“Tom Brady: ‘Wait, you can retire and spend time with your family?'” – Jimmie Johnson Announces Surprise Retirement, Sending NASCAR Fans Into a Meltdown

A truly sad day for NASCAR, as well as IndyCar. The Seven-Time Cup Series Champion, Jimmie Johnson, has a sad announcement for fans of racing. Yep, he is going to retire from full-time racing.

And this includes all sorts of racing, as he intends to spend time with his family.

There comes a time when every athlete has to retire from their sport, even though they made history. And it just happened with Johnson. A few days after the Tennis legend, Roger Federer announced his retirement, the NASCAR legend follows in his footsteps, as he takes his leave from racing.

“It’s been an interesting process to feel so fulfilled with the experience and then also try to make a decision,” Johnson said. “In the big scheme of things, there is so much life-planning going on with the kids. We’ve always had the idea of trying to live abroad for a year or two. We love Colorado and want to spend more time there, and there’s just so much swirling personally and professionally that I just wanted to take some time and make the decision, not on the back of a positive or negative experience on the racetrack.”

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Naturally, the fans are quite sad.

Another fan hinted at Tom Brady.

While a couple of them called him the Greatest of All Time (GOAT).

On the other hand, some fans just weren’t ready for his retirement.

Although it sure is sad, it’s also quite understandable why he’d want to depart from racing. The fast-paced world involves a lot of travelling and time away from friends and family. Moreover, even when they get time to spend with their loved ones, they still spend a good amount of that time practising.

But will he return to racing?

What could Jimmie Johnson’s future plans be?

As of yet, there is nothing confirmed. But Hendrick Motorsports intends on having a special “Garage 56” entry in the Le Mans series, where they take a Cup Series car to the 24-hour race. And there’s a possibility that Johnson will take the wheel of the car.

However, there are no plans or returning full-time, “I do have a desire to go back, it’s just at this point, I know what’s required to do a full schedule, and I don’t have that in me,”

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It truly is unfortunate. Do you wish he competed for another season? Let us know in the comments.