Seven time Cup Series champion Hall of Fame driver and co-owner of Legacy Motor Club Jimmie Johnson retired from full time driving in 2020 but has been running a handful of races since.
Locking a place into the 2026 Daytona 500 via the special provisional created by NASCAR for championship drivers from all forms of racing, Johnson will start the race 31st in the Daytona 500 on Sunday – a race he has won twice.
Johnson has also announced that is attempt to run in the 2027 Daytona 500 will be his final race as a driver. He is also scheduled to run in the inaugural street course race at Naval Station Coronado in San Diego this summer.
Currently Johnson is ranked sixth in Cup Series wins in NASCAR with 83.
In a press conference Johnson said, “I didn’t use the word retirement way back when in 2020. You guys all know I still love to compete and want to be on the track and racing. The journey as an owner, and certainly where I am in life right now, to compete at the Cup level week in and week out is just a door that’s shutting for me now.”
Last year the 50 year old Johnson officially marked 700 Cup Series race starts – a major milestone in racing.
Johnson added, “it just made a lot of sense. I think, as a driver that moonlights, the restrictor-plate (drafting) track, that’s where you can be the most competitive. This car is so different than any generation of car I’ve driven before. To show up at Kansas and think that you’re going to have a shot to win – even when I ran a nine-race schedule – it’s just not a truth that can really be seen or realized. Daytona, you can. Talladega, you can. Atlanta, for sure.”
He continued, “I want to show up and be competitive, and to have my last race in an event where I could truly win, it’d be that cool walk-off home run.”
President of Toyota Racing USA Tyler Gibbs spoke on Johnson via release saying, “Jimmie Johnson is a champion in every aspect of his life – with his family, as the leader of Legacy Motor Club and with his incredible success behind the wheel. As he prepares to close the chapter of his iconic on-track NASCAR career, we celebrate his legacy in the sport and look forward to what we’ll continue to achieve together in the years to come.”
There is a trend in NASCAR for drivers to announce impending retirements; giving sponsors, manufacturers, and fans a chance to “say goodbye” with tributes and the like. Johnson’s 2020 retirement did not allow for such activities with the Covid pandemic not allowing any fans to attend the events.
“I was very disappointed with the pandemic and the scenario of not being with the fans at the race track for that final year,” Johnson said. “And it’s not that I’m looking for that now, but maybe there is a moment or two in there that we can have some fun with and kind of get back into that mindset a little bit and enjoy it.”
E added,“but I’m not going anywhere. Clearly, I have a big stake in Legacy Motor Club, and I’m excited about the future for the company, excited for all the time I will be spending in our sport and around it and help grow it. So we’ll see what the year brings. But I know it’ll be fun, and I know that next year here will be quite emotional to shut the door on that.”