Johnson to retire after the 2020 Cup season
Seven-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson announced Tuesday that he would be retiring at the conclusion of the 2020 Cup season.
Johnson made the announcement on social media that 2020 would be his 19th and final full-time season in the Cup Series. He’s scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday where he’ll discuss his decision to step away with team owner Rick Hendrick joining him.
Johnson has run the no. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for the entirety of his career and had been sponsored by Lowe’s until 2018. Ally Financial signed a two-year deal with Hendrick Motorsports to sponsor the no. 48 team and then signed a three-year extension in October that took the deal through the 2023 season.
The extension means that Ally will serve as the primary sponsor for Johnson’s replacement in 2021. An announcement regarding his replacement and Hendrick Motorsports’ 2021 team lineup will be coming at a later date.
Johnson will be looking for his eighth NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2020. If he were to win an eighth Cup title, he would become the only driver to win a Cup title in their final season of competition and be the only driver in NASCAR history to ever win more than seven Cup titles.
Johnson is currently tied with Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, who have each won an all-time leading seven Cup titles. He is also the all-time leader in wins at Auto Club (6), Charlotte (8), Dover (11), Las Vegas (4) and Texas (7).
Source:
Racing-Reference.info
Discover more from The Racing Experts
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com