NASCAR legend and Legacy Motor Club co-owner Jimmie Johnson isn’t keeping himself confined to racing in the United States this year. A total of nine Cup Series races was the task he had set himself before the start of the season. And it seems like, after a crushing return to stock car racing, he’s now trying his hands at the historic race event Goodwood Revival.

The 7-time NASCAR Cup Series winner will compete for the Stirling Moss Memorial Trophy. But ahead of the main event, Jimmie Johnson took charge of the No. 46 Aston Martin DB4 GT Lightweight. This isn’t just an ordinary automobile but a racing heritage in itself. Legendary Formula 1 race car driver Stirling Moss himself rode this car to victory on its debut at Goodwood on Easter Monday, April 1960.

The conditions on the racetrack were far from optimal. A constant peppering of rain and the typical British weather made things difficult for the drivers to register their best lap times. However, Jimmie Johnson wasn’t looking to get a feel for the track condition and started to set the pace. In fact, with 1:56 seconds, he notched the best lap times at the start of the practice session.

However, JJ just couldn’t shake off the curse of hitting his race into the barrier at this event as well. Just when he was looking to push the car to its limit in a bid to get a better lap time, he slid across the wet surface and hit the tire barriers. “From one lap to the next, the track had changed. And after I ran 3-4 laps out there, I felt the track was in a stable place. Just some rainfall, a puddle there got the best of me, unfortunately.” Johnson said after crashing the iconic Aston Martin car.

Although the driver was safe and sound, fans just couldn’t get over the curse of him crashing out whenever he took the wheel. While there were a few who were worried over the iconic race car’s condition.

Fans just can’t believe the luck Jimmie Johnson has had this year

The veteran driver has failed to notch a single top-20 finish in his last six races at the Cup level. And often at times, he’s found crashing the No. 84 Toyota Camry into the wall or being caught in someone else’s mess. This streak of bad runs in theory should’ve stuck within the confines of ovals in America, but this curse has followed him to the UK. Reacting to Johnson’s practice session crash, a fan wrote, “If you told me 20 years ago that Jimmie would be wrecking more cars than the Sauter brothers I would’ve laughed in your face but here we are.”

While the average Joe sitting in the comfort of their home has no idea about professional racing work., But they sometimes act like they are the experts. This was the case with this race fan, who questioned Johnson’s racecraft, suggesting that he shouldn’t have pushed for a better lap time. “Why was he pushing though? He was leading by almost 3 seconds.”

The car that Jimmie Johnson piloted wasn’t just a normal one. To put it simply, the Aston Martin deserves to be in a museum. Out of the 75 touring-bodied DB4 GTs manufactured, only 6 were made as RHD “lightweight” cars, one of which Johnson crashed into a tire barrier. The estimated value of this particular vintage car is around $2.5 million. Just imagining the price of the repair of the car was too much for this fan to handle. “That is the sound of money flying out of someone’s wallet.”

A few others saw this crash as a potential avenue that could further bump up the value of the vintage Aston Martin. Having been driven by British F1 legend Stirling Moss, an added chapter of a 7-time NASCAR champion with this race car only enhances the story around it. And it was just a practice run; imagine the HMS legend taking this car into victory lane in the main event. Aligning with this sentiment, a fan on Reddit replied, “If a seven-time NASCAR champion scuffed up my car during a track day, I’d take that as a badge of honor.”

Although the vintage cars do belong in the museum in pristine condition. However, the sole purpose of its creation was to compete in races, and that is exactly what Jimmie Johnson tried with this race car. But something needs to be done about his bad run with Lady Luck, for sure. “I always say that I’d rather a historic car be raced and crashed than rust away in a museum. Luckily this one wasn’t too heavy though.” Another race fan added.

Does Jimmie Johnson bounce back after this setback or will he run into similar issues during the main event remains to be seen.