After retiring from the sport full-time following the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, Jimmie Johnson spent the next two years competing in IndyCar. He then returned to the Cup Series in 2023 as a part-time driver and team co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, the team that had been known as Petty GMS Motorsports following the merger of Richard Petty Motorsports and GMS Racing.
Johnson initially planned on competing in more than just three races in 2023, but a family tragedy cut his schedule short. In 2024, he ran nine races. But in 2025, he only scheduled two, those two being the season-opening Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
With Johnson having entered the year with 698 career starts under his belt, the fact that he only confirmed two races for 2025, even fewer than were on his shortened 2023 schedule, led to the rumor that he planned to officially call it quits and focus squarely on the team ownership side once he hit 700 starts.
He said after the Coca-Cola 600 that he was interested in running more races, but over the next five months, no further announcements were made.
Now the rumor of Johnson retiring at exactly 700 starts has officially been put to bed.
Johnson's full 2026 schedule has not yet been confirmed, but he is indeed set to return for a 24th Cup Series season next year. He is set to run the inaugural race at the Coronado Street Course in San Diego, California on Sunday, June 21.
Legacy Motor Club's full-time driver lineup consists of John Hunter Nemechek behind the wheel of the No. 42 Toyota and Erik Jones behind the wheel of the No. 43 Toyota. Johnson drives the No. 84 Toyota whenever he competes; the entry has not been fielded for anybody else since his return.
It's also hard to imagine the seven-time Cup Series champion won't be back for the Daytona 500 and the Coca-Cola 600, two races he has run each year since 2023. He even finished the 2025 Daytona 500 in third place, by far his best finish since returning to the series following his two-year IndyCar stint. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner and a four-time Coca-Cola 600 winner.
The 2026 season is scheduled to get underway with the 68th running of the "Great American Race" on Sunday, February 15. Fox is set to provide live coverage from the "World Center of Racing".