Jimmie Johnson is one of the winningest NASCAR drivers in history, backed by seven Cup Series championships. When asked what his post-win beverage was, Johnson cited an ice-cold beer with pizza, which he prefers with pineapple.
Johnson spent most of his Cup racing days in the #48 Chevrolet at Hendrick Motorsports. He dominated the sport for almost two decades, winning 83 races, which is tied with Cale Yarborough for sixth on the all-time list. His final start as a full-time driver was in 2020 before going part-time at Legacy Motor Club three years later.
In an episode of his Never Settle podcast, his co-host and New York Times bestselling author Marty Smith asked him about his beverage choice after winning races back in his heyday. The 49-year-old also weighed in on the pizza-on-pineapple debate.
“For whatever reason, the flights home, we always had pizza. I'm a big fan of Canadian bacon and pineapple on a pizza. There are mixed opinions on that. But I'm a pineapple guy on my pizza and a Bud Light,” Johnson said.
“I just have a cold beer, Bud Light... Coors Light, whatever was in the cooler on the way back. Something about a hot day in the car, a slice of pizza, and an ice-cold beer that really hit well,” he added.
Jimmie Johnson's last Cup win came from Dover International Speedway in 2017. He retired three seasons later due to several factors, including changes in the format and financial challenges among drivers.
The Californian returned to NASCAR in 2023 after a short stint in the IndyCar Series. He is a part-time driver of the #84 Toyota Camry and co-owner of Legacy Motor Club (formerly Petty GMS Motorsports).
His best finish as a part-timer was third place in the Daytona 500 earlier this year.
“We want to expand to a third car”: Jimmie Johnson on future plans for Legacy Motor Club
Jimmie Johnson gave a glimpse of what the future of Legacy Motor Club could look like. He said the team wants to expand to a three-car driver lineup in a bid to “maximize everything,” which should include profits and on-track data.
The LMC team co-owner and part-time driver told Paul Tracy (via The RACER Channel on YouTube):
“Focus on building the team and getting it right. We also want to expand to a third car so that we can maximize everything within the NASCAR ecosystem.” [45:24]
Jimmie Johnson also looks to extend their racing program to other series, adding:
“From there, we need to think of our driver pipeline and how we're going to bring along future drivers for Legacy Motor Club. Is that Xfinity, Trucks, Trans Am, down to karting... like where do we start.”
The current full-time driver lineup at LMC includes John Hunter Nemechek in the #42 Toyota Camry and Erik Jones in the #43 car. The Statesville-based outfit is showing improvements compared to last season, with the two drivers in the vicinity to make the top 16 spots for the playoffs.
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