It had been proven millions of times before, but seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson proved once again that race car drivers are, in fact, athletes.
When seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson stated before the 2019 Cup Series season began that he had a “big announcement” to make, there was heavy speculation that he would be announcing that the 2020 season would be his final season of competition in the sport.
The 43-year-old El Cajon, California native has competed in the Cup Series on a full-time basis since the 2002 season, and he has only ever driven for Hendrick Motorsports. In June of 2017, he signed a three-year contract extension to continue driving the #48 Chevrolet through the 2020 season.
When Johnson finally made his “big announcement”, it turned out to be nothing of the sort. In fact, in terms of physical activity, it turned out to be the exact opposite of retirement.
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Johnson announced that he would be competing in this year’s Boston Marathon, which took place this Monday, April 15, just two days after competing in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.
Johnson did end up participating in and completing the 123rd edition of the 26.2-mile marathon. He completed these 26.2 miles wearing the #4848 on his bib as a nod to his Cup Series car number, and he completed them in three hours, nine minutes and seven seconds. He averaged 8.31 miles per hour over the course of this run and averaged seven minutes and 13 seconds per mile.
His times were good enough for 4,155th place overall and 3,746th among the males who competed in the event, which is one of the most prestigious marathons in the world. Johnson competed in the Male 40-44 division and ended up finishing in 641st.
Sure, not every NASCAR driver, much less every race car driver, on the planet trains to the great extent that Johnson does not only to stay in shape but to be in good enough shape to compete in a marathon, and to do well in it at that.
But the average casual fan or non-fan would be surprised to know the level of training and just how much training is required to compete in NASCAR or in any racing series at a high level. It is certainly not as though Johnson is the only driver who trains since he is the only driver who made it his goal to compete in this year’s Boston Marathon.
The shape that these drivers have to be in to do what they do week after week is second to none. It is not even remotely debatable that professional racing of any kind is far more than just a bunch of “left turns” or “highway driving” that anyone can just hop in a car and do for a few hours and a few hundred miles every Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.
While it has been proven millions of times in the past, Jimmie Johnson’s participation in and completion of this year’s Boston Marathon further goes to show that race car drivers are just as much athletes as the athletes who compete in sports such as football, basketball, baseball or hockey. Their skills just happen to be put on display in a different fashion.