Jimmie Johnson prepares for the first of his two starts in 2025 with Sunday’s 67th DAYTONA 500. (Photo: Donald Jenney | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In any form of sports, it is a rarity having an athlete with the caliber of Jimmie Johnson still competing and controlling their destiny. All too often, the narrative for a great like Johnson reflects on the decline than the current moments.
Johnson’s latest chapter is more than just reminding the critics of his past accolades with 83 NASCAR Cup Series wins and seven championships. It is about leading the fray for a fledgling, promising organization in LEGACY Motor Club.
After the first practice session for the 67th DAYTONA 500, Johnson reflected on his team’s reshuffling ahead of the 2025 Cup season.
“On the competition side, we’ve really restructured, reorganized the department, and you don’t have a choice, but we started in the late spring of 2024 and started making changes, evolving and ultimately trying to recruit individuals to our company,” Johnson said during Wednesday’s Media Day. “That process is tough, on top of people who are available, on top of contracts and when they’re going to be free and come and work for us. So really, mid-November, maybe even the first of December, we had everyone in-house that we recruited. So, there’s been various steps along the way with people coming in.”
As Johnson highlighted, the progress toward excellence is not an overnight process. Still, there is promise with a catalyst who oversees the new direction Johnson desires for his teams.
“I’d say Jacob Cantor (director of competition) was probably the earliest one to come in and his presence, trying to put processes into place and organize the competition department,” he shared. “He at least got a head start on it. We’re still playing catch up and we’re not totally where we want to be, but we’ve made a lot of massive steps forward.
“Being able to go to the track now and finding out where we sit is really important, but with that, we have two (superspeedway) races and a road course (to start the season), so we still have a month before we can fairly evaluate ourselves.”
It is fair to say that the LEGACY Motor Club organization is firing on all cylinders during this DAYTONA Speedweeks. Johnson comfortably made the race on time on Wednesday night, a contrast to the dramatic moments in last year’s DAYTONA Duels to just make the field.
Preparing to make his 41st Cup start in Daytona, Johnson knows he has a ways to go and is thankful for the new support surrounding him so he can focus on the tasks at hand.
Jimmie Johnson showcased some competitive swagger ahead of the 67th DAYTONA 500. (Photo: Donald Jenney | The Podium Finish)
“I’m learning my way and trying to surround myself with people who have deep experience in the sport, deep business experience, legal experience,” Johnson offered. “Everything I can to make sure we’re smart and taking the right next steps. But there’s a lot in play and even with all of the stuff that might seem negative in some respect, I still feel our sport is as strongest as it’s been in a long time.
“As we went out to find a private equity party and land Knighthead Capital, the excitement at looking at NASCAR and the excitement around live sports, there’s a lot here and hopefully, we can work through these issues and get the drag on our sport’s trajectory up, out of it, and continue to climb.”
Of course, Johnson, focused on the managerial and operational aspect of LEGACY Motor Club, still has that itch to clamber behind the wheel beyond the competition standpoint. However, he is deliberate with his approach from a logistical standpoint.
“It’s nice to be back in the car, but I find, especially last year, to be prepped and ready like I need to, I just didn’t have the time,” he said. “There’s so much to focus on and work through. We’re trying to recruit, build. We had the recruitment of Knighthead Capital and everything that went with that. I just couldn’t be as prepared as I wanted to, and Daytona is different. There’s very little driver preparation required. So, I’m relieved at that aspect, but I think that at least in the short term, I just need to run less races as a result.
“There’s more work for me to do on a race weekend with partners, prospects, crew members, drivers, crew chiefs than the advantage of a running a third car all the time, especially with nine races last year. And so, with this year, we have two (races). I’m not sure what next year will look like. I know I’ll at least be in this race next year. But we’ll see how we evolve as a company and if it makes sense. I feel I’ll need to chase my desire in driving the car, as that’s still very much there, through IMSA or sportscar racing or classic car racing as we move forward here.”
Perhaps Johnson’s efforts have that extra motivation from an NBA legend who collaborated with him on his No. 84’s wrap. With basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal and Johnson working together through some witty social media content, the crossover between motorsports and basketball continues with incredible potential.
Jimmie Johnson and Shaquille O’Neal hope to find some (Orlando) Magic ahead of the 67th DAYTONA 500. (Photo: Donald Jenney | The Podium Finish)
“Yeah and the All-Star event is Sunday after the NASCAR event. TNT and FOX are collaborating and working together with planned interaction back-and-forth,” Johnson said. “And of course, we’d love to have Shaq here, but with the eyeballs and added exposure, this will have more reach as you’ll have the two networks and different fanbases (watching) and should be really, really good.”
Those fanbases may see Johnson back on the track more if the opportunities are right for the NASCAR Hall of Fame racer and his team.
“I would consider a few more. The time it takes to be prepared and do it right is something I overlooked running nine races,” he lamented. “I’ve been living out of the country, a chance for my family to live abroad, as a minority owner of the team, it was easier to do.
“Now with my new position, it’s becoming much harder. So, staying focused on the growth of the team, our partners, prospects, OEM, management, drivers. It’s really tough to give the driving piece a chance right now.”
