Jimmie Johnson makes feelings clear with tribute to Hendrick Motorsports’ emotional 2004 victory

NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson took to his X account to share his thoughts on a historic, emotional win from his career, the 2004 race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. He re-tweeted a tribute post by the Hendrick Motorsports team celebrating the former #48 car's win at the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500.

The team's original tweet shares how Johnson's memorable win at the track put the organization on the path to healing. The two-time Daytona 500 winner quoted the post.

"An unforgettable moment that became part of our legacy. Grateful to have been a part of it," Jimmie Johnson wrote.

The race at Atlanta was significant to the team because it was the first race after a plane carrying members of the Hendrick Motorsports team, including the son of team owner Rick Hendrick, crashed in the Virginia Mountains. Also on the plane were Rick Hendrick's brother, and nieces, along with Randy Dorton, a long-time engine builder for the team, and Jeff Turner, the organization's general manager. The accident claimed the lives of all the people who were on board.

While it was uncertain whether the team would race at the track, Rick Hendrick and his wife, Linda Hendrick spoke to members regarding the loss and confirmed that it will be racing in Atlanta. As Jimmie Johnson puts it (via Hendrick Motorsports):

"Rick and Linda stood up in front of all of us at Hendrick Motorsports and gave us an authentic and real point of view of where their hearts were, the pain they were going through, what the company meant to them … they let us know that the ones we lost would’ve wanted us to go to the track. To this day, I don’t know how they found the courage to be there, but we went down to Atlanta on a mission."

Johnson's win at the track was his third consecutive win after he won the previous races in Charlotte and Martinsville in the prior weeks. The #48 driver led the race in the final 17 laps, scoring the Concord-based team's 129th win.

"Then to stand there in victory lane and turn our hats around backwards to honor those we lost, it really put a smile back on a lot of faces," Jimmie Johnson said.

“For me, it was more about the unity of the group. Every team member, every driver, anyone in Hendrick Motorsports apparel, we just stood there, cried and hugged.”

Johnson's achievement of winning three consecutive races in a row was only previously done by another Hendrick Motorsports driver, Jeff Gordon, who accomplished the same feat in 1998.

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Jimmie Johnson's crew chief talks about the Atlanta win

Jimmie Johnson (right) stands with crew chief Chad Knaus (left) at Dover International Speedway. - Source: Imagn

Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson's crew chief for 17 seasons, also spoke about the importance of the team winning in Atlanta that day. The #48 team's chief said (via Hendrick Motorsports):

“All week of just blocking a lot of emotions, all week of not letting them get the best of us, not being vulnerable – that all came to a head right there at the end of that race. They caught me on TV crying and whatnot. That was a tough one and it was a big one. I’m very proud of that one. We were able to get everybody in victory lane after that and we all had black armbands on."

“That’s probably the most powerful win I’ve ever been apart of because it definitely touched everyone that worked at this company, whether you were a part of the 48 team or not.”

Johnson and Knaus' time together brought Hendrick Motorsports 81 wins and seven championships. They also achieved runner-up positions in the standings in 2003 and 2004 and scored a 5th-place finish in their first season together in 2002.