Jimmie Johnson is an American race car driver who has won seven Drivers' Championships in the NASCAR Cup Series .[1] He entered NASCAR part-time in the Busch Series in 1998 with the ST Motorsports and later Curb Agajanian Performance Group teams.[2] Johnson drove eight races for Herzog Motorsports in the 1999 Busch Series , and spent two full seasons with the team in 2000 and 2001 before moving to Hendrick Motorsports in the 2001 Winston Cup Series .[3] He was runner-up to Matt Kenseth in 2003 and Kurt Busch in 2004 ,[3] before winning five successive Cup Series championships from 2006 to 2010 , breaking Cale Yarborough 's record of three consecutive titles from 1976 to 1978 .[4] Johnson claimed a further two titles in 2013 and 2016 to tie Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with seven career Cup Series championships.[3] [4]
Jimmie Johnson won 83 NASCAR-sanctioned races and seven Cup Series championships.
He achieved his first NASCAR victory at the 2001 Sam's Club Presents the Hills Brothers Coffee 300 Busch Series round at Chicagoland Speedway on July 14.[5] Johnson took his maiden Cup Series win at the 2002 NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California Speedway in a season in which he registered three victories.[3] [6] He won 18 races in his first four full seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, including a season-high eight in 2004. Johnson took his first Cup Series championship in 2006 with five wins.[3] He enjoyed his most successful season in terms of race victories with ten in 2007. In Johnson's following three seasons with Hendrick Motorsports, he won no less than six races.[4] He managed only two wins in 2011 and five in 2012 . Johnson won six more times as he took his sixth championship in 2013. This was followed by four wins in 2014 , five each in 2015 and his seventh championship victory in 2016 and three in 2017 .[3] Johnson's most recent victory in NASCAR came at the 13th round of the 2017 season at the 2017 AAA 400 Drive for Autism at Dover International Speedway .[7] [8]
Over the course of his racing career, he won a total of 84 NASCAR races, 83 of which were in the Cup Series.[7] [9] Johnson also won one race in the NASCAR Busch Series.[9] He also won the Daytona 500 twice in 2006 and 2013 .[3] [10] As of 2020 [ update] , Johnson ranks sixth on the all-time Cup wins list with 83, tied with Yarborough.[10] He is most successful at Dover International Speedway, where he claimed eleven victories,[11] including a season sweep of wins at the track in 2002 and 2009 .[7] Johnson's largest margin of victory in his career was at the 2008 Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway , a race where he finished 7.002 seconds ahead of the second-placed Clint Bowyer of the Richard Childress Racing team,[12] while the narrowest was in the 2011 Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway , where he beat Bowyer by 0.002 seconds, one of the closest finishes in NASCAR.[13]
Cup Series
Johnson performing a burnout at the 2006 UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
In the NASCAR Cup Series , which was sponsored by Winston , Nextel , Sprint , and Monster Energy during Johnson's career, Johnson, the seven-time Cup Series champion for Hendrick Motorsports has won 83 races.[7] Throughout his career, he has won at 20 of the 26 tracks at which he raced on, leaving the Charlotte Roval, Daytona Road Course, Chicagoland Speedway , Kentucky Speedway , Rockingham Speedway and Watkins Glen International the six tracks where he has failed to win.[14] As of the end of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series , Johnson's 83 wins rank sixth all-time tied with Cale Yarborough ,[10] behind Richard Petty (200 ), David Pearson (105), Jeff Gordon (93 ), Bobby Allison (84) and Darrell Waltrip (84).[15]
Johnson holding the checkered flag at the 2008 Tums QuikPak 500
Johnson's car parked in practice for the 2009 Shelby 427 .
Johnson took the only road course win of his career at the 2010 Toyota/Save Mart 350 .
Johnson performing a burnout at the 2012 Tums Fast Relief 500
Johnson celebrating winning the 2013 AAA 400 .
Johnson holding the Sprint Cup trophy after clinching his seventh Cup Series title with a win in the 2016 Ford EcoBoost 400
Johnson performing a burnout at the 2017 O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
Key:
No. – Victory number; for example, "1" signifies Johnson's first race win.
Grid – The position on the grid from which Johnson started the race.
Margin – Margin of victory, given in the format of seconds.milliseconds; caution indicates the race was ended by a yellow flag for an accident or inclement weather
† – Driver's Championship winning season.
More information No., Date ...
NASCAR Cup Series victories[7] [8]
No.
Date
Season
Race
Track
Grid
Margin
Team
Car
Ref
1
April 28, 2002
2002
NAPA Auto Parts 500
California Speedway
4
0.620
Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet
[6]
2
June 2, 2002
MBNA Platinum 400
Dover International Speedway
10
0.478
[16]
3
September 22, 2002
MBNA All-American Heroes 400
Dover International Speedway
19
0.535
[17]
4
May 25, 2003
2003
Coca-Cola 600
Lowe's Motor Speedway
37[lower-alpha 1]
Caution
[18]
5
July 20, 2003
New England 300
New Hampshire International Speedway
6
1.582
[19]
6
September 14, 2003
Sylvania 300
New Hampshire International Speedway
8
6.240
[20]
7
March 21, 2004
2004
Carolina Dodge Dealers 400
Darlington Raceway
11
0.132
[21]
8
May 30, 2004
Coca-Cola 600
Lowe's Motor Speedway
1
Caution
[22]
9
June 13, 2004
Pocono 500
Pocono Raceway
5
Caution
[23]
10
August 1, 2004
Pennsylvania 500
Pocono Raceway
14
2.138
[24]
11
October 16, 2004
UAW-GM Quality 500
Lowe's Motor Speedway
9
1.727
[25]
12
October 24, 2004
Subway 500
Martinsville Speedway
18
1.225
[26]
13
October 31, 2004
Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
8
0.293
[27]
14
November 14, 2004
Mountain Dew Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
4
0.959
[28]
15
March 13, 2005
2005
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
9
1.661
[29]
16
May 29, 2005
Coca-Cola 600
Lowe's Motor Speedway
5
0.027
[30]
17
September 25, 2005
MBNA NASCAR RacePoints 400
Dover International Speedway
5
0.080
[31]
18
October 15, 2005
UAW-GM Quality 500
Lowe's Motor Speedway
3
0.309
[32]
19
February 19, 2006
2006 †
Daytona 500
Daytona International Speedway
9
Caution
[33]
20
March 12, 2006
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
3
0.045
[34]
21
May 1, 2006
Aaron's 499
Talladega Superspeedway
16
0.120
[35]
22
August 6, 2006
Brickyard 400
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
5
Caution
[36]
23
October 22, 2006
Subway 500
Martinsville Speedway
9
0.544
[37]
24
March 11, 2007
2007 †
UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
23
2.795
[38]
25
March 18, 2007
Kobalt Tools 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
3
1.311
[39]
26
April 1, 2007
Goody's Cool Orange 500
Martinsville Speedway
20
0.065
[40]
27
May 6, 2007
Crown Royal Presents The Jim Stewart 400
Richmond International Raceway
4
0.723
[41]
28
September 2, 2007
Sharp AQUOS 500
California Speedway
2
1.868
[42]
29
September 8, 2007
Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Richmond International Raceway
1
3.007
[43]
30
October 21, 2007
Subway 500
Martinsville Speedway
4
Caution
[44]
31
October 28, 2007
Pep Boys Auto 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
6
Caution
[45]
32
November 4, 2007
Dickies 500
Texas Motor Speedway
8
0.944
[46]
33
November 11, 2007
Checker Auto Parts 500
Phoenix International Raceway
6
0.870
[47]
34
April 12, 2008
2008 †
Subway Fresh Fit 500
Phoenix International Raceway
7
7.002
[12]
35
July 27, 2008
Brickyard 400
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
1
0.332
[48]
36
August 31, 2008
Pepsi 500
Auto Club Speedway
1
2.076
[49]
37
September 7, 2008
Chevy Rock & Roll 400
Richmond International Raceway
3
0.365
[50]
38
September 28, 2008
Camping World RV 400
Kansas Speedway
1
0.280
[51]
39
October 19, 2008
Tums QuikPak 500
Martinsville Speedway
1
0.708
[52]
40
November 9, 2008
Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
Phoenix International Raceway
1
0.295
[53]
41
March 29, 2009
2009 †
Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
9
0.774
[54]
42
May 31, 2009
Autism Speaks 400
Dover International Speedway
8
0.861
[55]
43
July 26, 2009
Brickyard 400
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
16
0.400
[56]
44
September 27, 2009
AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
1
1.970
[57]
45
October 11, 2009
Pepsi 500
Auto Club Speedway
3
1.603
[58]
46
October 17, 2009
NASCAR Banking 500
Lowe's Motor Speedway
1
2.303
[59]
47
November 15, 2009
Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
Phoenix International Raceway
3
1.033
[60]
48
February 21, 2010
2010 †
Auto Club 500
Auto Club Speedway
7
1.523
[61]
49
February 28, 2010
Shelby American
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
20
1.874
[62]
50
March 21, 2010
Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
4
0.894
[63]
51
June 20, 2010
Toyota/Save Mart 350
Infineon Raceway
2
3.105
[64]
52
June 27, 2010
Lenox Industrial Tools 301
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
10
0.753
[65]
53
September 26, 2010
AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
1
2.637
[66]
54
April 17, 2011
2011
Aaron's 499
Talladega Superspeedway
2
0.002
[13]
55
October 9, 2011
Hollywood Casino 400
Kansas Speedway
19
0.548
[67]
56
May 12, 2012
2012
Bojangles' Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
2
0.781
[68]
57
June 3, 2012
FedEx 400
Dover International Speedway
2
2.550
[69]
58
July 29, 2012
Crown Royal Presents the Curtiss Shaver 400
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
6
4.758
[70]
59
October 28, 2012
Tums Fast Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
1
0.478
[71]
60
November 4, 2012
AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
1
0.808
[72]
61
February 24, 2013
2013 †
Daytona 500
Daytona International Speedway
9
0.129
[73]
62
April 7, 2013
STP Gas Booster 500
Martinsville Speedway
1
0.627
[74]
63
June 9, 2013
Party in the Poconos 400
Pocono Raceway
1
1.208
[75]
64
July 6, 2013
Coke Zero 400
Daytona International Speedway
8
0.107
[76]
65
September 29, 2013
AAA 400
Dover International Speedway
8
0.446
[77]
66
November 3, 2013
AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
3
4.390
[78]
67
May 25, 2014
2014
Coca-Cola 600
Charlotte Motor Speedway
1
1.272
[79]
68
June 1, 2014
FedEx 400
Dover International Speedway
4
0.885
[80]
69
June 15, 2014
Quicken Loans 400
Michigan International Speedway
7
1.214
[81]
70
November 2, 2014
AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
3
0.513
[82]
71
March 1, 2015
2015
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
37
1.802
[83]
72
April 11, 2015
Duck Commander 500
Texas Motor Speedway
5
1.107
[84]
73
May 9–10, 2015
SpongeBob SquarePants 400
Kansas Speedway
19
0.487
[85]
74
May 31, 2015
FedEx 400
Dover International Speedway
14
0.435
[86]
75
November 8, 2015
AAA Texas 500
Texas Motor Speedway
8
1.082
[87]
76
February 28, 2016
2016 †
Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500
Atlanta Motor Speedway
19
Caution
[88]
77
March 20, 2016
Auto Club 400
Auto Club Speedway
19
0.772
[89]
78
October 9, 2016
Bank of America 500
Charlotte Motor Speedway
11
1.474
[90]
79
October 30, 2016
Goody's Fast Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
3
1.291
[91]
80
November 20, 2016
Ford EcoBoost 400
Homestead-Miami Speedway
14
0.466
[92]
81
April 9, 2017
2017
O'Reilly Auto Parts 500
Texas Motor Speedway
24
0.340
[93]
82
April 24, 2017
Food City 500
Bristol Motor Speedway
11
1.199
[94]
83
June 4, 2017
AAA 400 Drive for Autism
Dover International Speedway
14
Caution
[95]
Close
Busch Series
In NASCAR's second-level series, variously known as the Busch Series, and Nationwide Series during Johnson's driving career and now as the Xfinity Series , Johnson won a single race, the 2001 Sam's Club Presents the Hills Brothers Coffee 300 at Chicagoland Speedway . That win occurred during the period in which Anheuser-Busch 's Busch beer brand was series sponsor.[9]
More information No., Date ...
Close
Number of wins at different tracks
The ‡ symbol indicates Johnson won at a track twice in a calendar year.
More information No., Track ...
No.
Track
Years won
Wins
1
Dover International Speedway
2002‡ , 2005, 2009‡ , 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
11
2
Martinsville Speedway
2004, 2006, 2007‡ , 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2016
9
3
Charlotte Motor Speedway
2003, 2004‡ , 2005‡ , 2009, 2014, 2016
8
4
Texas Motor Speedway
2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015‡ , 2017
7
5
Auto Club Speedway
2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016
6
6
Atlanta Motor Speedway
2004, 2007‡ , 2015, 2016
5
7
Indianapolis Motor Speedway
2006, 2008, 2009, 2012
4
8
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
2005, 2006, 2007, 2010
9
Phoenix International Raceway
2007, 2008‡ , 2009
10
Daytona International Speedway
2006, 2013‡
3
11
Darlington Raceway
2004‡ , 2012
12
Kansas Speedway
2008, 2011, 2015
13
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
2003‡ , 2010
14
Richmond International Raceway
2007‡ , 2008
15
Pocono Raceway
2004‡ , 2013
16
Bristol Motor Speedway
2010, 2017
2
17
Talladega Superspeedway
2006, 2011
18
Chicagoland Speedway
2001
1
19
Homestead–Miami Speedway
2016
20
Michigan International Speedway
2014
21
Sonoma Raceway
2010
Total number of race wins:
84
Sources:[7] [9] [11]
Close