year. Johnson refused to run the ovals due to safety concerns of racing open-wheel cars on them but after both driving the cars and watching teammate Tony Kanaan run on ovals, he ultimately agreed to run an oval test at Texas to prep himself for the Indianapolis 500. Throughout the year Johnson largely struggled in IndyCar, frequently running at the back of the field and struggling with spins and accidents. On December 15, 2021, Johnson announced that he would contest the full 2022 IndyCar schedule driving the No. 48 car for Chip Ganassi Racing. During his first oval race in the series, the
XPEL 375 The race last ran as XPEL 375 is an NTT IndyCar Series event held at Texas Motor Speedway near Fort Worth, Texas since 1997. The races have had a variety of different entitlement sponsors and distances over the years and therefore has had many di ...
at Texas, Johnson finished a then career-best sixth. Johnson made his
Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...
debut later in the year. Johnson led two laps and, despite a late race crash, was elected Rookie of the Year for the race. Johnson proceeded to collect his first career IndyCar top 5 in his first ever trip to
Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...
at the IndyCar Series at Iowa Speedway, Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 presented by Google on July 24, 2022. On September 26, 2022, Johnson announced that he would be stepping back from racing full-time.


Other racing

Johnson first raced in the Race of Champions in Europe in 2002 Race of Champions, 2002. He was eliminated in the first runoff by then World Rally Championship, world rally champion Marcus Grönholm of Finland but he and
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
and Colin Edwards racing as Team USA won the teams' championship. He returned to the event two years later but lost the quarter finals 0–2 to Mattias Ekström of Sweden who was Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, DTM German Touring Car champion that year. Johnson entered the 2006 Race of Champions but did not start due to injury received just days before the race. He still attended the event to cheer for teammate Travis Pastrana. In the 2007 Race of Champions, 2007 event, Johnson was eliminated before the quarter-finals by Formula One driver Sébastien Bourdais of France. In 2004, he started racing in Grand-Am with the 24 Hours of Daytona, where he finished eighth. He also entered the event one year later, which his team, Howard-Boss Motorsports, finished second. Two years later, he entered two events, which were both held at
Daytona International Speedway Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, the most prestigious race in NASCAR as well as its season opening event. In addition to NASC ...
. During the races, his team finished 9th and 19th. In 2008, Johnson moved to Bob Stallings Racing with Alex Gurney and Jon Fogarty to race in the 2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona, where the team finished second. One year later, he returned with GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing for his fifth Rolex 24 appearance. During the race, his team finished seventh. He returned to the team in 2010, to race in the Rolex 24 and Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen. During the Rolex 24 at Daytona his team finished 21st, while at Watkins Glen the team finished sixth. He returned to the Rolex 24, in 2011 where his team finished 15th. He returned to the race in 2021 24 Hours of Daytona, 2021, driving an Ally Financial-sponsored No. 48 Cadillac DPi-V.R for
Action Express Racing Action Express Racing (AXR) is a sports car racing team that currently competes in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team is owned by NASCAR CEO Jim France and run by Bob Johnson and former NASCAR champion crew chief Gary Nelson. ...
alongside Simon Pagenaud, Kamui Kobayashi, and Mike Rockenfeller. He finished second for a third time in his career. Alongside Pagenaud and Kobayashi, he will participate in all IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races for 2021 which include Sebring, Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta. At 2021 12 Hours of Sebring, Sebring, his team finished third but they were moved to the rear of DPi classification for violating drive time rules after Pagenaud was found to have driven more than the maximum 4 hours within a 6-hour time period. The team finished 28th in overall ranking. On November 26, 2018, Johnson participated in a motorsports cultural exchange with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso at Bahrain International Circuit, where both drivers compared their respective race cars.


Personal life

Johnson was born on September 17, 1975 in El Cajon, California, the son of Catherine Ellen "Cathy" (née Dunnill) and Gary Ernest Johnson. He has two younger brothers, Jarit Johnson, Jarit and Jessie. Both have made professional off-road racing starts in the TORC: The Off-Road Championship. Johnson attended Granite Hills High School, while he raced motorcycles during the weekends. He was a varsity water polo player, diver, and swimmer, and graduated in 1993. The number 48 is retired from all sports teams uniforms at his school and Johnson was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. Johnson lives in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
like many other NASCAR drivers. He is married to Chandra Janway, the two having known each other since 2002. They have two daughters, Genevieve and Lydia. Johnson is a triathlete, regularly participating in triathlons and long-distance running; the Jimmie Johnson Foundation's Wellness Challenge also hosts triathlons. In 2019, he competed in the 2019 Boston Marathon, Boston Marathon, finishing with a time of 3:09:07 and 4,155th overall (3,746th among males and 641st in the Male 40–44 class). Johnson was close friends with NASCAR competitor Blaise Alexander. Following Alexander's death during a racing incident, Johnson's car has had a flame decal with Alexander's initials inside of it on every car. In 2004, following the plane crash that killed the son of Rick Hendrick, Ricky, along with nine others, the tail number of the Hendrick plane that crashed was added alongside Alexander's initials.


The Jimmie Johnson Foundation

The Jimmie Johnson Foundation was launched by Johnson and his wife, Chandra, in 2006. The foundation helps children, families, and communities in need. In 2007, Johnson opened Jimmie Johnson's Victory Lanes in Randleman, North Carolina, which is a four-lane bowling alley for campers at Pattie and Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp. The foundation supports several charities, including Habitat for Humanity, Hendrick Marrow Program, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Victory Junction. Every year, it holds a golf tournament in San Diego, which raises money for K-12 public education. Since the beginning, the tournament has raised a total of $8 million to help fund several projects. During 2009 and 2010, the foundation awarded $1.5 million for the Education Champions Grants program. The money is given to public schools in California, Oklahoma, and North Carolina. It helps fund basic needs, such as technology, outdoor classrooms, playground construction, and reading programs. The foundation has also assisted the American Red Cross with disaster relief efforts. In 2014, Johnson joined the Ban Bossy campaign, as a spokesperson advocating leadership in young girls.


Legacy

For his successes, Johnson is often regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. Other drivers and teammates have also lauded Johnson for his leadership and helpfulness, including younger drivers Corey LaJoie (for whom Johnson advocated to get a seat in a Cup car), Chase Elliott, William Byron,
Bubba Wallace William Darrell "Bubba" Wallace Jr. (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 23 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity S ...
, Alex Bowman, and
Ryan Blaney Ryan Michael Blaney (born December 31, 1993) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 12 Ford Mustang for Team Penske. He is the son of former NASCAR driver Dave Blane ...
as well as veterans including
Brad Keselowski Bradley Aaron Keselowski (; born February 12, 1984) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and entrepreneur. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for RFK Racing, a team he also ...
,
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
,
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, and more.


Awards and honors

In 2000, ''People (magazine), People'' recognized Johnson as one of their "Men in the Fast Lane". Johnson has won the Driver of the Year Award five times (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013). In 2009, he became the first racing driver to win the
Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year The first Athlete of the Year award in the United States was initiated by the Associated Press (AP) in 1931. At a time when women in sports were not given the same recognition as men, the AP offered a male and a female athlete of the year award to ...
Award in the United States. Johnson was ranked No. 1 on Forbes.com's list of "Most Influential Athletes" for two consecutive years (2011, 2012). In 2018, Johnson received the fourth-annual Byrnsie Award, named after the late ''Fox NASCAR'' List of Fox NASCAR broadcasters, broadcaster Steve Byrnes, during Fox Sports 1, FS1's ''NASCAR RaceDay, RaceDay'' prior to the running of the 2018 Toyota/Save Mart 350, Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway.


Records and milestones

At the time of his retirement, Johnson's 83 career points-paying victories made him the winningest active NASCAR driver, in sixth place among the List of all-time NASCAR Cup Series winners, all-time Cup Series winners; he is also ranked third among those who have competed during the sport's modern era (1972–present). He is tied in first with Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty for List of NASCAR Cup Series champions, most NASCAR Cup Series championships, with 7. He also has the most List of NASCAR Cup Series champions, consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championships with 5. Johnson is the all-time winningest Cup Series driver at the following tracks: * Auto Club Speedway (6) * Charlotte Motor Speedway (8) *
Dover International Speedway Dover Motor Speedway (formerly Dover Downs International Speedway and later Dover International Speedway) is a race track in Dover, Delaware. The track has hosted at least one NASCAR Cup Series race each year since 1969, including two per year ...
(11) *
Kansas Speedway Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 20 ...
(3; tied with
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
and
Kevin Harvick Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 4 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick is the 2014 Cup Series champion, ...
) *
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
(4) * Texas Motor Speedway (7) Johnson won a Cup Series race at every track on the 2020 schedule except at Chicagoland Speedway (where he won his first NASCAR race, in the Busch Series), Kentucky Speedway,
Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
, The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Up until 2019, Johnson was the only driver to have qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series NASCAR playoffs, playoffs every single year since its inception in 2004. He also holds the record for the most consecutive and total playoffs appearances, with 15.


Soccer

On January 11, 2022, Johnson announced Charlotte FC's first ever MLS draft pick, and the first overall draft pick of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, when Charlotte drafted Ben Bender out of the Maryland Terrapins men's soccer, University of Maryland, College Park.


In popular culture


Film and television appearances

Johnson appeared as a moonshine runner along with Ryan Newman in the opening scene of the 2004 ''NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience''. Johnson made an appearance as himself in the 2005 film ''Herbie: Fully Loaded'', commenting on Herbie's sunroof as unusual for a stock car to have, and his car is also briefly seen from Herbie's POV. Johnson starred in an episode of the television series ''Las Vegas (TV series), Las Vegas'' in 2005. Johnson starred in an episode of the HBO reality television series ''24/7 (HBO series), 24/7'', titled "Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona". Cameras followed him from January 2010 to the 2010 Daytona 500, 52nd Daytona 500 held on February 14, 2010. In 2012, Johnson was featured in a NASCAR segment of ''Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear'' along with NASCAR drivers
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
,
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...
, and Kyle Petty. Johnson appeared on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' during its List of The Ellen DeGeneres Show episodes Season 10 (2012–13), tenth season in 2013. Fresh off his second Daytona 500 victory, Johnson challenged host Ellen DeGeneres to a go-kart race. On November 19, 2013, Johnson became the first professional athlete to co-host
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
's flagship news show, ''SportsCenter''. In 2015, Johnson appeared on the series ''Repeat After Me (TV series), Repeat After Me'' and voiced a lobster named Jimmie on the animated kids show ''Bubble Guppies''. In 2016, Johnson appeared in ''Blaze and the Monster Machines'' with fellow NASCAR drivers Chase Elliott,
Kasey Kahne Kasey Kenneth Kahne (; born April 10, 1980) is an American dirt track racing driver and former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in 2018, driving the No. 95 Dumont Jets/ Procore Technolo ...
and Danica Patrick.


Magazines

Johnson has appeared on the cover of several magazines, including ''NASCAR Illustrated''; ''Sports Illustrated''; ''Men's Fitness'', and ''Success (magazine), Success''.


Music video

Johnson makes a cameo appearance as a pilot in the music video for The Avett Brothers' "Ain't No Man", the lead single from the album ''True Sadness'' (2016).


Video games

Johnson's Cup ride, the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, is featured on the covers of ''NASCAR Racing 2003 Season'' and ''NASCAR The Game: 2011''. Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports teammate
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
are featured on the cover of ''NASCAR 06: Total Team Control'', highlighting Team Control, the main addition of the game. Johnson is also one of the six cover drivers of ''NASCAR Kart Racing''. Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet Impala is one of the twelve playable NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock cars in the 2010 racing video game ''Gran Turismo 5''. His 2011 car was later added to the game in the ''Spec II'' update of the game, with his 2013 car also being featured in the 2013 sequel ''Gran Turismo 6''. Johnson is featured in the 2011 racing video game ''Jimmie Johnson's Anything with an Engine''. Johnson's No. 48 is also playable in ''Forza Motorsport 6'', via the NASCAR expansion pack. The expansion features twenty-four paint schemes from the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, 2016 Sprint Cup Series season, including Johnson's No. 48 Lowe's SS. Johnson, along with Chase Elliott and
Kyle Busch Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-time ...
, provide commentary in the expansion as the "voices of motorsport". Johnson and Elliott also had roles in developing the expansion. Johnson, along with teammates Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, and William Byron, were featured on the cover of ''NASCAR Heat 3''. Johnson was also featured in ''Ally Racer'', a mobile game created to honor his final season by Ally Financial.


Motorsports career results


See also

*List of Daytona 500 pole position winners *List of Daytona 500 winners


References


Citations


Further reading

*


External links

*
The Jimmie Johnson Foundation
*
Jimmie Johnson
at Driver Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jimmie Jimmie Johnson, 1975 births Living people 24 Hours of Daytona drivers Action Express Racing drivers Ally Financial American Speed Association drivers Chip Ganassi Racing drivers Hendrick Motorsports drivers Herzog Motorsports drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indianapolis 500 Rookies of the Year IndyCar Series drivers International Race of Champions drivers JR Motorsports drivers Lowe's NASCAR Cup Series champions NASCAR drivers NASCAR team owners Off-road motorcycle racers Off-road racing drivers Philanthropists from California Racing drivers from California Rolex Sports Car Series drivers Sportspeople from El Cajon, California WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers