DAYTONA BEACH配资实盘网, Fla. (AP) Jimmie Johnson plans to end his illustrious NASCAR Cup Series career at the 2027 Daytona 500.
The seven-time Cup champion announced Saturday, the day before the 68th running of The Great American Race, that he will enter one additional Daytona 500 before calling it a career. He wants to continue racing in other series, maybe even in other NASCAR events, but wont return to stock cars premier level again.
Ive been fortunate to accomplish more than I ever imagined in this sport, said Johnson, a two-time Daytona 500 champion who finished third in the 2025 season opener. The last six years have given me the freedom to choose where I compete and, more importantly, the clarity to understand where Im needed most. I am going to focus all of my energy on leading and building a world-class organization.
The 50-year-old Johnson is the majority owner of Legacy Motor Club, which fields full-time Cup rides for Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson has two more national series races scheduled beyond Daytona this year in the Truck and Cup series in San Diego near his hometown.
The No. 84 entry that Johnson will drive Sunday for the 15th time since his retirement from full-time racing will become the teams third full-time entry next year. Legacy already purchased a third charter from Rick Ware Racing, the last one sold before a federal lawsuit settlement involving two teams and NASCAR upped the price significantly.
That seemingly leaves Johnson driving next year at Daytona in a yet-to-be-determined number after racing his entire career in either the No. 48 or its transposed counterpart.
Johnson walked away from his full-time gig at powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports after the 2020 season. He stepped down after 83 Cup victories and a record-tying seven series titles over 19 years.
He spent more time with his family and embraced the opportunity to design a less-demanding schedule. He competed in the IndyCar Series for two seasons (2021-22), became a partial owner at Legacy and drove in a number of bucket list items like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 at Daytona and an Unlimited Hydroplane at Seafair. He earned Indianapolis 500 rookie of the year honors in 2022.
He is making his 23rd start in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, having won in 2006 and 2013.
Its the only race you get a title, Johnson said earlier this week. I was fortunate to experience that. You leave here and anything you do, you got a title. I never had a title in my life. That speaks to the importance of the race, the magnitude of the race, the history behind it all.
You get a title and you get reminded of it every time youre introduced.
He considers that first Daytona 500 victory a turning point in his career. It kickstarted the first of five consecutive championships that made him the face of the series even while competing against Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart.
And it came after crew chief Chad Knaus was kicked out of the Daytona 500 and suspended two more races because of an illegal car adjustment.
A lot of growth took place in that offseason, said Johnson, who finished fifth in the 2005 standings. In theory, we bought into what we wanted to be. And then with Chad being sent home, Shoot, now we got to live it.
It really was that fortifying moment us. It forced a lot of us to step up instead of just looking at Chad and saying, All right, man, fix it. We all had so much more responsibility and skin in the game. We became a more efficient, effective, stronger team as a result. When I look back, that winter and then him being suspended were the most pivotal moment in the 48 team.
Its been 20 years since that seminal moment, and Johnson even with one retirement in the rearview mirror and another one on the horizon has a hard time believing the milestone.
How has it been that long? Johnson said. I dont think Im any more mature. I certainly have a lot more gray. Its just wild how fast time goes by.
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AP auto racing:
美联社佛罗里达州戴托纳比奇电 —— 吉米·约翰逊计划在2027年戴托纳500赛事后，结束其辉煌的NASCAR杯系列赛职业生涯。
这位七届杯赛冠军于周六宣布，在被誉为“美国伟大赛事”的第68届戴通纳500开赛前一天，他将再参加一次该赛事后正式退役。他表示未来会继续参与其他系列赛，甚至可能参加纳斯卡的其他比赛，但不会再回归赛车最高级别赛事。
“我很幸运能在这项运动中取得超乎想象的成就，”两届戴通纳500冠军、2025赛季揭幕战季军得主约翰逊表示，“过去六年让我能够自由选择参赛地点，更重要的是，让我更清楚地认识到自己最需要出现在哪里。我将全力以赴，专注于领导并打造一支世界一流的团队。”
现年50岁的约翰逊是Legacy Motor Club的大股东，该俱乐部为埃里克·琼斯和约翰·亨特·内梅切克提供全职杯赛参赛服务。今年除了代托纳站外，约翰逊还将在其家乡附近的圣地亚哥参加两场全国系列赛——卡车系列赛和杯系列赛。
约翰逊自退役全职赛车后，本周日将第15次驾驶84号赛车参赛。这辆赛车明年将成为车队的第三辆全职参赛车辆。莱格西车队已从里克·威尔车队购得第三张特许经营权，这是涉及两支车队与NASCAR的联邦诉讼和解前售出的最后一张特许证，该和解协议导致价格大幅上涨。
这意味着约翰逊在职业生涯中一直使用48号或其变体号码参赛后，明年将在戴托纳站驾驶一个尚未确定的号码出赛。
约翰逊在2020赛季结束后离开了他在强队亨德里克赛车运动公司的全职工作。他在19年的职业生涯中赢得了83次杯赛胜利，并追平纪录地获得了7个系列赛冠军，随后选择退役。
他将更多时间留给家人，并借此机会调整了更为宽松的行程安排。在2021至2022赛季参加印地赛车系列赛期间，他不仅成为Legacy车队的部分所有者，还完成了多项人生目标赛事——包括勒芒24小时耐力赛、戴通纳24小时耐力赛以及西雅图海洋节无限水上飞机竞速赛。2022年，他更荣膺印第安纳波利斯500大赛最佳新秀称号。
本周日，他将第23次出战戴通纳500大赛，此前他曾在2006年和2013年两度夺冠。
“这是唯一一场能让你获得头衔的比赛，”约翰逊本周早些时候表示。“我很幸运能亲身体验。离开这里后，无论你做什么，你都会拥有一个头衔。我这辈子从未有过头衔。这说明了这场比赛的重要性、它的重大意义以及背后的历史渊源。”
你获得了一个头衔，而每次被介绍时，这个头衔都会被提及。
他将首次赢得戴通纳500的胜利视为职业生涯的转折点。这场胜利开启了连续五次夺冠的序幕，使他在与小戴尔·恩哈特、杰夫·戈登和托尼·斯图尔特等强手角逐时，仍成为该系列赛的标志性人物。
此前，车队主管查德·克瑙斯因违规调整赛车被逐出戴通纳500赛事，并追加禁赛两场。
“那个休赛期我们成长了许多，”2005赛季排名第五的约翰逊说道，“理论上，我们认同了自己想要成为的样子。但随着查德被送回家，‘该死，现在我们必须真正践行这一切了。’”
那确实是我们团队凝聚人心的关键时刻。它迫使许多人挺身而出，而不仅仅是看着查德说：‘好吧，伙计，你来搞定。’我们每个人都承担了更多责任，与团队休戚与共。正因如此，我们成了一支更高效、更有力、更强大的团队。回首往事，那个冬天以及随后他被停职的事件，成为了48号团队最关键的转折点。
自那个开创性时刻以来已过去20年，约翰逊——尽管已经历一次退休，另一次也近在眼前——仍难以相信这一里程碑。
“居然已经过去这么久了？”约翰逊说道，“我并不觉得自己变得更成熟了，但白发确实多了不少。时间飞逝的速度真是令人难以置信。”
美联社赛车新闻：配资实盘网
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