“I Was Out of the Job and Never Even Get To NASCAR” – Jimmie Johnson on Being a Hall of Famer

If the popular culture elements are taken into account, then perhaps after the iconic Wednesday’s event at the NASCAR Convention Center, stock car racing enthusiasts would surely point at a picture of Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus and express, “Gonna tell my kids they were a match made in heaven.” The years of toil and trouble finally paid off and came to fruition for the former Hendrick Motorsports driver as he earned his spot in the 2024 Class of the Hall of Fame.

It will surely not be a stretch to say that very few drivers in the Cup Series have earned the respect of an indomitable spirit on the tracks of NASCAR like Jimmie Johnson has, and only a select few have been able to live up to their stature. Nevertheless, this deserving recognition was surely a no-brainer, and it was only a matter of time before it was announced to the world. However, the road to the Hall of Fame for Johnson was surely not a cakewalk, as he expressed the uncertainties that loomed in an interview with NASCAR.

Jimmie Johnson spills the beans on the uncertainty that loomed over his NASCAR career

The 7x Cup Series champion with 83 wins stands him at par with the other two NASCAR legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Apart from winning all the Crown Jewel races of the Cup Series more than once with the help of his crew-chief Chad Knaus, who had orchestrated the groundwork, Johnson also made his mark in the world of endurance racing as he drove in the 2023 season of LeMans through under the banner of Garage 56, a brainchild of his former team Hendrick Motorsports.

However, the whole recognition which was long awaited portrays the onerous journey of Johnson as a Cup Series driver. Although he faced endless roadblocks, Johnson faced each and every obstacle with a brave face. Moreover in his interview with NASCAR, the freshly voted Hall of Famer revealed the fact, there were times when it seemed that his career had come to a standstill in NASCAR. He expressed, “My wife and kids and their support and of course Chad, Rick Hendrick, Jeff Gordon.”

“I go back to moments along the way where I thought, I was out of a job and never going to get to NASCAR. And I think of Herzogs, think of John Nelson and his race team, Chevrolet and all their support through my career and really guiding me through the Cup Series,” Johnson added.

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Nonetheless, all’s well that’s end well for Jimmie Johnson and his former crew chief Chad Knaus. The former Cup Series driver had received a total of 93% of the total votes from a panel of 57, and it seems that the driver seemed to have failed to receive a unanimous vote, a situation that Dale Jarrett had already forebode. Jarrett had expressed, “Years ago someone decided not to put Jeff Gordon on their ballot and make it unanimous. That better not happen with Jimmie Johnson, because there is no reason for anyone to be leaving him off.”

While the notion of unanimous decision seemed to have no effect on Johnson, himself, Chad Knaus on the contrary seemed to be irked by the fact. He expressed to the media, “If he isn’t a unanimous vote, I don’t know that anybody ever will be.”

“He’s the nicest guy and the best to ever sit in a NASCAR race car. He contributes to our sport and to society in so many different ways through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. He is the ideal picture of a Hall of Fame inductee,” Knaus asserted.

With all being said, this event does command some celebration in the camp of Hendrick Motorsports. The occasion seems to reinforce the fact once again that very few teams have achieved such feathers to their name as Hendrick Motorsports and there are still many titles and championships to conquer in order to satisfy the thirst.

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