Jimmie Johnson is one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, yet has decided to take on the NTT IndyCar Series for 2021. [6] Johnson returned to Lake Geneva in July, winning the Saturday race and finished second on the following day. 84 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Legacy Motor Club. At Kentucky, Johnson started third. From 2021 to 2022, Johnson competed in the IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing, and has competed occasionally in sports car racing throughout his career. I cant wait to see what we can achieve together.. Early in their respective racing careers, Jimmy Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were celebrating after a race, and things got a bit out of hand. Owner Rick Hendrick'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. At Bristol, he avoided tight trouble early in the race and came home second to polesitter Matt Kenseth. [96] This would be the 14th and final time he won back-to-back races in his career. (I thought) Ive got to hit him harder. [69] In the Pocono 400, he recorded a fourth-place finish after starting 24th on the grid. He was eliminated in the first runoff by then world rally champion Marcus Grnholm of Finland but he and Jeff Gordon and Colin Edwards racing as Team USA won the teams' championship. [100] 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. And is now a NASCAR team owner. At Phoenix, he struggled for most of the day and finished 38th after blowing a tire and crashing out. I tried once and moved him. This hi-lo title is complete with vibrant photographs, simple text, glossary, and an index. Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, made the move to IndyCar in 2020, signing with Chip Ganassi Racing for the 2021 and 2022 seasons. The following week at Phoenix, Johnson started inside the Top 10 and finished second behind Carl Edwards. Running moonshine wasn't always easy, or legal . Though, he is 1.8 m tall, he weighs about 75 kg. At Kansas, he led nine laps and finished third behind Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne. At Chicagoland Speedway, Johnson started fourth and took the lead on lap 7 from Austin Dillon. In the finale, Johnson raced conservatively to a ninth-place finish to secure his sixth title. These finishes moved him back up to fourth in the standings. In winning, he established a Cup record of 23 wins on 1.5-mile tracks, taking what was both his 200th Top 5 and his 300th Top 10 finish. [225], Johnson was also featured in Ally Racer, a mobile game created to honor his final season by Ally Financial. [49] Afterward, Johnson finished 18th in the Sylvania 300, then second in the AAA 400. [80] 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. [219], 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).[220]. From there, Chad Knaus and the Hendrick Motorsports No. However, his momentum returned at Texas when he held off Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win. However, he quickly was able to rebound winning the Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington Raceway. Robert Glenn Johnson Jr., better known as Junior Johnson, has died at the age of 88. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series, doing so for 20 seasons (19 as a full-time driver). [167] Johnson proceeded to collect his first career IndyCar top 5 in his first ever trip to Iowa Speedway at the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 presented by Google on July 24, 2022. However, on a restart on lap 246, Johnson was slow to get up to speed and was subsequently touched and spun by Joey Logano, costing Johnson a shot at the win and giving the race to Matt Kenseth. AVONDALE, Ariz. Jimmie Johnson relished the chance to get back into a NASCAR Cup Series car even if it likely won't help him much when he attempts to qualify for the . 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. [23] Johnson had a total of eight wins, 20 Top 5's and 23 Top 10 finishes. Johnson finished second in the 600 but was disqualified after his car failed post-race technical inspection. However, trouble struck when he finished 40th and 17th in the next two races. He also entered the event one year later, which his team, Howard-Boss Motorsports, finished second. [189][190], Johnson is a triathlete, regularly participating in triathlons and long-distance running; the Jimmie Johnson Foundation's Wellness Challenge also hosts triathlons. His second victory of the season came in the fifth race, the Auto Club 400, where Johnson passed Harvick in an overtime finish. Jimmie Johnson @JimmieJohnson . He plans to compete in the inaugural race at the new Chicago Street Course on Sunday, July 2. Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports Jimmie Johnson retired from NASCAR after the 2020 season, but the 46-year-old driver made headlines after saying he's open to returning to the sport to The. He had to swerve quickly to the right to avoid the No. He was able to work his way through the field to finish in third place. He is tied in first with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty for most NASCAR Cup Series championships, with 7. At Martinsville, he overcame a start at 21st[126] and finished third in the first stage,[127] and scored his first stage win of the year and the third of his career in the second segment,[128] but dropped back in the third stage and finished tenth. In the next race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he won his first race of the season and the 76th of his career, tying Dale Earnhardt for seventh on the all-time wins list. In the race, his wife and children waved the green flag at the start of the race. [157][158] The CGR test finally took place on July 28, 2020, it was overseen by CGR owner Chip Ganassi 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. At Sonoma, Johnson led the most laps at 45 laps, but a late-race caution caused by Casey Mears' broken wheel axle cost him, and he was passed by Kyle Busch with five laps to go and slipped back to sixth place. Feedback on our suggestions. John Hunter Nemechek won the first stage, leading 24 of the 45 laps. [8], 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. Jimmie Johnson will return to NASCAR and compete in select NASCAR Cup Series races in 2023, starting with the Daytona 500, after entering an ownership agreement with Petty GMS owner Maury Gallagher and chairman Richard Petty. 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's cars spun behind him and hit him in the left rear. 15. Fly! 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. During a news conference Friday, Johnson said he initially planned to run eight to 10 races in the NTT IndyCar Series next year, as well as sports car races, in 2023. After more than 20 years in NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson has made a lot of friends. Austin Hill has started the 2023 Xfinity Series season as a hard charger. Johnson led the most laps and almost won, but a slow final pit stop cost him the race to Newman. Returning to Daytona for the Coke Zero 400, Johnson led 94 laps and held off Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick on a green-white-checker finish to win his fourth race of the year. 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[1] to win five consecutive championships. Evan Malbone Johnson (1791-1865), American priest and religious writer. [77] 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.[78]. This title focuses on Jimmie Johnson and gives information related to his early life, his time racing in NASCAR, and the legacy he leaves behind. So Im very excited about this.. [182][183] He has two younger brothers, Jarit and Jessie. [65], Johnson won his first race of the season one week later in the Bojangles' Southern 500 at Darlington. 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. He ended up 19th. 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. [70] During the next two races, Johnson placed fifth,[59] moving him to fourth in the standings. All eight passengers and both pilots died in the incident, and Johnson was told after completion of the race. Who had a good race: Hill, who has been strong on superspeedways, showed he also can succeed on mid-range tracks. Johnson made his NASCAR Busch Series (now NASCAR Xfinity Series) debut at the 1998 Indianapolis Raceway Park event, where he finished 25th for ST Motorsports. [137] Johnson's misfortunes continued at Kansas when he was collected in a third-stage crash while running in the top ten,[137][138] followed by a first-stage spin at New Hampshire while fighting for a top-five spot. Smith led more than half of the race but was caught and passed by Hill and Justin Allgaier near the finish. "It was one of those deals. During that time, he became a legend winning a record 7 NASCAR Cup series titles tying him with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. The NTT IndyCar Series raced last weekend without Jimmie Johnson for the first time in 2021, but the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion still was racing - and with family. Unfortunately, Johnson's performance slipped in the third round. Im looking forward to having him as a part of our team and seeing what we can build together.. Johnson starred in an episode of the television series Las Vegas in 2005. In 1997, he began racing on asphalt ovals when he ran three races in the American Speed Association (ASA), making his debut at Hawkeye Downs Speedway. [125] He bounced back with an 11th-place run in Charlotte's next race Alsco Uniforms 500. Lydia Johnson, 8, climbed aboard a Supercross-style dirt bike and hit a local track for the first time with her dad. FOX NASCAR Insider. At the fall race at Texas Johnson won, passing Brad Keselowski with 4 laps to go. Jimmie Johnson's net worth is $160 million, out of which he has won over $150 million through just race wins. Jimmie Johnson wants to be involved with us, and well be involved with him? This has got to be one of the biggest things that has happened to the Petty crowd and GMS. No one else will be able to say they have two seven-time Cup champions on their team. When the IndyCar season ended I started on this journey of what was next. Johnson began the 2012 season with a 14th-place finish in the Budweiser Shootout after crashing on lap 74. [73] After finishing seventh during the Lenox Industrial Tools 301,[59] Johnson recorded his third victory of the season and his fourth career win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, tying Jeff Gordon for what was the record for the most wins in the Brickyard 400.[74]. For his successes, Johnson is often regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. [131] 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. [164] 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.[165]. Despite the poor finishes, Johnson qualified fourth for the Chase. In the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Johnson recorded a ninth-place finish after moving through the field after qualifying 24th. At Loudon, Johnson finished sixth after blowing a tire in the third position. [175] He returned to the Rolex 24, in 2011 where his team finished 15th. In 2013, Johnson began his season with a 14th-place finish in the 2013 Sprint Unlimited when he crashed on lap 14 along with Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, and Denny Hamlin. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson returned to the NASCAR world after retiring from the sport in 2020. He returned to the team in 2010, to race in the Rolex 24 and Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen. When Johnson made the decision to retire from full-time NASCAR after the 2020 season and switch to IndyCar in 2021, he knew he had to lower expectations. He started the season by finishing fifth in the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row. [221] Three years later, Johnson drove for Herzog Motorsports in the off-road truck series in 1996. Through the first six races of the season, Johnson only scored one Top 10 finish. JUNIOR JOHNSON WAS BORN TO RUN MOONSHINE. 1 on Forbes.com's list of "Most Influential Athletes" for two consecutive years (2011, 2012). Browse more videos Playing next 2:28 Jimmie Johnson and Travis Pastrana WILL RACE in the 2023 Daytona 500 _ NASCAR Sports Collection 5:59 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. At Fontana, he struggled for most of the race, racing near the back of the pack, but salvaged a 12th-place finish. On 17-9-1975 Jimmie Johnson was born in El Cajon, California, USA. May 23, 2022 at 11:33 a.m. EDT. The start of the season didn't go as smoothly as the end of last season, however. RELATED:These 10 Whopping Homes & Cars Of Celebrities Look Amazing! Smith was third, Kyle Busch fourth and Josh Berry fifth. Johnson was born in El Cajon, California, and began racing motorcycles at the age of four. 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 in turn 1) to escape with a third-place finish. At Richmond, he led 44 laps early in the race and finished third. An announcement is expected this week. [50] During the Subway Fresh Fit 500, he managed a third-place finish. Chad Knaus collected 82 NASCAR wins as a crew chief, 81 of them were with Jimmie Johnson. 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. Johnson took the advantage of leading on the last restart. In the following race, Johnson finished second. 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 10 finishes for the second season in a row. The Johnson family was involved in the whiskey business before he was born. Johnson is the all-time winningest Cup Series driver at the following tracks: 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, The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. Im 85 years old, so Im not going to be here for another 15 or 20 years, and then Jimmie can kind of take over. [49] One week later in the 2011 Daytona 500, he started 23rd, but finished 27th after being involved in a crash on lap 29. 48 when the seven-time champion competes for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson's No. 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. The middle child of seven, Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. was immersed in the business and lifestyle as early as 4-years-old, when federal agents raided his home and removed hundreds of gallons of illegal moonshine in 1935. Returning to Michigan, Johnson qualified third but crashed in happy hour, forcing him to a backup car and a 43rd starting spot. When Jimmie Johnson was seven, Rick Johnson attended one of his competitions and predicted a bright future for the pint-sized racer. [49] While at Chicagoland Speedway for the GEICO 400, Johnson finished 10th.