Jimmie Johnson’s return to Cup racing hasn’t been a pleasant one at the Texas Motor Speedway. After wrecking his car in the practice and failing to make it to the qualifying, the 7-time Cup Series champ has found himself in similar trouble today in the main event. Starting from the back of the field, he sparked the first caution of the race, spinning the No. 84 Toyota Camry on the race track.

This was just after the first green stop pit cycles, and coincidentally, this caution worked in favor of Chase Elliott, who decided to stay out in the lead. The HMS driver and his crew chief, Alan Gustafson, pulled off a brilliant move, all thanks to Johnson’s spin. However, the fans certainly weren’t thrilled by what they saw from Johnson and expressed their harsh take on his future of racing in NASCAR.

Jimmie Johnson scores his first lead lap finish with the Next Gen car

This was Johnson’s first race at the mile-and-a-half race track with the Next Gen car. The last time he raced on the intermediate oval track was at Charlotte in 2023, and he ended the race with a crash, finishing 37th. However, coming into the event, he was optimistic about his chances.

“I want to run all the laps, be able to help our company grow. Really work through this first quarter, first half of the season with our change at Toyota. There’s just a lot of new things for us we’re trying to get our arms around. We’ve had some speed at times, but constantly having speed is a big objective for us right now. I hope my participation this weekend helps us take a step in that direction,” he said via NASCAR.

While he might not have run well, but the wreckfest race in Texas allowed him to steady his ship after the early jitters. He even had some good battles with the likes of Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson. However, despite all his troubles and efforts on the day, Johnson managed a #29 finish, which was technically on the tail end of the field, as the rest of the drivers couldn’t even make it until the end.

And owing to his poor run on the day, the fans decided to get on his case, suggesting how he should call it quits from racing in NASCAR.

Fans react to Jimmie Johnson’s torrid run at Texas Motor Speedway

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Taking to X, several fans suggested that his time racing at the top level is done and that he should save himself from the embarrassment. Reacting to his disappointing show, a fan wrote, “Nah he should just stop tbh, he has everything in nascar you could possibly want already.”

Another fan was heartbroken to see their idol struggle during the race but didn’t hold back in sharing an honest opinion, saying, “My idol so washed 💔”.

Acknowledging his legendary status, a user had a similar view regarding Jimmie Johnson’s poor run. “It’s time to hang it up. An absolute legend, but this is downright embarrassing”.

Going to extreme lengths, one fan even called him an old man and suggested that he should pack his bags and not return to racing anymore. “time to pack it up old man”.

It will be interesting to see how Johnson performs in the remainder of the races in the schedule this season. Do you think he can shut down critics? Let us know what you think!