February 29, 2020 | By Lee Spencer

Johnson hopes to cap off magical career with hometown win

FONTANA, Calif.—As Jimmie Johnson makes what could be his final trip to his home track—Auto Club Speedway—the emotions are beginning to catch up to the seven-time champion.

The El Cajon native will lead the field in the five-wide salute behind his childhood hero and pace car driver Ricky Johnson. After qualifying second on Saturday, Jimmie Johnson will also have a front-row seat for when his wife Chandra and daughters Lydia and Genevieve wave the green flag for the Auto Club 400. 

Sunday’s race is bound to be a moment the seven-time NASCAR Cup champion won’t soon forget. 

“Daytona, there were some different feelings going on, knowing that was maybe my last 500, but going home and hearing the plans that I’ve heard that they have for me—including my family and waving the green flag... there are just some really neat moments that will hit me deep inside.

“I just have a ton of pride. I’ve had a great career in this sport, and I’m thankful that I’m getting the respect from the garage and the fans for the time I’ve put in here.”

Johnson's relationship with Auto Club Speedway dates back to 2000 in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. But it was here in 2002 that he scored the first of his 83 career Cup wins behind the wheel of the No. 48 Chevrolet. 

“That’s the day I knew I was going to be employed,” Johnson said. “Jeff Gordon handed me all of his championship equipment from the year before and they told me they’d be patient and I had time, but in my heart didn’t think that was the case and I knew I needed to win.

“So to leave here with a trophy meant that I’d have a job for a few years, and I was pretty stoked about that.”

Johnson was just 26 at the time. While he was in the Chevrolet pipeline, there were no guarantees for the brand new Hendrick Motorsports squad. If he could provide words of wisdom to his younger self, Johnson would offer the assurance that everything would be OK.

“I say that, and then I don’t know if I would tell myself anything because my own insecurities and wondering how I fit in the sport; wondering if I was going to survive in the sport, all those things led to my work ethic, my discipline and drive and helped create the opportunities that came for me,” Johnson said. “It’s interesting now later in my career, the connection I have with fans. That was something I lacked in my earlier years and certainly when I was winning championships in a row.

“So I don’t know how to really enjoy that piece of it more or have a deeper fan connection. But from the performance side, the competition side, and everything I’ve done behind the wheel, I wouldn’t change a thing. I think there is more of a fan piece that I wish would have gone a little different during my peak years, but who knows what this year and the future holds. Maybe that is all for a reason as well. I don’t know.”

Johnson went on to win six times in 25 attempts at the two-mile track. His last victory at Auto Club Speedway came in 2016. His last victory in NASCAR's top series was in May 2017—97 races ago. Coming off of a top-five finish last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, his first since last July at Daytona, Johnson is optimistic entering Sunday’s race.
 
With all the friends and family who will be here to support him, what would a seventh ACS victory mean to him?

“It would be insane,” Johnson said. “Home track, first win, you could just go down the list of meaningful talking points that could come out of it. The way last weekend went with the speed that we had in our Hendrick cars and the way mine drove, I’m very optimistic about this weekend and it would just be incredible to pull that off if we could.”