Jimmie Johnson is a legendary man of NASCAR – a sport which he knows by the pulse. Since Johnson’s rookie season in 2000, Johnson’s achievements in NASCAR’s highest level have been endless. From clinching 83 wins at 20 different race tracks, including crown jewel events, to fetching 7 Cup Series championships, Johnson’s laurels are immense. You would think such a man is invincible in any kind of situation. Well, he is, on the racetrack – but off of it, it is a different story.
Since his retirement from full-time competition in 2016, Jimmie Johnson has hardly stopped his pursuits. Dabbling in other disciplines like IndyCar and the British GT3 Series, Johnson has expanded his knowledge in racing. However, his off-racing pursuit turned awry at one time.
Jimmie Johnson got hurt off-track
Well, the star-studded NASCAR racer has encountered accidents many times. In 2000, a 24-year-old rookie Jimmie Johnson saw his life flash before his eyes when his brakes failed in an Xfinity race. At a time when SAFER walls were not yet in use, his car slammed into the steel wall head-first. Luckily, he could get away from that mishap safe and sound. Fast forward to 2011, during the same weekend when Dan Wheldon lost his life in an IndyCar race in Las Vegas, Johnson again faced an accident. His car hit headfirst into the walls of Charlotte and briefly lifted its wheels off the ground; Johnson could walk away with next-day soreness.
As is evident, Jimmie Johnson is well-versed in the high-octane, nerve-racking arena of motorsports. But he is equally inept in the more peaceful, stick-and-ball sport of golf. In a recent episode of ‘Never Settle’, Marty Smith asked the champion about his most painful incident. And ironically, it was not anywhere close to the racetrack – but a golf course. Johnson said, “The golf cart incident, without a doubt. I mean, how it wasn’t a compound fracture on my wrist is beyond me. I thought I knocked my teeth out. I did not really brace myself…I got my hand down, and my wrist snapped. But I hit my face on the edge of the golf cart path, like the grass.”
This spine-chilling ordeal is comparable to a frightful car wreck any day. That was hardly the end of it, as Jimmie Johnson recalled the painful consequences: “What I did feel was massive pain in my face, and when I stood up and tried to feel if I still had teeth in my mouth, my hand was drooping, and I could not put my fingers to my mouth. I looked, and I could see the bones pushing up through my skin. And then, the series of mistakes I made after that continued to make the pain worse and worse, for months and months and months.”
Jimmie Johnson certainly knows a thing or two about dealing with sports accidents. What he also knows is how to avoid legal injury to his team.
Planning for the future in advance
Well, contemplation about the future is always a good thing. It is the best thing to do when your NASCAR Cup Series team is embroiled in a lawsuit with millions of dollars at stake. That is what Jimmie Johnson and his team, Legacy Motor Club, are in the middle of currently, facing off against Rick Ware and his team, RWR. The issue sprang from a disagreement in the dates of transfer of RWR’s charter to LMC. With another party, T.J. Puchyr, slated to purchase Ware’s team, the legal complications of the case are growing worse. Despite the uncertain nature of the lawsuit, Johnson is preparing for the future nonetheless.
Rumors are adrift about which driver will enter LMC after its expansion into three cars. Corey Heim is a big prospect, as NASCAR fans are already narrowing down the options on him. Jimmie Johnson hinted at recruiting someone like him recently: “When you look through the Xfinity Series, Connor Zilisch, Jesse Love. I think you also look through the garage area in the Cup Series, and there’s some young talent that took early steps to get into vehicles. So they’re just questions in my mind, especially wearing my team owner’s hat. We’re looking to expand to a third car and hope to announce some stuff here in the near future around that. But where to look, it’s tough.”
Although it is tough, you can count on Jimmie Johnson to get through the ordeal. Having faced brutal incidents in both golf and racing, Johnson can probably face anything at this point.
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