“Please don’t grow up” - When Jimmie Johnson advised Tony Stewart not to change while admiring the personality he brought to auto racing

Jimmie Johnson once admired Tony Stewart for the personality he brought to the sport of auto racing. During the 2016 NASCAR Awards banquet, Johnson told Stewart not to change as the latter driver left full-time stock car racing competition for good.

Back in 2016, Jimmie Johnson won his seventh NASCAR Cup Series championship, tying the all-time record with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt Sr. The same year, Stewart retired from the premier series with three championship titles and 49 race wins.

Johnson thanked Stewart for their fun moments before delivering his championship acceptance speech, saying:

“I just want to say thanks for the fun times, Tony.” [0:10 onwards]

The California native then admired his fellow Cup driver’s personality and contributions to the sport.

“So many have said it tonight it this room, you’ve brought so much personality to our sport. You’ve done so much for auto racing in general,” Johnson said.

The then 41-year-old driver concluded:

Please don’t grow up. You don’t want to be like me, I promise. We want to be more like you.”

While Tony Stewart retired in 2016, Jimmie Johnson continued competing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. However, the driver only secured three victories, all of which were won in the 2017 season. He retired from stock car racing in 2020, ending a two-decade run with seven championships and 83 race wins.

Today, Johnson is a co-owner and part-time driver of Legacy Motor Club, formerly the Petty GMS Motorsports. Meanwhile, Stewart competes in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA), racing 11,000-horsepower dragsters.

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Jimmie Johnson gave Tony Stewart his helmet after winning seven Cup championships

Following the victory in the Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2016, Jimmie Johnson gave his helmet to Tony Stewart. The helmet swap reflected a good friendship that carried on even after Stewart retired from stock car racing.

Speaking with RACER in 2022, the three-time Cup champion said:

“I still tell Jimmie I view that helmet that it’s on loan from him, and I’ve always told him, ‘That helmet will never go anywhere.' If there’s a day when he decides he wants it back, I’ll hand deliver it to him personally."

Stewart added that the helmet was made special because the seven-time champ and now-Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson gave it to him.

"That’s a significant helmet in the history of this sport and that’s something I cherish. The value of it isn’t because of what it is. It’s because of who it came from and the fact that it was a personal gift from him.”

Jimmie Johnson celebrating his seventh championship in 2016 - Source: Imagn

After Tony Stewart retired as a full-time driver, the two continued sharing moments during race weekends as Stewart is a co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing. Johnson left NASCAR for some time to compete in IndyCar before returning to the stock car racing scene as a co-owner of Legacy Motor Club.

However, Stewart is set to exit NASCAR as the Stewart-Haas Racing team will be discontinued at the end of this season.