The vision of his true NASCAR future crystalized for Jimmie Johnson at last year’s season finale. He climbed into his Toyota at Phoenix for his ninth, nondescript race of the season when he spotted them on pit road,

Johnson won 83 NASCAR races and a record-equaling seven season championships during 19 seasons as a full-time NASCAR driver. Since he last competed as a regular in 2020, Johnson spent two seasons driving on the IndyCar tour before becoming part of the Legacy Motor Club ownership team in 2023.

Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. qualified for the Daytona 500 as unchartered cars thanks to their single-lap qualifying speeds Wednesday.