The East and West coasts have collided once again after the New Jersey hooper aimed his shots at the Californian racer. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion going against four-time NBA champ Shaquille O’Neal would certainly be a good contest. No, this isn’t just an imaginary thought, it’s a serious possibility, as Johnson has taken his social media beef with Shaq to the next level.

It all started with a tweet O’Neal put out when he learned about Jimmie Johnson attempting to qualify for the Daytona 500. If Johnson successfully secures his place in the 40-car field, it will be his 22nd ‘Great American Race appearance. “Dang, @jimmiejohnson going for another Daytona?! 22 years not enough for you?” What followed next was a series of back-and-forth, and going by the latest updates, the veteran NASCAR driver had finally got O’Neal in a tough spot.

Jimmie Johnson is confident about beating Shaquille O’Neal in a free throw challenge

Legacy Motor Club owner/driver is far from his prime years of racing in NASCAR. Last year he tried to compete in nine Cup Series races, and he certainly looked out of place against the young bloods, failing to secure a single top-25 finish. However, the Daytona 500 is one such race where every driver rolls the dice in the hopes of being etched in the history books. It’s not that Johnson doesn’t have the Harley J. Earl Trophy to his name; he’s a two-time winner. And there might be a grand scheme at play here with his 2025 season.

Although Johnson has had his struggles with the Next Gen car, he certainly can find his way across most racetracks and still compete in races. But O’Neal wasn’t having it and wrote, “Everyone knows I still got it @JimmieJohnson Come find me on the court.” This soon turned out to be a contest on who has more left in their tanks past their prime years. But nobody expected the rebuttal Johnson threw at Shaq: “Haha, I love you’re coming at me @SHAQ! Let’s roll with a free throw comp. Should be easy for you when you’re that close to the rim. Name when and where.”

Shaq has missed 5,317 free throws and shoots a measly 52.7% from the charity stripe. Well, Johnson certainly did his homework, although anyone who knows Big Diesel, knows that free throws were the bane of his career. However, they also know Shaq is not one to back down from a challenge. Fans on social media will now be awaiting Shaq’s response; there’s no way he will challenge Jimmie Johnson for a drag race, would he?

Jokes apart, the former HMS driver has big plans for the 2025 season with his Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600 appearances. If everything goes according to plan, Johnson could be competing in his 700th Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Well, the ambitious plans and grand schemes aren’t just limited to Johnson, as Legacy Motor Club could also be entering major competitions outside of NASCAR.

Legacy Motor Club looking to follow in Trackhouse Racing’s path

LMC, like Trackhouse Racing, is a young NASCAR Cup Series team. While both of them are trying to establish their presence among the heavyweights, they are sizing up opportunities outside of NASCAR. Justin Marks has already rolled out his expansion plans after taking ownership of a team in MotoGP, and he also fielded a team for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.

It has to be noted that Legacy Motor Club is a Tier-1 Toyota partner, and they do not rely upon Joe Gibbs Racing for a technical alliance with their NASCAR program. So, while they are developing their own program, Johnson hinted that the Japanese automakers have been pushing them to compete in non-NASCAR racing events. And Johnson is certainly impressed by how Trackhouse has managed to do just that and is rubbing shoulders against the top dogs in the Cup Series.

“I have so much respect for Justin’s vision and execution and just the way he’s gone about building Trackhouse. That’s certainly a model that I’m inspired by. As time goes on and opportunities present themselves to Legacy Motor Club, we’ll have an open eye and certainly hope to expand. I really think there is an opportunity in North America to have a bigger presence.” Johnson said this on Peacock’s Rolex 24 broadcast.

Jimmie Johnson certainly has big plans for his team, but for the time being, they should be invested in improving their NASCAR program. There’s a night-and-day difference in the on-track performances between LMC and Trackhouse Racing.