Drivers of the No. 84 through the years

By Zack Albert | Published: 11 Jan, 2023 17

Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

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Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images

Jimmie Johnson enters the next chapter of his stock-car career this season, heading into 2023 as a team co-owner and part-time driver. Details of that shift came into view Wednesday with the announcement of the newly branded Legacy Motor Club organization and the car No. 84 for his limited driving schedule.

The car number is a twist on the No. 48 that Johnson carried to seven Cup Series championships. He'll be the first to use the No. 84 in Cup Series competition in 12 years, prompting our look back at other drivers who have made their mark in the No. 84.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

The start of the first NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway takes the green flag in 1949. The distinction of the first pole position went to Kenneth Wagner, whose Lincoln is on the inside of the front row alongside Curtis Turner.

The New Jersey native made just nine Cup Series starts, but his final three appearances were in a No. 84 Ford in the 1956 season.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

Indiana native Red Duvall was another early campaigner of the No. 84, and he alternated with car number 87 in making eight starts in the 1950s. His best finish was third place in 1951 at Lakeview Speedway in Mobile, Ala.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Banjo Matthews made his mark as a prominent car builder, but his earliest years in the sport included driving duties. Matthews most often used No. 94 when behind the wheel but made five starts with No. 84 in the 1950s with his 1960 Ford, one of two cars he entered in the Daytona 500 NASCAR Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. Matthews drove a 1959 Ford Thunderbird in the event, while this 1960 Ford was assigned to Speedy Thompson to drive.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

Ernie Gahan hailed from Dover, N.H., and made just 11 Cup Series starts in his brief career. Two of those appearances were in the Daytona 500, and he gave car owner Rocky Hinton's No. 84 Ford a ride to 12th place in the 1962 edition.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

Car owner Rocky Hinton had another New Englander behind the wheel for the 1963 Daytona 500, putting Red Foote in the cockpit of this No. 84 Ford. Mechanical failure knocked Foote to a 29th-place finish. Seven of his 10 Cup starts were with the No. 84.

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Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Johnny Ray became part of Talladega Superspeedway lore with his pre-race tradition of carrying a large American flag behind one of his hallmark big rigs. The Alabama native also had a brief driving career in NASCAR, and two of his eight Cup Series starts came in a No. 84 Dodge during the 1974 season -- both at Talladega.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

Georgia racing legend Jody Ridley neared the end of his Cup Series career with the Robert McEntyre No. 84 Chevrolet team for a partial schedule in the 1983-84 seasons. Ridley finished 10th in the Daytona 500 in each season with the McEntyre team.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

Mike Alexander made 74 Cup Series starts from 1980-90, with eight of those appearances coming in the No. 84 for the Sims Brothers and Stavola Brothers teams. He also flew the No. 84 in Late Model competition, as seen in this archival photo from Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Fla.

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Racing Photo Archives | Getty Images

Dick Trickle made history by winning the NASCAR Cup Series' Rookie of the Year Award at age 48 in the 1989 season. The Midwestern short-track star did so in a bright gold No. 84 Buick from the Stavola Brothers shops.

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NASCAR Images & Archives | Getty Images

Veteran Bob Senneker made just eight Cup Series starts, but his first was a 13th-place finish in the 1968 Daytona 500, using his familiar No. 84. Senneker was a regular winner on the American Speed Association (ASA) circuit with his "bluebird" No. 84 a familiar sight.

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Jonathan Ferrey, Allsport | Getty Images

Shawna Robinson made eight Cup Series starts in her career, and her series debut came driving a No. 84 Ford owned by Michael Kranefuss in 2001. She placed 34th in her only start that season at Michigan International Speedway. Before Robinson's start, the No. 84 had been out of rotation since Trickle's final start with it in 1989.

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Darrell Ingham | Getty Images

Kyle Busch has 600-plus starts in the years since his big-league debut, but his first six Cup Series appearances were in a No. 84 Chevrolet from the Hendrick Motorsports stables in 2004. He moved full-time to the No. 5 Chevy for his rookie season the next year.

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Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images

The No. 84 was out of circulation in the Cup Series from 2005-06 but returned in 2007 with AJ Allmendinger and the Team Red Bull group. The two-car organization was part of Toyota's first season of Cup Series competition. Allmendinger spent the majority of two seasons in the No. 84 from 2007-08.

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Rusty Jarrett | Getty Images

Craftsman Truck Series champ Mike Skinner also took his turn behind the wheel of the No. 84 for the Red Bull group, making seven starts for the team in 2008.

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Geoff Burke | Getty Images

Scott Speed made his Cup Series debut for the Team Red Bull operation in 2008, steering the No. 84 Camry to a 30th-place finish at Martinsville Speedway. He made four starts total with the No. 84 but drove the majority of his Cup career with Red Bull's No. 82 team.

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Chris Graythen | Getty Images

Cole Whitt makes a pit stop at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the most recent Cup Series appearance by a car with No. 84 in the 2011 season finale. Whitt crashed out to a 37th-place result for Red Bull team owner Dietrich Mateschitz.

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Drivers of the No. 84 through the years