DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson has been chasing NASCAR history in the eyes of the public for so long that his relentless pursuit of rewriting the record books has become part of his legacy.
Johnson, tied with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with seven Cup Series titles, has been racing for sole possession of the record since 2017. He made a hashtag for his social media posts – #Chasing8 – and his push to make history has never wavered.
As he heads into his 19th and final full season in the Cup Series, Johnson has dropped the motto. He would love to close his full-time career with a record eighth title, of course, but the 44-year-old Californian said he would rather remove self-inflicted pressure and enjoy his last run in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet.
His new motto is “One Final Time,” and he’ll try to live it starting Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, where Cup Series drivers will have their first official practices of the year as part of Speedweeks. The season-opening Daytona 500, a race Johnson has won twice, is a week from Sunday.
“Through reflecting back since I made the (November retirement) announcement, it just kind of dawned on me – the more I thought about it, I never chased anything,” Johnson said. “One final time just felt like the correct thing to say, and now we’ve struck the chasing eight from everything and one final time just fits well.”