Jimmie Johnson isn’t ready to completely hang up his helmet just yet.
The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion driver for Hendrick Motorsports and now Legacy Motor Club co-owner announced Wednesday that he’ll strap into a race car at least one more time.
The occasion?
The Cup Series’ inaugural trip to San Diego’s Naval Base Coronado, set for June 21, 2026.
Why Is Jimmie Johnson Returning To Race In San Diego?
Since 2020, his last season as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, Jimmie Johnson has made just 14 Cup starts — all with the Legacy Motor Club outfit he joined as a co-owner and helped rebrand at the end of 2022.
In those 14 starts, Johnson has posted just one top-10 finish. But it was a big one. The now-50-year-old driver placed third at this year’s Daytona 500, driving a No. 84 Toyota fielded by his own organization.
How competitive Johnson will be at Naval Base Coronado, a temporary street course expected to be roughly three miles in length, is anyone’s best guess. After all, only one of his 83 career Cup Series wins has come on a circuit where drivers turn both left and right.
But Johnson couldn’t resist the allure of jumping behind the wheel at the San Diego Naval base, which is only about a 20-minute drive from his hometown of El Cajon, California.
The event will be NASCAR Cup Series start No. 701 for Johnson, who made his series debut in 2001 before going full-time Cup racing the next season.
“Growing up just miles from San Diego, I dreamed about racing here in a NASCAR vehicle someday,” Johnson, who made just two starts in 2025, said in a Legacy Motor Club team press release. “But I never thought it would be possible. I just came to the realization that there would be no way NASCAR could race in that city — as there would be nowhere to put a track.”
Jimmie Johnson’s Ties To The San Diego Area Run Deep
Jimmie Johnson, one of just three seven-time Cup Series champions, called it “mind-blowing” to be able to race so close to his old stomping grounds.
“To come back home, compete in front of my community, the military, my family, and friends, and do it with (primary sponsor) Carvana and Legacy Motor Club, this is one of those full-circle experiences I will never forget,” Johnson said. “It’s a lifelong dream.”
Legacy Motor Club hasn’t unveiled the paint scheme Johnson’s No. 84 will carry during the inaugural NASCAR San Diego Weekend. But the organization plans to release images of the car in the near future.
“When I think about everything this sport has given me and where it all started, being able to race in San Diego at this level feels like my career has come full circle,” Johnson said. “Starting out on two wheels racing motorcycles throughout the West Coast and now being able to race on four in the same region is something I never thought I would see.
“Additionally, my grandparents were military and are buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery nearby the base. So, it’s an honor to race there. This is going to be very special.”
