The Charlotte Motor Speedway holds a special place in the heart of Jimmie Johnson. After all, that was the track that handed him his NASCAR Cup Series debut in 2001. Since then, he has gone on to clinch seven wins at Charlotte, including four Coca-Cola 600 wins. Now, after 7 championships and 83 career wins, he is back this weekend at the historic mile-and-a-half track. And it is indeed a special moment for the veteran driver, making his 700th career start.
It is worth noting that Jimmie Johnson hasn’t seen victory lane since his victory at Dover Motor Speedway in 2017. So, for those hoping for a magical run at Charlotte that coincides with his 700th start, they need to keep their expectations in check. Not to forget, how brutal the Next Gen car has been for the driver, and his last two starts at the Coca-Cola 600 have ended in 37th and 29th-place finishes. Johnson himself is realistic about his chances this weekend, but he sure is going to try his best to get a solid result.
Johnson told Sports on Prime, “We’ll see. These guys do it all the time, make it look easy. I think a part-timer has a better shot at a superspeedway race versus a mile and a half, let alone this one. Thankfully this race is long and I’ll have a lot of time to figure stuff out. I’ve been in the simulator plenty, but there’s nothing like being in the real car, real track. Let’s have some fun in my Carvana Toyota and look forward to a fun day tomorrow.”
Well, things are tough for the veteran driver, and he understands that the longest NASCAR race of the season will push him to his limits. The good news for him is that LMC’s partnership with Toyota is finally delivering the goods. The intermediate speed on the Toyotas have been good for John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones. Nemechek has bagged two consecutive top 10s at Texas and Kansas. Jones also had a top 5 finish at Texas, so there is reason for optimism, if not a win, maybe a top 5 finish for Johnson.
“There’s nothing like being in the real car, on a real track.”@JimmieJohnson speaks ahead of his 700th career start.#NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/D84uQVOoV6
— Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) May 24, 2025
Jimmie Johnson acknowledged this positive change, “Yeah, that’s what we’re here for. Our cars have been getting better, just a huge thank you to Legacy Motor Club and all the hard work that’s going into it. We’re getting there, even the #42 and #43 will have great weekends. Erik showed a lot of speed there in his practice session. So we’ll see what happens.” Even Johnson bagged a P3 finish at Daytona 500 this year, and this was his best result in the Gen 7 car, so keep an eye out for the 7-time champ; he might catch everyone by surprise.
Well, the rumor mill was speculating that Johnson might call it quits after running his 700th NASCAR race. Signing off from his driver duties as a 7-time champion on the track where he made his debut. It sounds like a perfect way to bid goodbye, right? But the veteran driver has now popped this bubble ahead of the big race.
Jimmie Johnson puts the retirement rumors to rest
Johnson has been running part-time capacity with his own team. Last year, he competed in nine races, which was a big deal, especially in terms of developing the program and building the base with Toyota. While Jones and JHN are talented drivers, the team still lacks a face that represents their brand, and this is where Jimmie Johnson comes in clutch. Be it sponsorship or business decisions, he can have a massive influence on the team.
But when LMC announced that the veteran driver only has two races for 2025, something felt off, and that led to speculations about his future as a driver. Adding fuel to the fire was the post shared by the team’s social media handle, which dropped hints about Johnson’s retirement. But, the veteran driver has now come clean when asked about the video and the speculation surrounding his future.
“That’s hilarious, No, it;s just great editing, proud of our digital department, doing a great job. Last year, I ran nine races, it was a little too much for the organization. This year, I’m at two. Maybe we do a few more, so as we plan for next year, as long as it doesn’t take away from our full-time cars, we hope to run uncharted vehicle and have me in it and use that to develop talent. Rest assured, there’s more than 700 starts, I’m jumping up and down asking for more races than two.” The LMC driver said ahead of the Coca-Cola 600.
So the good news is that Johnson isn’t stepping away from racing, and it is clear that he wants to improve the performance of the entire team by working with Toyota.
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