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Jimmie Johnson became the latest to congratulate Cup Series driver Aric Almirola on his retirement announcement on Monday. It comes after a video surfaced both on Twitter and Almirola's YouTube account in which the Stewart-Haas driver announced that the upcoming 2022 season would be his last and that he would be leaving in order to spend more time with his family.
In reply, Johnson tweeted, "I'm happy for you brother!":
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Johnson himself is no stranger to the rigors and demands that a sport like NASCAR brings, having had his share of triumphs and defeats.
Starting in 2002, Johnson began racing full-time for Hendrick Motorsports; he became only the third rookie in the sport's history to grab the pole for the Daytona 500 that year, and followed that with his first career win in only his 13th start—a victory at Auto Club Speedway. It took four more years before he started dominating, but Johnson kept winning championships beginning with his first in 2006. He would go on to win three more in a row until his luck ran out for the first time in 2010.
After tying Richard Petty with his seventh and final championship win in 2016, things started going downhill for the #48 driver, so he sought a different kind of outlet and found it in open-wheel racing.
The former NASCAR champion had said the move was a "childhood dream"; the dream became a reality in the last few months of 2020 when he participated in a test session with Chip Ganassi Racing. With his customary #48, Johnson intially had trouble adapting to the new rules and driving style, more than once ending up either in the back or out of the race due to damage.
Johnson announced in a tweet in December that he would be sticking with IndyCar and competing full-time in the 2022 season, which also meant that he would be racing on ovals including the illustrious Indy 500.
Jimmie Johnson's legacy in numbers
Johnson is widely regarded as one of the best NASCAR drivers ever, and the numbers really speak for themselves.
Thirty-nine of his 83 wins have come on multiple occasions on the same track, including Dover (11); Texas (7); Charlotte (8); and Auto Club (6).
