DARLINGTON, S.C. (Jan. 21, 2017) – Jimmie Johnson, who won a record-tying seventh NASCAR championship this past season, has been voted the winner of the 2016 Richard Petty Driver of the Year Award presented by the National Motorsports Press Association.
We start off the first offseason View from my Recliner by welcoming back Dale Earnhardt Jr. He completed a test at Darlington Raceway and was cleared by doctors and NASCAR to return to driving in the 2017 season.
With more than a month left in the old year, talk about the new is already starting to dominate. Tony Stewart is now retired, with Clint Bowyer no doubt thrilled at the chance to get back into quality equipment as his replacement.
It was down to four as NASCAR made its final stop of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Two champions had already been declared, with Johnny Sauter taking the truck title, with the junior circuit claimed by Mexico’s Daniel Suarez. Now it was down to Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards and Joey Logano to determine the Cup championship.
That's a wrap on the 2016 NASCAR season and history was made as Jimmie Johnson tied Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt to become a seven-time champion. It was a huge moment in NASCAR, with plenty of strategy and drama being played out in the closing laps.
Jimmie Johnson etched his name into the history books of NASCAR with a race victory and title victory in South Florida. The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet took the lead from Kyle Larson on the final restart of the race in overtime to win the Ford EcoBoost 400 and his record-tying seventh Sprint Cup Series championship.
So it ends. Another NASCAR season. A Hall of Fame career for Tony Stewart. The reign of a title sponsor. The wait for another seven-time champion, or a repeat champion, or maybe the crowning of the newest member of NASCAR royalty.
