NASCAR MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 23, 2025

Jimmie Johnson

Press Conference

An Interview with:

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for joining us today to discuss our new 2026 event, the NASCAR San Diego Weekend. We're joined today by Jimmie Johnson, co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, and the 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee.

Before we open it up for questions, Jimmie, you have roots in Southern California. Share what it means to bring a NASCAR street race to the San Diego region.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, this is really exciting. I honestly didn't think that NASCAR would ever be able to race in San Diego. Growing up in El Cajon, watching it develop and change so much, watching El Cajon Speedway sadly go away, it's just a reality or thought of NASCAR in a traditional sense on an oval in San Diego, it just never seemed possible.

When Chicago came on the schedule, I was like, Hmm, what other cities might be able to host a NASCAR event. Not long after I learned there was some interest in and around San Diego.

To see this all come together now, I'm so excited to have a race in my hometown. Happy to be on the call today here supporting it.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Jimmie. With that, we'll now open it up to questions.

Q. NASCAR says they're still working on the course. What would you like to see in the course layout?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, I don't know what they're working with. It's tough to tell. It's really hard just to kind of shoot in the dark on it.

But with Chicago and our group, NASCAR group, having some experience building a track that creates good passing zones and opportunities to put on a good show, I feel like we're going to be in a good place and have a really solid circuit to compete on.

With so many cars, you'd assume we'd have a full-field of 40 at this event. Pit road is going to be a major priority, to have enough space to pit all the cars.

You've seen INDYCAR recently in Michigan, they had a split lane to accommodate.

I don't know all the challenges they're going to face with the location. I'm highly confident we're going to have an incredible venue, incredible backdrop and great racing.

Q. Is there any way to SVG-proof it?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: No, especially on a street circuit, and especially first-time to a circuit, he just has a whole different set of tools to put into play. Good for him. He's a hell of a talent.

Q. You haven't announced your official retirement or anything. You still race sporadically. Is this something that intrigues you to add onto your schedule?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Definitely intrigues me. Obviously it's new news. But the desire to race in my hometown is off the charts. I will aggressively work on being in the event. If for some reason I'm not able to pull that off, I will absolutely be there and help support Legacy Motor Club, all of our partners, NASCAR, the city.

We're also coming up on our 20th anniversary for the Jimmie Johnson foundation, which will be next year. I see a really neat opportunity for me to come home and really be a part of the festivities in this the event.

Q. From the team owner's perspective, when you look at NASCAR's expansion plans, San Diego, Chicago, Mexico City, what do you think of it overall? Is there an area of the country that you look at and say, I really want to be in that part of the country?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I think major markets are really important. I also think the international markets are important. Everybody's going to debate them and talk in different directions.

The more we can move into these major markets, domestic or otherwise, and also hit new pockets around the country where we haven't traditionally been, we're only going to grow the sport.

I think that brings in eyeballs, it brings in partners and relationships. I think it also bolsters relationships that teams and tracks and NASCAR already have. We end up in people's backyards that we traditionally don't.

That diversification is really helpful and key as we try to grow the sport.

Q. You talk about everything kind of lining up for next year, going home. Drivers don't like to announce the actual end date of their competitive career. It would seem like this would be the perfect event for you to have your final Cup race. Not trying to put you out to pasture.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Sure sounds like it (laughter).

Q. Numbers have meant things. You say 'coming home'. Seems like that could be the description of what this weekend could be. Is that something that could be a final Cup race for Jimmie Johnson next year?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: You know, it hasn't crossed my mind. I want to respond with no. But who knows. We'll have to do some planning over the off-season.

I want to keep going. I want to stay in a car. I think it's good for us. We're hopeful to have a third charter. Need to start building a team. There's a chance that I run more races next year if we have a third charter on the docket and have a sponsor to bring along, team members to groom, a crew chief to get reps, a driver to get reps. There's a lot of scenarios that are in play. I'm hopeful I can keep going.

I certainly don't want to feed you guys a line of BS here. There is also a scenario where that would make sense. We've put zero effort into the idea yet at this point. I have more years in me. I want to keep going.

Q. I wasn't trying to put you out to pasture. A lot of things lined up well for you there if you wanted to.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: You put a great idea in my mind that I hadn't thought of yet.

Q. When you were brought into the mix for San Diego in NASCAR, what type of insights or questions were you asked? Maybe some of the opinions you were asked to give when it comes to San Diego. What were your thoughts and insights you gave to NASCAR, if any?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: When I was approached, it was much more of a "This is what we're doing" conversation versus "What do you think?"

To a San Diegan, to hear those words, just smiling, like no way, this really can happen.

From everyone at NASCAR and their vision of growth, vision of being in Southern California doing something unique and different, credit to everybody at NASCAR for putting this together and being so adamant in San Diego being the destination and where the street circuit needs to go.

Q. Shane van Gisbergen, he's been quite the guy on the road course, he's going to be the favorite on the street course when we go to San Diego next year. Had you a teammate in Jeff Gordon that was pretty awesome on the road course. Do you think Shane van Gisbergen is the best road course driver in NASCAR history?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: It's tough to put that label on a guy two seasons into driving stockcars. But the conversation is warranted. I think time will tell. He is in another stratosphere compared to road course racers.

Seeing him up against Tony Stewart at his peak, that would have been an interesting time to see peak to peak. Even Jeff Gordon. We've had drivers go on a run on road courses in the past.

The greatest of all time, I think that is kind of given to someone over a long duration of time versus just a couple of years. The skills he has, if he stays in the sport for five, 10 years, in my mind, the way I view it, I would then start to think greatest of all time.

Fastest guy to be in a car in a Cup car, that conversation is timely. Greatest of all time, we need more sample sets to choose from.

Q. Having grown up in El Cajon, familiar with that area, what do you think the fans should be on the lookout for coming there? Why does San Diego deserve to have an event of this magnitude come to their community?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: It's a community -- granted, I haven't been there in a long time, on a full-time basis, but when I think of the annual events that take place, the popularity of the Padres, the Chargers unfortunately left, thinking of the Del Mar Fair, various events that take place at the various beaches. The community loves something to do on the weekends.

With the great weather, the social scene, the relaxed nature, to go to an event and enjoy is top of mind. People really look for those experiences.

I know there are race fans in and around San Diego. There are more fans to be discovered there. To be in the Southern California market is really important. We're obviously not far away from L.A., the influence that has.

I think it's a smart, strategic move. I would consider it's less complex than trying to put an event on in Los Angeles. I'm biased, so I think it's the perfect location. I can't wait for San Diego to shine.

I think it's going to be great, I really do.

Q. How encouraged are you by NASCAR reaching out to new communities, taking the product to potential fans as opposed to going to the same places over and over again?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Really smart strategy. I know there's been a conversation internally of moving dates, moving the championship location, even so much as SMI and ISC taking the tracks back private so they could have this flexibility to move date around, do what's best for the sport.

To see both track ownership groups take that initiative. We lost a date at Texas Motor Speedway, to pick one up at COTA, Chicago, now to San Diego. That venue swaps and changes.

Mexico City. You did debate good, bad or ugly. I really think it was great for us to be in an international playing field, gives us more opportunities.

Again, this forward thinking, how we really grow the sport, get more eyeballs on the sport, be relevant to other stick-and-ball sports, really, really smart.

Q. You've spoken about your own family history with the military. You've done a lot throughout your racing career to make sure you're honoring military members. Why is that so important for you and the NASCAR community, if you do something on a Navy base like this, it's done right to honor the military?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, with my connection, my grandfather serving, brother-in-law, friends, it's just been close to my heart for a long time. To enter into the NASCAR space in the way that NASCAR as an industry honors men and women that serve, it's just been a good collaboration of sorts.

I feel fortunate to be in a series that is so focused on it. With all that, it gives me great confidence as we come to San Diego and race on a military base that it will be done top-notch and be correct.

Excited to come back for personal and I guess professional reasons. I think NASCAR's pre-race show, their intentionality around honoring men and women who serve or have served, I think they do it better than anybody. I can't wait for them to shine again.

Q. Street courses obviously are very different from road courses. What makes it so different from your traditional oval-type racing? Why is it a specialized thing that great drivers sometimes have trouble adjusting to?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: The way the track evolves, the way it's so compressed and the consequences are so high, it requires great accuracy.

If you don't have a lot of experience in these concrete environments where you can't just hang a tire in the grass and save it, you hang a tire, you smash the wall, break toe links, car is destroyed, you're out of the race.

Being in that kind of repetition on a road course, we typically don't have a lot of experience doing it. When you look at SVG and his experience, that series does a lot of that racing. He's extremely comfortable with it on top of an entire lifetime of racing on road, street courses. It certainly swings his way. A lot of it is just that razor-sharp edge of finding the performance and not making a mistake. It really just requires a lot of the drivers.

Q. There's a lot of rumors being said, things happening around my fellow countryman, NASCAR driver Danny Suárez. Obviously, you know, he ends his contract with Trackhouse Racing this season. Is he in the radar of Legacy Motor Club, or how do you approach the situation?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: First and foremost, Danny is a great friend and somebody I stay in touch with. I kind of knew his situation from a friend standpoint for a while. Great talent. Very popular. Can really perform on any track, has great sponsorship interest. A well-rounded modern-day NASCAR athlete.

The real opportunity for any team owner. I would love to think about him seriously, but I don't have a seat, on top of the fact I'm not sure if and when we'll get a seat as we're trying to acquire our third charter.

I would look hard at him if we were prepared and ready and moving in that direction. In this instance, I highly doubt timing is going to work out.

I think he's a great talent and should have plenty of options.

Q. It's a guarantee that Legacy Motor Club is looking for a third charter, right?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Correct, yes, that is a guarantee.

Q. Growing up with the diverse racing background that you have, what was your relationship with any street course racing when you grew up? Had you ever been to one, ever thought you'd see this? Street course racing for you would be what, given your background?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Yeah, the one street course race I remember going to was at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I guess it was an IMSA race. If memory serves me right, I think Bobby Rahal won the race. Might have been like the Lowenbrau Porsche, something like that.

I was quite young. I remember my dad found a spot where we could peer through the chain-link fence, a spot where I could see Victory Lane, see him climbing out of the car.

Gosh, that had to be '80s, early to mid '80s. Pretty vague memories of that.

From a road course, street environment, that's the only one I remember.

We had El Cajon Speedway. We'd watch the midgets. My dad volunteered occasionally on a late model stock that ran there, maybe it was a super late model back then.

My world was dirt. El Cajon is the hotspot for motorcross racing. When you look through the '70s, '80s, '90s, all the champions that came out of there. Anyone that wanted to be a champion moved to that area. Now that world has moved a little further north but still in California.

Off-road industry is in Southern California, as well. Some other areas. It was really kind of a dirt culture through my lens as a young adult growing up there.

NASCAR street racing, asphalt racing in general, was a little harder to find. We had plenty of sprint car tracks. There was a raceway in Chula Vista called Speedway 117. We had Ascot. Ventura wasn't too far away.

My upbringing was dirt focused and less asphalt. I think this provides great opportunity to show the racing scene there more about asphalt racing and stockcar racing.

As I say all that, I went to Riverside in the mid '80s. That's been so long since Riverside was there. I never went to Ontario. Again, you're talking three, four decades since there was really any stockcar racing that close. I guess those areas are kind of by Fontana. Anyhow, talking in circles trying to think of it all.

Very limited experience specifically to the San Diego area.

Q. I'm all for Jimmie Johnson Day in San Diego, but not a retirement day. You can go have fun with that, all right?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Thank you. That's what I'm thinking, as well (smiling).

Q. The question is about how do you think the circuit races are shining the road to the Playoffs? Shane has secured his place. Would you like to see more races of this type in the Playoffs, for example? Do you think this is the right direction for NASCAR?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: It depends if I have an SVG in my driver lineup or not (smiling). We're all very selfish in what we want to benefit our teams.

Ultimately I want what's best for the sport, what's best for the fans. If there is enough excitement and it's the right market for us to take a Playoff race to a street course or major city somewhere in the U.S. or abroad, I'm all for it. I think there's an appetite for motorsports worldwide. We're seeing a nice rise in viewership and interest in motor sports. We need to keep chasing that. Whatever it takes to grow the sport.

Q. David Suarez raced Xfinity with your team. What do you think the effect Daniel Suarez will have to the series in the plans of the NASCAR to be more international?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don't think Daniel is going to be out. It's never fun to be looking for a job, but it is early in the process. I think there's going to be a lot of movement as there is most years. I think he'll have some strong options to consider.

I don't think he's out of a Cup car. He's a recent race-winning Cup driver. There's always going to be room for someone like that, on top of his sponsor appeal and international appeal. I'm confident he'll find a very solid ride to compete in.

As a friend, his Xfinity win, I can only imagine. I texted him after that win, to soak it in, to win in your hometown like that, your home country, as I should say. The fans going crazy for him was really cool. I hope he really savored that moment.

Q. From a business perspective, can you discuss the impact of being in the Southern California market and how important that is for sponsorship? Then how does being in the San Diego market I guess compare to Los Angeles on that front?

JIMMIE JOHNSON: I don't have a good sense of L.A. versus San Diego. Have to assume it's a little smaller of a market. You'd hope to pull.

I think the uniqueness of the event and the location will help for eyeballs through television and whatever platform, if it's streams or traditional television that it's on.

I think that new and interesting, unique opportunities really have people tune in. I believe Chicago was a great example of that, seeing for a year or two, three, there's great interest. As it starts to taper off, let's take it somewhere else.

No one has shared with me that's why or the strategy. But just logically watching, why can't we move this around from city to city and create interest, continue to hit new markets, tap into new sponsors?

It's hard to say that it fits every sponsor's case study or need. I think Mexico City was a little challenging in some respects because sponsorship was sold, and many of them are domestic companies. What good is that going to do for a company in Mexico?

As we got back from that, learned, saw the impact we had on Prime, there were so many people that tuned in. That's a win.

Until we have the race and can reflect back on it, it's hard to make really educated comments on it. I would say the Mexico City event had some headwinds internally as we looked at our sponsors. We took sponsors down there that are all domestic. When we came back and reviewed everything, saw the eyeballs, it was a win. It worked out really well for us.

Again, it's just going to take a little time to figure out how to work this around. But I again applaud NASCAR for being aggressive and taking us to new markets.

THE MODERATOR: Jimmie, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it. Looking forward to this event in 2026 and a big good luck to your team as they head to Indianapolis this weekend as well.

JIMMIE JOHNSON: Thank you. Appreciate everybody tuning in.