Jimmie Johnson set to race NASCAR Cup car in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — What some people saw as the perfect end to an illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career wasn’t what it seemed to be.

Making his 700th NASCAR Cup Series start in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a blue paint scheme and neon yellow numbers seemed like a fitting end to the 2025 schedule for the now-primary owner of Legacy Motor Club who made a name for himself with wins in the 600 with similar schemes.

The problem is, Jimmie Johnson doesn’t see it that way. Legacy Motor Club confirmed Wednesday the seven-time Cup champion is set to race in San Diego at Naval Base Coronado – just 20 minutes from his hometown of El Cajon, California.

“I have more years in me. I want to keep going,” he said. “When I was approached [about racing in San Diego], it was much more of a ‘This is what we’re doing’ conversation versus ‘What do you think?’

“To a San Diegan, to hear those words, just smiling, like, ‘No way this really can happen.'”

Another post-full-time NASCAR adventure for Jimmie Johnson

Since Jimmie Johnson stepped away from full-time NASCAR racing after 2020, he has raced everything – from boats to off-road cars to some of the biggest races on earth, like the 24 Hours of LeMans and the Indianapolis 500.

Outside of the cockpit, his adventures have taken him overseas to briefly live in the United Kingdom and back here in the U.S., where he is living again with a more hands-on role within the team.

Part of that role is getting to race. Johnson scored a fifth-place finish in the 2025 Daytona 500 and became the first driver to be ranked among the top-10 in Cup points as a current NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.

While the results haven’t always been there for him, Johnson has other reasons to keep going.

“I want to keep going… I think it’s good for us. We’re hopeful to have a third charter. Need to start building a team. There’s a chance that I run more races next year if we have a third charter on the docket and have a sponsor to bring along, team members to groom, a crew chief to get reps,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of scenarios that are in play. I’m hopeful I can keep going.”

Greatness recognizes greatness – Jimmie Johnson and SVG

Regarded as one of the greatest of all-time in NASCAR, Johnson is able to recognize greatness when he sees it. He’ll also get to face greatness if he races in San Diego – a race Shane van Gisbergen is already favored to win.

SVG won four of the five road course races in 2025 – his first full-time Cup season after a debut win in Chicago jump-started his NASCAR career in 2023.

“The skills he has, if he stays in the sport for 5, 10 years… I would then start to think greatest of all time,” Johnson said. “Fastest guy to be in a Cup car, that conversation is timely. Greatest of all time, we need more sample sets to choose from.”

SVG dominated Chicago, only losing once in five total NASCAR starts there. The same thing could happen in San Diego, where Johnson believes a race weekend could be successful.

The importance of San Diego to NASCAR in California

“When I think of the annual events that take place… the community loves something to do on the weekends. With the great weather, the social scene and the relaxed nature, to go to an event and enjoy is top of mind. People really look for those experiences,” Johnson said.

With how much attendance has factored into the state of NASCAR in southern California, people showing up in San Diego and the area investing in the race will be everything.

In 2011, Auto Club Speedway dropped to one date after struggling with attendance for years. While attendance stabilized – and even grew – with scaling back to one date, the rising in popularity of short track racing and the value of the land they could sell off to make one there led to where the track is today – sitting in limbo.

In the meantime, NASCAR has been to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the Clash exhibition race. While the first race generated buzz and good attendance in 2022, it couldn’t buy NASCAR more than two more years there.

NASCAR is nothing new in the Los Angeles area, while San Diego is an untapped market. NASCAR has never raced in the metro area of nearly 3.3 million people – which balloons to 5.46 million when you count nearby Tijuana, Mexico.

“I know there are race fans in and around San Diego. There are more fans to be discovered there,” Johnson said. “I’m biased, so I think it’s the perfect location. I can’t wait for San Diego to shine. I think it’s going to be great, I really do.”

Where Johnson’s Legacy Motor Club team is heading into 2026

Johnson is also seeing his moment to shine. Several of his key hires, like Hendrick Motorsports’ Brian Campe, are finally generating good results – most clearly seen in the Southern 500 when Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek finished third and fourth to two playoff drivers.

Where the organization sees current success, they also see future growth. The organization is seeking a third charter that could come with a lawsuit now settled between Legacy and Rick Ware Racing.

Johnson hasn’t said if he will make or intends to make any more starts in 2026.