Page 80 - 2019_NPPG_digital copy

JIMMIE JOHNSON

Birth Date: September 17, 1975 Hometown: El Cajon, CA
Team: No. 48 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 / Hendrick Motorsports

Although he won three races in 2017, a 10th-place finish in the Monster
Energy NASCAR Cup Series was not what anyone, especially Jimmie
2018 featured drivers But to follow it up with a winless campaign last year, was downright
Johnson, expected.

shocking.

So, Johnson will start over this year with a new sponsor and a new
crew chief. FOLLOW ONLINE

Gone is Lowe’s and Chad Knaus, the only sponsor and crew chief
Johnson has known since joining Hendrick Motorsports in 2002.
Together they won 83 races and seven championships, only to struggle, @JIMMIEJOHNSON @JimmieJohnson
if not suffer, through a dismal 2018 season.
jimmiejohnson.com JimmieJohnson
“It’s time for us to move on and have a new project and have new
people to work with, but he’s my brother — there’s just no way around
it,” Johnson said. the Camaro.
Car owner Rick Hendrick decided at midseason to shake up his crew Also hampering the car’s development were the retirements of
chief lineup. It was a difficult decision, but one that had to be made. veterans Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. at HMS. They were
replaced by youngsters Chase Elliott and William Byron. Elliott was
“Chad and Jimmie will go down as one of the greatest combinations in 21 when he moved up to the Cup series level, while Byron was only
sports history,” Hendrick said. “They defied the odds by performing at a 20, and both were equally distracted by the nuances of being at the
championship level for longer than anyone could’ve possibly imagined. Cup series level as getting their cars up to speed.
What they’ve accomplished together has been absolutely remarkable
and will be celebrated for generations. This has been an incredible, “I know in time, we’ll get there,” Johnson said. “I want to be there
storybook run.” right now. I think we’re seeing some good steps and good strides.
Until I’m the lead Chevy I just need to keep my blinders on.”
Knaus, who will move over to William Byron’s car at Hendrick, admitted
his long and successful relationship had run its course, prompting the Johnson had 224 career top-five finishes, but only two came in
need for a change. Like Johnson, he also vowed their relationship will 2018. A driver with five or more wins in 10 different seasons, his two
never be affected by one off-year. best finishes a year ago were a third at the spring race at Bristol
and the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. It’s
“It was an awful year,” Knaus said. “It was the worst year ever. I’ve unfathomable to think Johnson didn’t have a single top-five finish in
never raced a year in my life and not won something. There’s a hell of a the final 23 races.
lot more that we have succeeded (at) than what we haven’t.
While changes were inevitable, any idea of Johnson retiring never
“So to win the races we’ve won and be able to win championships and was considered.
be in each other’s weddings and see the kids grow up — all that stuff
means way more than going one season without winning a race.” “Change is good,” Johnson said. “No one is ever really in the same
place. You’re either growing together or growing apart. I think this is
Johnson, a 43-year-old seven-time Cup series champion, will regroup a change in the right direction.
with crew chief Kevin Meendering, who worked atop the pit box last
year in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Elliott Sadler at JR Motorsports. “I’m not expecting anybody to say, ‘Oh, poor Jimmie Johnson.’
He also will carry the colors of Ally Financial as the primary sponsor. But I would ask people not to think that I’ve had enough and am
ready to throw in the towel or that I don’t care or don’t want it. That’s
Johnson and Meendering will have the experience of having one year just unfair.
with the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Chevrolet dropped the SS model after
2017, and teams struggled across the board to adjust to “Anybody who knows me knows that I’m the opposite.”

80 THE OFFICIAL NASCAR 2019 PREVIEW & PRESS GUIDE