Jimmie Johnson gets his old No. 48 back for his final NASCAR Cup Series race at next season’s Daytona 500.
His former sponsor should be along for the ride.
And when you take a look at pit road at Daytona International Speedway on stock-car racing’s brightest day, don’t be surprised to see celebrities from the kitchen to the stage rooting on Johnson.
Even with the white flag about to drop on Johnson’s racing career, he’s still one of NASCAR’s biggest stars — and by the time the 2027 Cup Series schedule opens with the Daytona 500, the two-time winner of “The Great American Race” should have a spot on the Hollywood Walk of Fame to prove it.
“I’m going out swinging,” Johnson said with a laugh.
Maybe he can get some tips on that from Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper, the nine-time MLB All-Star who is also one of the newest investors in Legacy Motor Club, the NASCAR team that Johnson owns and occasionally drives for.
The 50-year-old California native is busy in the boardroom these days looking for investors and growing his race team. Almost as busy as he was on the track, when he was one of three drivers to win seven Cup Series championships (joining Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt) while earning a spot in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Johnson is expected to make his 703rd and final Cup Series start in February’s Daytona 500. Until then, he’s spending his time sharpening Legacy’s future.
He used to spend his race weekends signing countless autographs in the garage. The fan requests are still there, for sure, only now his signature is needed more on the dotted line for deals including trying to bring back longtime sponsor Lowe’s to the 48 — a number Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman surrendered for the Daytona 500.
Johnson also soon hopes to announce Legacy’s third driver for the 2027 season.
“I’ve approved press releases, rollout plans, all the elements have all been approved,” Johnson said. “It’s just a matter of slotting them all in.”
He added some big-time winners to his race team last month as part of a strategic ownership group that includes championship athletes, Grammy Award winners, entrepreneurs, investors, motorsports greats and cultural leaders.
The Legacy investors include six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon, four-time IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, a two-time National League MVP in Harper, Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan, former U.S. Open tennis champion Andy Roddick, Grammy Award winner Darius Rucker, celebrity chef Guy Fieri and retired six-time MLB All-Star infielder Chase Utley.
“Jimmie’s a good friend of mine, and I like what he’s doing,” Utley said. “It’s interesting, and it’s going to be a good experience.”
Johnson said his star-studded group of friends are true investors who are equitable partners in Legacy. More celebrity investors are expected to be announced later this year.
“Sure, I did well racing,” Johnson said. “But I don’t have an enterprise like Penske or Hendrick to activate and utilize and drive that success year over year.”
Johnson became the majority owner of Legacy under a restructuring ahead of last season in which investment adviser Knighthead Capital Management bought into the Cup Series team. Now he has nearly enough investors in Legacy to fill a Daytona 500 starting grid.
“I knew at some point I’d probably want an investor, but I didn’t know what that would look like,” Johnson said. “There was a lot of thought around other franchises and leagues, how you create profitability. The stick-and-ball sports and the way they do it makes a lot of sense. It’s just a different way to generate the income to win races and championships. From there, to bring investors on, you need a pathway to profitability.”
The roadmap for Legacy turning a profit took a bit of a detour when the organization decided to add a third charter for next season.
“It’s over the horizon,” Johnson said. “A very short horizon. With the strategic ownership group like this, the IP internally, the assets they can activate with and help with, it only helps our case there.”
Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek are expected to return, with Riley Herbst widely predicted to join Legacy in 2027.
Jones is 20th and Nemechek is 28th in the Cup Series points standings. Both drivers are winless and have a combined three top-five finishes as Legacy has yet to break through by becoming a franchise that can at least compete for checkered flags.
“Some days look good,” Johnson said. “Some days don’t.”
Johnson raced in just two Cup Series events this season: the Daytona 500 in February and the debut race at Naval Base Coronado near San Diego in June. He has a few races on deck in other series, just as much for fun and without the competitive pressures of NASCAR.
“I’ve been slowly weaning myself off,” Johnson said. “Now that I’ve found something that’s keeping me so busy and so invigorated in the sport — I’m still competing, it’s the race within the race — I am fully ready and also very excited for that day and the buildup for it and all the great collaborations that will be announced shortly.”
Johnson has 83 wins in his Cup Series career, and he set a record for most consecutive championships with five in a row from 2006-10 (his other two came in 2013 and 2016). He is the only race-car driver to be selected as the AP male athlete of the year, getting that honor in 2009.
Johnson and his team sent a submission for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and he was selected for one for next year.
“I sat and watched on YouTube, and they announced my name and I was like, ‘Holy smokes! It worked,'” Johnson said. “So wild.”
Now he’s aggressively pushing for the star to be unveiled the Tuesday before next year’s Daytona 500.
Johnson’s last full-time season as a NASCAR driver was 2020, and he spent the ensuing years chasing success in IndyCar. He even moved his family to England, all while dealing with the aftermath of a family tragedy.
He never had a podium finish in two years and 29 races in the American open-wheel series and wrecked out of his only Indianapolis 500 in 2022.
“That was really intentional for me go there and have fun and do it,” Johnson said. “As the two years went by, I was kind of shocked that I didn’t … I was having tons of fun, but I wasn’t fulfilled. I was like, ‘What the hell is this?’ The opportunity with (Legacy) came about, and I wasn’t sure where it would go or how fulfilling it would be. While thinking through the two years of IndyCar, and slowing down my Cup career, what does it look like post-driving? What do I want to do?”
Johnson went on to compete in endurance races and worked in broadcasting. There was only one true calling for him, though, and it was back at the race track — even if not always behind the wheel — at Daytona in Florida, Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware and Darlington Raceway in South Carolina.
“I was going to end up back in NASCAR,” Johnson said. “I had no idea it was going to turn into this.”
He’s ready for one final run at Daytona.
And, if things go right, one more win.
“Let’s blow this thing up,” Johnson said. “Why not?”