What Is the NASCAR Champion Journal?

To win the NASCAR Cup Series Championship might be one of the biggest dreams of any stock car racer. With just 36 drivers who have been able to accomplish such a feat throughout history, there are a few added perks to winning the title. Only 17 drivers out of these 36 have been able to win it more than once. The title of the driver with the most titles is shared by three. These drivers are Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson, with Johnson being the last one to achieve this milestone. The title comes with the winner receiving the coveted Bill France Cup and a hefty cash price for the same. But some perks are just more than the material prizes. One of them is the Champion Journal.

NASCAR Champion Journal

During his first five Championship years, Jimmie Johnson started a tradition that has been followed ever since. He started a journal when he won his first championship and continued jotting it down until 2010. When Tony Stewart dethroned Johnson from the Championship title, the latter gave him the Champion Journal with a letter in it. This journal has since been passed down from champion to champion. Johnson has since then gotten the journal back two more times in 2013 and 2016. What interests many is how the contents of the journal have always been a secret and something shared between only the title winners. The journal is passed between the drivers during the off-season. Ryan Blaney, the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Championship, holds the journal which was passed down to him by Joey Logano, the Champion before. Blaney also revealed that the contents of the journal have been a secret from even his own wife.