Jimmie Johnson has done it all: NASCAR, INDYCAR and off-road racing, among other forms of motorsports.
What’s next for the NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time Cup Series champ? Driving a Trophy Truck in the Mint 400 on March 8.
“I’ve always wanted to go back. I thought maybe short-course racing would be that kind of reentry point,” Johnson, who drove in the 2026 Daytona 500, said about why he’s set to drive a Trophy Truck next month on the latest edition of “SPEED With Harvick And Burton.”
“I grew up racing with the Herbst family, and they have second-, third-generation racers now in that series, and, obviously, Riley Herbst is in the Cup Series. But Troy Herbst has offered so many times: ‘Come play. Come back. You won’t believe what the trucks do.’
“The last Trophy Truck race I was in was in 1995, and so, I’ve had some curiosities around it, and I went and tested it in October, and it just blew my mind. I’m like, ‘I got to do this.’”
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On that observe, Johnson can even race for TRICON Storage within the June 19 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series road race at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, close to his El Cajon hometown.
Johnson raced full-time on the NASCAR Cup Collection circuit at Hendrick Motorsports from 2002-2020 and 20 years whole (2001-20). He has additionally pushed in a mixed 15 Cup Collection races since 2023 for his personal group, Legacy Motor Membership, highlighted by ending third within the 2025 Daytona 500.
Johnson received seven Cup Collection titles (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2016), which places him in a three-way tie with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt for probably the most in NASCAR historical past; he received 83 races whole, which is tied with Cale Yarborough for sixth in Cup Collection historical past.
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“I’ve at all times wished to seek out the suitable steadiness of bucket listing races or distinctive experiences to do,” Johnson stated. “I used to be hyper-focused in my Cup profession and simply drove Cup automobiles and at all times envied guys that moved round a bit. After which considering of the time I spent on the sofa with my dad and my grandfather, and my grandfather’s opinion of Mario Andretti, as a result of he went wherever and raced something. And [A.J.] Foyt. There have been these examples that type of caught behind my thoughts. I am definitely not doing that, however I need to expertise stuff.
“I am at that stage of life the place I actually need to problem myself, and I’ve an important companion in Carvana, they usually’re like, ‘Yeah, no end traces. What’s the tagline?’ And now, it is type of chasing bucket-list gadgets.”
Johnson raced two seasons in INDYCAR, working a mixed 29 races with Chip Ganassi Racing from 2021-22.
However wait, there’s extra.
Johnson would be the crew chief for INDYCAR legend Dario Franchitti, because the latter races within the Truck Collection this Saturday on the OnlyBulls Green Flag 150 at St. Petersburg. What retains the 50-year-old Johnson wanting extra?
“I am simply a type of idiots who likes to maintain going,” Johnson stated. “It has been an attention-grabbing journey as a full-time driver and stepping away from the famed [No.] 48 [car]. Now I’ve time to replicate on it, however in-between there, I used to be at Ganassi for a few years within the INDYCAR Collection and once more discovered myself strolling away from an unbelievable alternative, and I actually thought there was one thing fallacious with me.
“However now I’ve discovered this totally different steadiness of life and doubtless working extra hours and doing greater than I did earlier than. But it surely’s one thing new and a brand new problem and a brand new chapter, and I am really having fun with it — and lots of racing.”
This Sunday is a double-dip of high-stakes racing on FOX, because the 2026 INDYCAR season begins with the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at noon ET, adopted by the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix Powered by RelaDyne at 3:30 p.m. ET, the third race on the 2026 NASCAR schedule.
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