Jimmie Johnson, one of the most recognizable and dominant names in stock car racing history, has earned a place in the NASCAR Hall of Fame as one of the organization’s inductees for 2024, according to its website.
Johnson is synonymous with the No. 48 Chevy race car fielded by Hendrick Motorsports (HMS), where he earned seven total Cup Series championships, five of which were earned back-to-back between 2006 and 2010. His last two championships were earned in 2013 and 2016, putting his accomplishments right on par with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty, both of whom also earned seven championships throughout their careers.
Johnson has also been recognized as one of the few drivers to make the 75 Greatest Drivers list in 2023, boasting 83 race wins at the Cup Series level at 20 different tracks. Of those, two are Daytona 500 victories, four were earned in the Brickyard 400, four in the Charlotte 600, two in the Southern 500, and four in the All-Star races at various tracks.
His racing career actually began on two wheels, when he started racing motorcycles at the age of four, eventually graduating to off-road racing and entering the Xfinity Series (then Busch Series) in 1998. He began racing in the Cup Series full time in 2002, securing the pole position at the Daytona 500 that year as a rookie and winning his first Cup race at Fontana in his 13th start in the division, the first of many.
Johnson retired from full time Cup racing upon conclusion of the 2020 season, competing briefly in IndyCar before returning to NASCAR as part-owner of Legacy Motor Club (LMC). He currently competes part time in the Cup Series, running several races in 2023 behind the wheel of the No. 84 Camaro ZL1. He will also race in the 2024 season, but LMC has since swapped to Toyota, meaning that he will drive a Camry this year.
The 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST on Friday, January 19th, 2024.
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Comments
Deserves it.
No surprise. He sure does deserve it.
What an absolute shame. Chevrolet and Hendrick Motor Sports gave him everything to get him into the Hall of Fame and now he’s going to drive a FAKE RACE CAR a Toyota Camry. NASCAR changed all the rules just to allow such a front wheel drive 4 door sedan to turn into a FAKE RACE CAR !!!!!!!!!
I love JJ but remember his crew chief for all those winning season already admitted that they cheated the entire time. Nowadays NASCAR is smarter and is using better technology but the JJ and Chad Knauss duo sure bent the rules for 7 years Kudos Jimmy
Congratulations to Jimmy Johnson. He definitely earned it. There’s not an Nascar team out there that doesn’t bend the rules. They do it today and always will. Most of the time this happens the drive doesn’t even know it’s been done.
Yes. But they don’t drive a Toyota !!! And yes Jimmy deserves it but not by driving a FAKE RACE CAR.