Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson is retiring from full-time racing and will turn his focus toward spending time with family.
Jimmie Johnson : Nascar | News | Retires | Net worth
Jimmie Kenneth Johnson is an American professional auto racing driver.
| Born | Jimmie Kenneth Johnson September 17, 1975 El Cajon, California |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg) |
A seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, he competed full-time in the series from 2002 to 2020, driving the No. 48 Chevrolet with Hendrick 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 for Chip Ganassi Racing.
Johnson is also known for his appearances in sports car racing, where he drives the No. 48 Cadillac on a part-time schedule for Action Express Racing.
Nascar
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. in 1994 and Mike Skinner in 1997).
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 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 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 and 207 ahead of his future teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Jimmie Johnson news
NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson will not continue full-time in IndyCar next season and says he is considering his next racing project.
The 47-year-old, who raced full-time for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2022, says the Le Mans 24 Hours, a one-off NASCAR event, and further IndyCar outings with Ganassi are among the options he is considering.
Johnson switched to IndyCar in 2021 for a part-time campaign after winning seven NASCAR Cup Series titles but struggled to find his feet on IndyCar’s road and street courses, with 17th his best finish.
Things got better for Johnson during his first full-time season this year as he thrived on the ovals.
The first highlight was a sixth place at Texas and Johnson followed this by qualifying within the top 12 and taking the prestigious rookie of the year award on his Indianapolis 500 debut, later earning a personal best fifth-place finish in the second Iowa race.
His form away from ovals has improved but he’s still yet to have a top-15 finish on a road or street course.
Though Johnson has firmly enjoyed his IndyCar spell he said that the 2022 season “checked so many boxes for me and I had such an incredible time, that I’m going to take a deep breath and think about what 2023 might look like”.
Jimmie Johnson Retires
Seven-times NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson said on Monday he was retiring from full-time competition but would pursue “bucket list events” after he made the leap to IndyCar this year.
The 47-year-old American announced in December he would compete in the full 2022 IndyCar season and had a best finish of fifth at the Grand Prix of Iowa in July.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better experience in the @Indycar series,” Johnson tweeted. “I will not return to INDYCAR full time in 2023 but will continue to look for new ways to challenge myself and participate in bucket list events.”
Johnson is widely considered among the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, having won a record five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series Championships from 2006 to 2010.
His seven total titles puts him level with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the record.
The jump to IndyCar was one other drivers from Mario Andretti to Jacques Villeneuve and Romain Grosjean have made in the past.
“I feel like I have improved but I realize the challenge is about two, three times greater than what I first thought,” he said in a video posted to YouTube.
Net worth
During his career Jimmie has earned over $150 million in career winnings alone. That does not count endorsements which bring in another $10 million per year.
| Net Worth: | $160 Million |
| Date of Birth: | Sep 17, 1975 (46 years old) |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 5 ft 10 in (1.8 m) |
| Profession: | Race car driver, Radio personality, Athlete |
| Nationality: | United States of America |
Between June 2018 and June 2019, Jimmie earned $18 million. That was enough to make him the highest-paid NASCAR driver in the world.
Outside of racing money, Jimmie owns a percentage of a Chevy dealership in San Diego that carries his name.