Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson was just inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame last month. He’s 48 years old and retired from full-time NASCAR racing after the 2020 season, then trying out other styles of racing, including the Indianapolis 500.
He obviously has nothing to prove. But Sunday, he’ll start 23rd in the 2024 Daytona 500 — a race Johnson won in 2006 and 2013.
Johnson competed in last year’s Daytona 500, along with two other Cup Series races, and he has a nine-race schedule planned with the team he co-owns, Legacy Motor Club, behind the wheel of the No. 84 Toyota.
But when so many of his contemporaries have left the cockpit for good, Johnson’s still going. And his former Hendrick Motorsports teammates, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., are a little surprised Johnson is still racing.
But not entirely.
Are you surprised that Jimmie is still driving? 7️⃣✖️ pic.twitter.com/W6oDeMKPyt
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) February 16, 2024
Recently, Gordon — currently the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports — was a guest on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, and he explained to Earnhardt about Johnson:
“I am surprised he’s driving, I’ll be honest. You know, like, again, I admire what he did in IndyCar. I’m like, ‘Man, phew!’ I went and did one sports-car race and got my butt kicked. And it was the hardest I’ve ever had to work in a race car in a long time. And it made me think a lot about Jimmie and that commitment that he made to go run IndyCar. Whether you could say it was successful or not successful, just taking that step and committing to it is what I admired so much about it.
“It just goes to show you, I think, his mindset, his talent, his ability. So on one hand, I’m surprised he’s gonna run in the Cup Series, especially with the Next Gen car right and how different this car is. But at the same time, I’m not because I’ve seen him take on big challenges throughout his whole life.”
Johnson weighed in on this recently as well. He told Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass that the nine races he has planned for 2024 are because he truly wants to race in them and running this schedule still allows him to balance his family life and business ventures, along with more racing.
More from Johnson, via Fox Sports:
“I know my friends that have all retired are like, “Why in the world would you want to go back to a plate race?” But this is Daytona. I just can’t see not racing in this race. I’ve always been after the marquee events. Sure, this is a plate race. But, man, having a shot to win another Daytona 500 is really something I want to experience.”
For Sunday’s Daytona 500, Johnson had to race his way into the 40-car field on Thursday at Daytona International Speedway, and he made it but just barely.
And this is exactly where he wants to be, telling Fox Sports:
“I am in race cars now because it’s truly what I love to do and want to do. … The desire to win, the desire to increase the win total number, to experience the thrill of victory — that’s always there. And that’s a given. So, one, I’m just going to continue to chase that. I love that aspect of it. But what will make me stop? There isn’t some number I’m trying to achieve and say, ‘OK now that’s enough.’ It’s probably going to be when my wife grabs him by the ear and says, ‘Look, you don’t need to be out there anymore. If you’ve been doing this long enough.'”
