"That’s something I cherish" - Tony Stewart on 'loaning' Jimmie Johnson's memorabilia

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is all set to return to familiar ways this year.

After retiring from stock racing in 2020 and going onto experience the open-wheeled world of motorsports in the NTT IndyCar series, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver returns to what he knows best.

Over the years in his motorsport journey, the El Cajon, California native has come across drivers from various forms of the sport, with legends such as Fernando Alonso from F1 to IndyCar superstar Scott Dixon.

One of the best stories of such companionship, however, came from his days in NASCAR with legend Tony Stewart. Stewart and Johnson competed in the highest echlon of stock car racing for 15 years, starting from the 2001 season to the 2016 season where Tony Stewart announced his retirement.

Despite leaving the role of a driver, Stewart stayed in the sport as the team co-owner at Stewart-Haas Racing, and he remained close with Jimmie Johnson throughout.

Such was the friendship between the two drivers that Johnson handed his helmet to Stewart after winning his seventh championship at Homestead-Miami in 2016. Stewart, to this day, holds on to what he considers a historic piece of memorabilia in the sport. When asked about it by RACER, the 51-year-old said:

“I still tell Jimmie I view that helmet that it’s on loan from him, and I’ve always told him, ‘That helmet will never go anywhere.' If there’s a day when he decides he wants it back, I’ll hand deliver it to him personally."

He added:

"That’s a significant helmet in the history of this sport and that’s something I cherish. The value of it isn’t because of what it is. It’s because of who it came from and the fact that it was a personal gift from him.”

Jimmie Johnson is all set to make his Cup Series return with the 2023 Daytona 500 in February.

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Former Cup Series driver Matt Kenseth elaborates on his experience racing against Jimmie Johnson

Like many of his colleagues from back in the day, Matt Kenseth is another driver who has nothing but praise for Jimmie Johnson. The 50-year-old Cambridge, Wisconsin native looked back on his time with Johnson when the duo competed together in an interview with RACER, and recalled how it was sometimes frustrating to race against someone so good. He said:

“It sucked racing against him, because I got beat so much, I think of a lot of different times and races where I thought I was going to come out on top and didn’t."

Kenseth reminisced fondly on his time with the seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, praising Johnson as a driver and a person. He said:

“He certainly made everybody better. I did enjoy racing with him. More than anything, I did enjoy getting to know him as a man and during the last four or five years of our careers on the road, cycling together and talking about life and becoming better friends. That’s for sure my favorite part, but it was great racing with him.”

Watch Jimmie Johnson return to the NASCAR Cup Series field this February at the Daytona 500.