Johnson Nears No. 700 After Making Daytona 500 Field

Jimmie Johnson (HHP/Chris Owens photo)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – For what might be the final time, Jimmie Johnson will run the Daytona 500 and have a shot at securing his third Harley J. Earl Trophy.

Johnson will start 40th in Sunday’s Great American Race after clinching a spot in the starting lineup via his time trial lap, doing so Wednesday night before smartly conserving his car in Thursday’s Duel qualifying race.

Wednesday night saw the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion lock into the 67th Daytona 500 with a time of 49.783 seconds (180.785 mph) around Daytona Int’l Speedway, second among open cars only to Martin Truex Jr.’s 49.641-second (181.302 mph) clip.

Considering recent history, it came as a surprise for the Toyota drivers, as they haven’t been strong in qualifying during the Next Gen era, saving their better performances for the Duels and the ‘500’ itself.

That was evident in Thursday’s Duels, as 23XI Racing Toyota driver Bubba Wallace won the first Duel and the Legacy Motor Club trio of Johnson, Erik Jones, and John Hunter Nemechek all ran strong, with Jones finishing second in the latter Duel in a photo finish with Austin Cindric.

But even more importantly for Johnson and Legacy Motor Club, this weekend’s race will be the 699th career Cup Series start for the legend, who enters 2025 with just two races on his schedule.

His only other race will be the site of his first start in the Cup Series back in 2001, Charlotte Motor Speedway during the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600, which Johnson has won four times.

It leads to an interesting question ahead of Sunday’s Daytona 500: could these be the final hurrahs for the 83-time Cup Series winner? Could 2025 see Johnson ride off into the sunset for good?

He’s now the principal owner of the team which used to belong to another seven-time Cup Series champion in Richard Petty, and the fact that he only put two races on his schedule this season seems very purposeful.

Johnson spoke to that fact during Daytona 500 Media Day on Wednesday.

“The time it takes to be prepared and do (the driving piece) right is something I overlooked running nine races last year,” said Johnson. “I’ve been living out of the country, a chance for my family to live abroad, and when I was a minority owner of the team it was easier to do. Now with my new position, it’s becoming much harder.

“I’m really staying focused on the growth of the team, our partners, prospects, OEM, management, and drivers, so it’s really tough to give the driving piece a chance right now outside of the two I am doing.”

Charlotte in May would mark Johnson’s 700th Cup Series start, a threshold only 20 drivers before him in NASCAR history have ever reached.

If this year is it, while the way Johnson will go out certainly won’t be the same as it was when he retired after the end of the 2020 season, this time could be even more sentimental.

It will mark the end of a storied career the likes of which the sport may never see again with the current rules and playoff structure. Mind you, that’s not anywhere near official at this point, but Johnson isn’t focusing on a potential future right now.

He’s focused on the moment, which comes in the 67th Daytona 500 behind the wheel of a fast No. 84 Carvana Toyota Camry XSE which contended up front for part of his Duel qualifier.

“I’m looking forward to running more laps – getting a good feel for the Carvana Camry. A strong performance in the Duel is good, and we are eager to get off to a quick start (as a team),” Johnson noted late Thursday night. “We know for our full-time cars that a good finish in these first four or five weeks really sets you up for a strong season and gives us a nice look at the playoffs.

“Of course, we want to win the Daytona 500, and it would mean the world to me as a driver or an owner to win it, but we are also very focused on the long game this year.”

Johnson and Legacy Motor Club will pursue a Daytona 500 win Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. ET, with live coverage of the Great American Race on FOX, the Motor Racing Network, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.