Toyota GAZOO Racing – Jimmie Johnson
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes
CONCORD, NC (May 24, 2025) – LEGACY MOTOR CLUB driver Jimmie Johnson was made available to the media on Saturday prior to practice for the NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, No. 84 Carvana Toyota Camry XSE, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
Can you talk about what 700 starts means to you?
“I just saw Cliff Daniels, and he said – 700 starts, I guess your old. And I said – you are right, and you’ve been here for a lot of those, so you are old too (laughter). It’s wild how my first start just coincidentally comes the same place as my 700th start. It means a ton to me. I’m a numbers guy, and to have these numbers play out – literally on their own, is really special. Excited.”
Are you looking to continue to step up your program as an independent team with the addition of Knighthead Capital?
“Our desire to be our own independent team is quite high. It started with Maury (Gallagher), and it’s where we need to be as an organization. Not only to be competitive here, but if we choose to expand in other forms of motorsports, the infrastructure – we need to be an independent, stand-alone team. We certainly took a look at the JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) alliance at one point, it did make a lot of sense for us then, but it is always a ever changing landscape – I don’t want to rule out and say there can’t be a relationship at some point in the future, but one of our core values has been being independent on our own, and that is what has attracted Toyota and has helped build this relationship. It is not an easy road to hoe, but for them, it does make sense to have another organization at someday will be independent and operating at the highest of levels. It is hard to be concise with it, but it has been one of our core values and we’ve been trying to see that through. It started with Maury, and with the added resources from Knighthead Capital and the long term and runway that we are so aligned with Tom Wagner, it just helps us to plan for the future and make incremental steps in that direction, and spend in the right direction, knowing we have a long runway to achieve that.”
How difficult is it for you to be patient?
“Therapy (laughter). It has not been easy. Being patient is not in my DNA, and it has been part of my journey as an owner to understand how patient you truly need to be. It’s not so much for decisions to be made, but for those decisions to be made is one aspect and then you have to paper it. That takes a while, and then you have to implement, and then work through and ideate. It is a process, and I’m fortunately surrounded by a lot of experience that has helped me. We are moving at a good rate, especially for the decisions we’ve made. Last year, I don’t think Toyota or ourselves expected it to be that difficult. We made a lot of changes at the midpoint of last year, and have slowly been gaining momentum and moving in the right direction.”
What separates Charlotte Motor Speedway and the 600-mile weekend from any other race weekend and makes it something that all drivers want to win?
“I think it is the culmination of this weekend from the patriotic point of view, to a race fun, race enthusiast, race love, NASCAR lover point of view. You have this collision of Monaco, Indy, Charlotte – Coke 600. Memorial Day weekend – the effort that NASCAR puts in to honor our fallen. There are just so many elements that make this weekend so special.”
What makes Charlotte Motor Speedway and this race specifically so unique?
“I love endurance events and this is our marathon. As a kid watching this before I was ever back here racing, I was always so intrigued by a 600-mile race. Cars back then had a tough time making it. The drivers did as well. It is a long event. I think it is a little harder on the party animal fans in the infield to go the extra 100 miles (laughter). It is just an incredible weekend with a ton of pride and prestige. You are also honoring. You leave here after winning the 600 weekend at this very difficult track. You hold your head high.”
So, to clarify, this is not your last race?
“No. (laughter). That’s hilarious. That was just great editing. Proud of our digital department. They did a great job (laughter).”
How has the challenge been and what have you learned about yourself running these races on a part-time basis?
“From a driving standpoint, it is halfway through the race before I stop thinking and I just react and drive, and that is a tough thing, qualifying and have to go race. That part works against me when I come in – especially at a place like Charlotte. Not being in the car all of the time has its consequences. For me, to come in and have a chance to represent Carvana, have a chance to drive for our team, add another data point – work with up-and-coming crew members, work with up-and-coming over the wall members, there is an element here that really works for us. Last year, I ran nine – it was a little too much on the organization. This year, I’m at two – maybe we do a few more, so as we plan for next year, as long as it doesn’t take away from our full time cars, we hope to run an unchartered vehicle and have me in it, and use that to develop talent, and also help develop partnerships and such. It is part of our plan. We don’t have ’26 picked yet, but rest assured, there is more than 700 starts. I’m jumping up and down asking for more races than two.”
What does your relationship look like with Chad Knaus now compared to previous?
“It has been really – it has changed quite a bit for sure. Of course, when Rick (Hendrick) broke us up, the year or two that followed and competing against each other – it is not the easiest transition to go through, but having time to through the Garage 56 program, and just how close our families are, we’ve really been able to continue to grow our friendship and relationship. Our two years abroad haven’t helped that – I haven’t seen much of the Knauses in general, which is a bummer, but we are on our way back once school finishes up for our kids, and we are really looking forward to being around and seeing so many familiar faces, including his. It is nice – I really enjoy it now, the time I spend with him and not being as laser focused on performance, we can be a little more relaxed and share more laughs and such. I cherish all of the time I get with him.”
What goes into Mexico planning?
“The logistics have certainly been a challenge. It is just trying to work collectively through the garage area and NASCAR to make the most efficient and safest decisions that we can for everyone. I’m really excited to have an international points race. Mexico City – I’ve been there a handful of times on vacation and truly enjoy it. I had a great, amazing, safe experience, and I’m excited for our teams to go down there and compete. I hope it really helps generate more interest and popularity in and around our sport. I think international growth is a big market for us, and I think any international interest also influences national interest and continues to help global America or global companies pay closer attention. We are not trying to be anyone else. We are NASCAR, and I’m really proud of the product we’ve put on track, and from living abroad, I have seen first-hand how much interest there is in our sport. People are so curious about it. Our Netflix show has shown people just how serious and competitive this championship is, so I’m excited to go. I know logistically it has been a challenge, and I have high hopes for the show we will put on and the fan interest that it will drum up and continue to grow our sport.”
20 years ago, you made a pass on the final laps to win here, what do you remember most about that race?
“It is funny. The thing from that race I remember most is I was coming down pit lane and he had gotten out of his car, and as I was driving by to go to victory lane, he kicked the door (laughter), and in my head I always remember him booting the door of his car. But I do remember chasing him down and trying to get by him on the inside. I got a couple of wins this way. That last lap through (turns) three and four, it is so tough to give up the bottom lane. If the trailing driver can get to the right rear corner, the way the side draft works out, you are going to be in the lead at the start finish line. I got Bobby (Labonte) that way. I got (Matt) Kenseth that way. Carl Edwards got me that way, so as I was playing the cat-and-mouse game, I knew I couldn’t make the bottom work, and I wanted to keep showing him my line choice, and then we went into (turn) three, and he took the bottom, and I was like okay – here we go, because he had been running higher before that, so it really worked out well.”
With the improvements the team has made this year, what do you feel like the next steps are for the team?
“I think it has been more about execution. We have taken steps forward in performance. When I look at the Texas race, Erik (Jones) had a shot to win it, and he was recovering from two penalties on pit lane. John Hunter (Nemechek) had a penalty that day as well, and I think, still finished in the top-10. Execution is really one of our more immediate ways to show improvement, and not making mistakes, but there is always the journey to find more speed. I think the steps we’ve made to have the ability to reflect back on the changes we’ve made helps us lean further into those decisions, and it is really about detail, and it is really about processes. It is just such a different form of racing than when I was in the car, but we have certainly moved forward. One area that I think we are eager to sort is our short track performance. We were able to have a little front side speed at North Wilkesboro, but as more short tracks are on the schedule ahead, we need some more help there. I think our superspeedway stuff has been strong. I think our mile-and-a-half stuff is moving in the right direction, but short track stuff we need to work on.”
About Toyota
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