Jimmie Johnson hasn’t competed full-time in NASCAR since retiring after the 2020 season, but the seven-time Cup Series champion has chosen a few races per year to compete.
The 50-year-old – who is tied with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. for the most Cup championships in the sport’s history – will compete in some of NASCAR’s most prestigious races in 2026.
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For the fourth consecutive season, Johnson will compete in the Daytona 500, the opening race of NASCAR’s iconic season. Johnson is entering the race using the Open Provisional Exemption, which NASCAR grants to “accomplished world-class drivers.” Last season, four-time Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves used the provisional to make his NASCAR debut.
A winner of 83 Cup Series races during his long career, Johnson posted his best finish in NASCAR competition since retiring from full-time racing in last year’s Daytona 500, finishing third. He has two victories on the iconic asphalt superspeedway, taking the checkered flag in 2006 and 2013.
Johnson will race for the team he owns, Legacy Motor Club, which also includes Cup Series drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Erik Jones. He will drive the No. 84 Toyota with a blue and yellow paint job with a Carvana sponsor plastered on the hood.
This won’t be the only time fans see Johnson in a race in 2026. The Southern California native will also compete in the Cup Series and Craftsman Truck Series races in San Diego at the Coronado Naval Base road course.
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“Growing up just a few miles from San Diego, I dreamed of racing here in a NASCAR vehicle one day, but I never thought it would be possible. I just realized there would be no way for NASCAR to race in this city – because there would be nowhere to put a track,” Johnson said in a statement. “So it’s just mind-blowing to me that NASCAR has made this a reality.”
NASCAR Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (84) enters the driver introduction stage to greet fans before the 2025 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Johnson made it official in November that it would compete in the Cup Series race in San Diego, but announced this week that it would also add Truck Series competition to its schedule. This will be only the second time in his motorsports career that he has competed in the Truck Series, most recently in 2008 at Bristol for a team that was owned by NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss. Johnson led 29 laps in that race before crashing and finishing 34th.
In the 16-turn, 3.4-mile street circuit along the San Diego waterfront, Johnson will drive for Tricon Garage. The team has four Truck Series drivers piloting Toyotas, including 2025 champion Cory Heim. Toni Breidinger – another California native who was the only woman to compete in one of the NASCAR races top three full-time touring tracks last year – he also races for Tricon.
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“Racing in San Diego means everything to me – it’s home,” Johnson said. “Getting behind the wheel of a Truck Series has been on my mind for a while. The competition is incredible, and participating in a historic street race on a Navy base in my hometown? That’s special.”
Johnson hasn’t won a NASCAR race since taking the checkered flag at Dover in 2017.
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Jimmie Johnson returning to NASCAR for 2026 Daytona and San Diego races
