In his 23rd season with at least one start in the NASCAR Cup Series division and third as a part-time competitor of his own organization, Legacy Motor Club (LMC), Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to achieve a milestone start. By taking the green flag in this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the seven-time Cup champion and driver of the No. 84 LMC Toyota Camry XSE entry will reach 700 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
A native of El Cajon, California, Johnson made his inaugural presence in NASCAR’s premier series at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2001. By then, he had achieved his first Xfinity Series career victory while driving for Herzog Motorsports at Chicagoland Speedway in July and had caught the attention of four-time Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, whom Johnson approached for advice and resulted with Gordon encouraging team owner Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) to sign Johnson for a Cup Series ride. Driving the No. 48 Chevrolet for HMS, Johnson started 15th and ended up in 39th place in his Cup debut after he was involved in an incident with Ryan Newman towards the Lap 150 mark. He would then compete in two of the remaining three events on the schedule, where he finished a season-best 25th place at Homestead-Miami Speedway and 29th at Atlanta Motor Speedway, respectively.
The following season, Johnson campaigned in his first full-time Cup Series campaign in HMS’ No. 48 Chevrolet. He commenced the season by notching his first career pole position for the 44th running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. In the process, he became the third rookie competitor to win the pole for the Great American Race. Then after finishing in the top-10 mark through the first nine-scheduled events, Johnson achieved his first Cup career victory at Auto Club Speedway. Johnson’s victory, which occurred in his 13th series start, occurred after he opted for a fuel-only stop during his final pit service to assume the lead during a 14-lap dash to the finish and fended off Kurt Busch for the remainder of the event.
Three races later, Johnson would score his second career victory at Dover Motor Speedway. For the remainder of his rookie season, the Californian would sweep both Dover events after winning the second Dover event of the year in September and he would become the first rookie competitor to assume the points lead during the following event at Kansas Speedway. Overall, Johnson would settle in fifth place in the final standings on the strengths of three victories, four poles, six top-five results, 21 top-10 results, 838 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.5. He also ended up in the runner-up spot behind Newman for the Rookie-of-the-Year title.
Over the next three Cup Series seasons, Johnson would steer the No. 48 HMS Chevrolet entry to a total of 15 victories. Among his accomplishments included winning the Coca-Cola 600 three consecutive times, winning his first All-Star Race and sweeping both New Hampshire Motor Speedway events in 2003, a season-high eight victories while also sweeping both Pocono Raceway and Darlington Raceway events in 2004 and his first Clash at Daytona in 2005. He also won both Charlotte events during the 2004 and 2005 seasons and he racked up a career-high 20 top-five results during the 2004 season. Despite racking up a total of 47 top-five results, 65 top-10 results and average-finishing results within the top-12 mark throughout the three-year span, Johnson settled in second, second and fifth, respectively, in the final standings. By then, he also surpassed 100 career starts in NASCAR’s premier series.
The 2006 season was a breakthrough year for Johnson, who commenced his fifth full-time season by winning the 48th running of the Daytona 500. Two races later, he overtook Matt Kenseth on the final lap to win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway before he won at Talladega Superspeedway for the first time in his career another six races later. Johnson would proceed to win his second All-Star Race in Charlotte and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in the summer before the Playoffs commenced.
After spending the entire 2006 regular-season stretch mired towards the top of the standings, Johnson’s Playoff run commenced on a rough note after he finished no higher than 13th through the first four events. Then after rallying by finishing in the runner-up spot four times, winning at Martinsville Speedway in late October and finishing ninth during the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Johnson leapt from eighth to first in the final standings and claimed his first championship by 56 points over Kenseth. As a result, he became the 28th competitor to win a Cup Series championship and he delivered the sixth title for HMS. Johnson’s first title season occurred in a year where he notched five victories, one pole, 13 top-five results, 24 top-10 results, 854 laps led and a career-best average-finishing result of 9.7.
The following four seasons were dynasty years for Johnson, who would an additional four championships to his resume and become the first to win five overall in consecutive seasons. Johnson’s dynasty streak commenced in 2007 when he won a career-high 10 victories and swept both seasonal events at Martinsville, Richmond Raceway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. After winning four consecutive events over the remaining five-scheduled events, he outdueled teammate Jeff Gordon by 77 points to win his second consecutive title. The following season, he claimed seven victories, including his second at Indianapolis while also sweeping both Phoenix Raceway events, and beat Carl Edwards by 69 points to join NASCAR Hall of Famer Cale Yarborough as the only competitors to win three consecutive Cup titles.
During the next season, Johnson won seven events for a second consecutive season, including his third at Indianapolis and sweeping both Dover events, and beat teammate Mark Martin by 141 points to become the first-ever competitor to win four consecutive Cup titles. Then in 2010, Johnson, who recorded six victories throughout the season, withstood late challenges from Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick to finish in the top 10 through the final nine of the 10-race Playoff stretch and overtake Hamlin during the finale at Homestead to beat him by 39 points and Harvick by 41 to stretch his historical championship-winning streak to five seasons. Throughout the 2007 to 2010 seasons, Johnson added 30 victories to his resume, which increased his Cup career wins total to 53, and he accumulated 16 poles, 68 top-five results, 93 top-10 results, 6,802 laps led and average-finishing results within the top-11 mark. In addition, he surpassed 300 Cup career starts.
Amid an unprecedented five-year championship-winning streak, the 2011 Cup season was a difficult year for Johnson, who only won twice (Talladega in April and at Kansas in September, the latter of which was during the Playoffs). Despite drawing himself to within four points of the points lead, he recorded an average-finishing result of 20.3 throughout the final six events on the schedule, which left him strapped in sixth place in the final standings as his championship-winning streak was snapped. He rebounded during the following season by winning five races, including his fourth overall at Indianapolis and recorded the 200th Cup victory for HMS during the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. He also won the All-Star Race for the third time in his career. Not long after assuming the points lead on the strength of back-to-back fall Playoff victories between Martinsville and Texas Motor Speedway, which also enabled him to reach 60 Cup career victories, Johnson then finished 32nd and 36th, respectively, during the final two-scheduled events, which plummeted him to third place in the final standings and shy of the title by 40 points to Brad Keselowski.
Johnson roared out of the gates in 2013 by winning the 55th running of the Daytona 500, which marked his second career victory in the Great American Race. The victory also occurred in Johnson’s 400th Cup career start, which made him the sixth competitor overall to achieve the feat. He would proceed by winning at Martinsville in April, his record fourth All-Star Race in May and Pocono in June. He would also win the summer Daytona event in July, where he became the first competitor to win both Daytona points-paying events on a schedule since NASCAR Hall of Famer Bobby Allison made the previous accomplishment in 1982, and lead the standings for the majority of the regular-season stretch before the Playoffs commenced. After claiming two Playoff victories (Dover in September and Texas in November) and finishing no worse than 13th throughout the Playoffs, he returned atop the championship podium by winning his sixth title after he beat Matt Kenseth by 19 points. Within his sixth championship season, the year 2013 also marked Johnson’s 12th consecutive time he concluded a Cup season with 20+ top-10 results and fifth time where he accumulated a career-high 24 top-10 results. The season also extended Johnson’s race-winning streak to 12 consecutive seasons.
Over the next two seasons, Johnson would add nine victories to his resume, which enabled him to reach 75 career wins in NASCAR’s premier series. Within his nine-race victories, he won the Coca-Cola 600 for a fourth time and claimed his first elusive victory at Michigan International Speedway, both of which occurred in 2014. He also racked up a combined two poles, 25 top-five results and 42 top-10 results. Amid the on-track success, he was not in contention to win a record-tying seventh title during both seasons after he was eliminated from the Playoffs following the second round in 2014 and the first round in 2015. Overall, he concluded the 2014 season in 11th place in the final standings and in 10th place in 2015. By then, Johnson surpassed 500 Cup career starts.
The 2016 Cup season was a roller-coaster year for Johnson, who commenced the season by finishing 16th during the 58th running of the Daytona 500 before he won the following weekend at Atlanta for the fifth time overall, which enabled him to tie seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt in the all-time wins list at 76 total and extend his race-winning streak to 15 consecutive seasons. Johnson would proceed to win at Auto Club Speedway for a sixth time three races later and notch a total of 10 top-10 results throughout the regular-season stretch before the Playoffs commenced. After utilizing consistency to advance past the Round of 16, he then won the opening events of both the Round of 12 and 8 at Charlotte and Martinsville, respectively, which enabled him to transfer to his first Championship 4 round appearance as a title contender. By then, Johnson had accumulated a total of eight Cup victories at Charlotte and nine at Martinsville.
Then during the 2016 finale at Homestead, he dodged a multi-car wreck amid contact between title rivals Carl Edwards and Joey Logano during a 10-lap shootout to muscle away from the field during an overtime shootout and win both at Homestead for the first time in his career and achieve his record-tying seventh Cup Series championship, which placed him in a tie with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for the most NASCAR titles overall. As an added bonus, Johnson’s Homestead victory marked his 80th career win.
Entering the 2017 season with an opportunity to claim a record eighth championship, Johnson finished no higher than ninth on the track through the first six-scheduled events before he rallied by notching back-to-back victories at Texas and Bristol. By then, Johnson notched his seventh career victory at Texas and second at Bristol as he also stretched his race-winning streak to 16 consecutive seasons. Five races later, he capitalized on an overtime shootout to muscle away from Kyle Larson and win at Dover for the 11th time in his career. Amid his Dover victory, he moved into a tie with Cale Yarborough for sixth place on the all-time wins list at 83. After notching only two top-10 results throughout the remaining 13 regular-season events and transferring from the Playoff’s Round of 16 to 8 with three top-10 results, Johnson’s eighth titles hopes came to a late end after he finished no higher than 12th throughout the Round of 8. Overall, he capped off his 16th consecutive full-time Cup season in 10th place in the final standings.
The 2018 and 2019 seasons were low years for Johnson and his No. 48 HMS Chevrolet team that started in the former season, where he went winless for the first time in his career despite making the Playoffs for a 17th consecutive time and finishing in 14th place in the final standings. During the season, he was eliminated from the Playoffs following the Round of 16 amid a three-way tie-breaker between himself, Aric Almirola and Kyle Larson, the latter two of whom transferred due to recording higher finishes than Johnson throughout the round. Amid the on-track struggles, Johnson surpassed 600 Cup career starts. Then despite winning the non-points Clash at Daytona for the second time to commence the 2019 season, he missed the Playoffs for the first time ever after he accumulated only eight top-10 results throughout the 26-race regular-season stretch, but finished no higher than 15th during his final eight starts. Entering the Playoffs as a non-title contender for the first time, Johnson would rack up four results in the top 10 before ending up in 18th place in the final standings.
In mid-November 2019, Johnson announced that the 2020 season would be his last as a full-time Cup Series competitor. He commenced the year by finishing 35th during the 62nd running of the Daytona 500 after he was involved in a late-race multi-car wreck before he finished in the top seven during his next two starts. Then after accumulating four top-10 results over his next 12 starts, he was absent from competing at Indianapolis due to testing positive for COVID-19, which resulted with Xfinity Series veteran Justin Allgaier piloting Johnson’s No. 48 entry for the event. Despite finishing in the top 10 three times over his next 10 starts from his return to racing, Johnson missed the Playoffs for a second consecutive season. With his hopes of winning a title during his final season evaporated, he proceeded to finish fifth during the finale at Phoenix and settle in 18th place in the final standings. Overall, Johnson recorded five top-five results, a season-best third place at Bristol in June, 10 top-10 results, 107 laps led and an average-finishing result of 17.3 during his final full-time Cup campaign.
After departing from a full-time NASCAR campaign following the 2020 season, Johnson spent the next two seasons competing in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing, where he made 12 starts in 2021 before he campaigned for the entire season in 2022. Despite recording average-finishing results within the top-20 mark, he managed to record two top-six results and a career-best fifth place at Iowa Speedway in July 2022.
In early November 2022, Johnson announced his purchase of an ownership stake of Petty GMS Motorsports and plans to return to the Cup Series on a part-time basis in 2023. A month prior to the 2023 season’s start, Petty GMS Motorsports rebranded to Legacy Motor Club as Johnson’s ride was revealed to be numbered 84. Johnson commenced his part-time Cup campaign on a high note by earning a starting spot for the 65th running of the Daytona 500 after being the fastest non-chartered competitors during the event’s single-car qualifying session. Despite racing towards the top-15 mark in the closing laps, Johnson would end up in 31st place after he was involved in a multi-car wreck during the event’s first of two overtime attempts. He would then end up in 38th place during his second start of the season at Circuit of the Americas in late March after being involved in a multi-car wreck on the opening lap before he finished 37th during his next scheduled start in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte due to being involved in an early single-car wreck. Johnson was initially set to compete in the series’ inaugural event at the Chicago Street Course in July, but withdrew following a personal family tragedy. Ultimately, he would not participate in any additional Cup events for the remainder of the 2023 season.
Johnson would return for an expanded, part-time campaign consisting of nine Cup events for the 2024 season while Legacy Motor Club switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota. Prior to the season’s start, Johnson was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. After edging J.J. Yeley to claim a starting spot for the 66th running of the Daytona 500 from the Daytona Duels, Johnson would finish 28th during the main event after he was involved in an early multi-car wreck. Overall, he recorded an average-finishing result of 30.6 throughout his nine-race campaign and finished a season-best 26th place during the finale at Phoenix.
This season, Johnson confirmed in January that he would return to compete in both the 67th running of the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, both of which he would continue to pilot his No. 84 Toyota entry. After securing a starting spot for the former event based on his qualifying speed, he would dodge a final-lap accident to finish in third place. The finish marked his first top-three result as an owner/driver of Legacy Motor Club and his first time finishing in the top three since previously doing so at Dover in August 2020.
Through 699 previous Cup starts, Johnson has achieved a record-tying seven championships, 83 victories, 36 poles, 233 top-five results, 375 top-10 results, 18,941 laps led and an average-finishing result of 13.4.
For this upcoming weekend at Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, Johnson, who is a four-time winner of the prestigious event, is scheduled to become the 21st competitor overall to reach at least 700 starts in the Cup Series division. A victory this weekend would make the Californian the first competitor to win in career start No. 700 and it would tie him with NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip for the most Coca-Cola 600 victories at five.
Jimmie Johnson is scheduled to make his 700th Cup Series career start at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 25, at 6 p.m. ET on Prime Video.
