NASCAR: Jimmie Johnson ‘excluded’ from 75 Greatest Drivers list?

Matt Kenseth jokingly said he is disappointed that seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson isn’t on the list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.

To celebrate the sport’s 50th anniversary season, NASCAR created what was then known as the list of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers. Now to celebrate the 75th anniversary season, 25 more drivers are currently being added to that list, one at a time, to create a list of NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers.

We are nearing the conclusion of the new additions, though it is important to emphasize the fact that the newest 25 drivers are not being announced in any particular order.

On Wednesday, 2003 Cup Series champion and 38-time Cup Series race winner Matt Kenseth was added to the list.

Kenseth took to Twitter to express his gratitude for being named to the exclusive list of NASCAR’s all-time greatest drivers.

But he also added another comment: he is “disappointed” by the fact that Jimmie Johnson isn’t on the list. Johnson’s “solid career” included a record-tying seven Cup Series championships and 83 Cup Series race wins, good for a sixth place tie on the all-time wins list.

Of course, it doesn’t take much to realize that Kenseth is clearly joking, as implied by the fact that at the end of his tweet, he made note of the fact that he is still only the 74th driver on the list.

Johnson is undoubtedly going to be the 75th, with an announcement coming later this week.

Johnson is slated to become the 10th active driver named to the list. Others include Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex Jr.

Aside from Kenseth, the former, albeit not necessarily retired, drivers included among this year’s 25 additions include Sam Ard, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Ron Hornaday Jr., Kasey Kahne, Bobby Labonte, Randy LaJoie, Sterling Marlin, Larry Phillips, Mike Stefanik, and Tony Stewart.