As a seven-time NASCAR champion and NASCAR Corridor of Famer, Jimmie Johnson’s legacy has already been secured since he retired from full-time NASCAR competitors in 2020. Nevertheless, ESPN is simply the newest outlet to provide Johnson the respect that the El Cajon, California native really deserves.
Johnson got here in forty seventh on the community’s checklist of the highest 100 skilled athletes of the twenty first century, and deservedly so. Johnson gained 83 races at NASCAR’s highest stage and tied the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with seven championships, together with 5 in a row.
Even with three totally different factors codecs getting used to find out Johnson’s seven titles, the legendary driver staved off the competitors yr after yr. Whereas Father Time finally caught up with him, his legacy was already set in stone by the point he gained his seventh championship in 2016.
A driver hand-picked by Jeff Gordon to hold on the legacy of Hendrick Motorsports, Johnson gained in simply his thirteenth profession begin and in addition turned the primary rookie in Cup Collection historical past to guide the factors standings.
From 2006 to 2010, Johnson gained 5 consecutive championships with fellow Corridor of Famer Chad Knaus, cementing the duo as one of many best driver-crew chief combos of all time. In 2013 — the primary season of NASCAR Gen-6 automobile — the pair gained their sixth title, and in 2016, Johnson put collectively a ok remaining stretch to earn his record-tying seventh championship.
It is true that Johnson has regarded like a shell of himself in part-time NASCAR competitors, however his spectacular health routine and enterprise acumen have stored him within the sport each as a driver and govt, as Johnson makes up a part of the possession group for the aptly titled Legacy Motor Membership, alongside fellow seven-time champ Richard Petty.
It isn’t daily {that a} driver of Johnson’s caliber pops up, and it is good to see ESPN give a legendary determine in NASCAR historical past his flowers.
