“Back when VHS tapes were still a thing” - Jimmie Johnson reminisces his 2-decade-old decision to give “it a whirl" with Rick Hendrick

Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson took a trip down memory lane this week as he reminisced about the day he decided to give full-time Cup Series racing a shot. The Californian kicked off his NASCAR premier-level stint with Rick Hendrick's Hendrick Motorsports in 2000 and lent his expertise to the team even after retiring in 2020.

Johnson's numerous achievements, such as his seven Cup Series titles, of which five were back-to-back, four crown jewel race wins, two each in the Daytona 500 and the Southern 500, and four-time All-Star Race wins, to name but a few, have earned him his legendary status. The driver is a NASCAR Hall of Famer in the Class of 2024.

Before running a full-time NASCAR schedule, the 49-year-old ran three Cup races in 2001, at Charlotte, Homestead-Miami, and Atlanta. On October 7 that year, the now-legendary driver finished 39th in his first appearance in the Winston Cup Series, driving for HMS.

The next year, the HMS driver finished fifth in the standings, with three wins in his rookie season. After consistently staying among the top 5, Johnson clinched his first Cup Series title in 2006. He didn't stop there as he went on to bag four consecutive championships after that.

Two decades after his, Johnson has looked back on the day he decided to run full-time. He shared a picture on X (formerly Twitter) of his #48 car and added a few details from life at that time in the post. He wrote:

"23 years ago today, I figured I’d give this Cup racing thing a whirl. Back when VHS tapes were still a thing, and Nickelback topped the charts."

Johnson returned to Cup Series after retirement, driving part-time for his co-owned team, Legacy Motor Club.

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Jimmie Johnson will be running his second last race of the season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

After purchasing an ownership stake in Petty GMS Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson and Maury Gallagher rebranded the team as Legacy Motor Club and entered the Cup Series in 2023. Since then, Johnson has contested ten races.

The Californian has raced seven times this year thus far and is scheduled to run in two more, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 20 and at Phoenix Raceway on November 10. In his seven race weekends, the #84 Toyota driver has succumbed to two DNFs, at Kansas Speedway and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The #84 team went through a massive shakeup during the summer break. Several members were released, including Johnson's crew chief Jason Burdett. However, soon after that, Legacy Motor Club added Gene Wachtel as Johnson's crew chief and Brian Campe as technical director.

Jimmie Johnson's most recent race, the Hollywood Casino 400 in Kansas, was his first since the changes inside his co-owned organization.

The LMC driver has yet to confirm his 2025 plans.