NASCAR: Top 5 highest paid Cup Series drivers of 2020
By Asher Fair
Highest paid NASCAR drivers of 2020 – 2. Jimmie Johnson
Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, in his 19th and final season of full-time competition behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, comes in at #2 on this list after earning a total of $17.6 million throughout 2020.
Johnson is set to make the move from stock car racing to open-wheel racing next year, as he is set to pilot the #48 Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing’s IndyCar team in the 13 road and street course races on the 2021 schedule, with Tony Kanaan set to drive the car in the four oval events.
Johnson’s 2020 Cup Series season was unfortunately his third consecutive winless season after he had entered the 2018 season on a streak of 16 consecutive winning seasons. In fact, he had won multiple races in each of those 16 seasons. Only Richard Petty has ever recorded a streak that long (18 seasons).
Also unfortunately for Johnson, he failed to qualify for the playoffs in his swan song season, marking his second consecutive failure to do so after making it into the postseason in each of its first 15 seasons following its implementation in 2004.
He concluded his full-time Cup Series career with 83 victories, which is tied for sixth place on the all-time list and just one shy of a fourth place tie. His seven championships are tied for the most all-time with Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt. He won his seven titles in an 11-year span, while Petty won his in a 16-year span and Earnhardt did so in a 15-year span.