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48 reasons to love Jimmie Johnson
By Steve Luvender | Published: October 27, 2020 49
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In celebration of the end of Jimmie Johnson's full-time NASCAR career, we assembled 48 of our favorite reasons we love about Driver No. 48.
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Before NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson raced off-road trucks, and we think that's super cool.
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He also experienced a bit of off-roading in stock cars, too, like this excursion into the Turn 1 barrier at Watkins Glen in the Xfinity Series.
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In his path to NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson was the protege of Jeff Gordon. Ever heard of him?
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Jimmie's got the best beard in NASCAR. And maybe even beyond NASCAR.
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He's a two-time Daytona 500 champion, first winning in 2006.
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When he won "The Great American Race" again in 2013 ...
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... he celebrated in the most 2013 way possible: with a Harlem Shake video.
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His dog, Charlie Meatball, is one of our favorite NASCAR pets ever.
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His family's always got his back.
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The "I'm far from done JA" tweet was nothing short of iconic.
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Chandra and Jimmie Johnson's charitable organization, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, "is dedicated to assisting children, families and communities in need throughout the United States." We love it.
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"I'm Jimmie Johnson. Boom, confetti! I'm Jimmie Johnson. Boom, confetti!" Best commercial ever.
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He made a cameo on NBC's show, Superstore.
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He also made a cameo in the 2005 film, Herbie: Fully Loaded.
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We're surprised by these on-screen cameos, considering he's not exactly well-versed when it comes to popular movies.
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Jimmie Johnson is a fitness superstar.
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He ran the Boston Marathon in 2019, completing with a time of 3 hours and 9 minutes.
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He's a good teammate. For example, he pushed an out-of-fuel Chase Elliott back to the pits after Elliott scored his first career victory at Watkins Glen in 2018.
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After winning his fourth consecutive championship in 2009, he was named Male Athlete of the Year in 2009 by the Associated Press.
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Jimmie Johnson: noted fashion icon and Gap model.
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We always loved his patriotic paint schemes.
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He's on iRacing! More like Jim eJohnson.
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Even though it's been a bit of a learning curve at first, we're happy to get our Jimmie fix in the virtual world.
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His throwback paint scheme at Darlington last year, a nod to his off-road truck roots, was sick.
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He even shaved his beard to go full-on throwback.
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Impressively, he finished every lap of every race in his career at his home track, Auto Club Speedway. In 26 races dating back to 2002, that's 5,906 laps -- and he led the field for 17% of them.
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Not to mention his six wins at home, too.
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He won one of the craziest finishes ever at Talladega in 2011 with a push from Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a four-wide battle to the finish.
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Two words: Rainbow wigs.
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The home of the rainbow wigs, Dover International Speedway, has been Jimmie's playground -- he's scored 11 victories at the Monster Mile.
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Jimmie always knows the time thanks to his nine Martinsville grandfather clocks.
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Jimmie Johnson won his first NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2006.
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And then followed it up with another Cup in 2007.
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He tied Cale Yarborough's record of three consecutive with another NASCAR Cup Series championship in 2008.
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And then broke Yarborough's record with his fourth in a row in 2009.
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Five. In. A. Row.
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After two years of letting others have a turn, Jimmie claimed his sixth title in 2013.
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And, of course, that seventh NASCAR Cup Series trophy Jimmie earned in 2016 after a gutsy drive in the championship race.
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We feel a little bad for the time Dale Jr. leaked the secret announcement of Jimmie's restaurant -- but at least Dale had good intentions.
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In 2018, Jimmie swapped rides with Formula 1 champ Fernando Alonso. What is this, a crossover episode?
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He had an impressive run with crew chief Chad Knaus, making for arguably the most successful pair in NASCAR history -- 17 years, more than 80 wins, and seven championships.
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That time he hitched a ride with Dale Jr. at Talladega in 2012.
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He's the series leader with 652 consecutive starts, never missing a race since his 2002 rookie season.
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He can double-entendre like a champ. (Maybe that's because he is a champ. Times seven.)
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We loved his performance in the famous "Burnt Rubbèr" commercial from Sunoco.
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Some might say he doesn't get the recognition he deserves.
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After an incredible career, he's giving us #OneFinalTime.
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And, really, the fact that it's tough to keep our list confined to just 48 reasons we love Driver No. 48 is a reason on its own. Simply put, Jimmie Johnson is a legendary racer and a legendary man.