The Darlington Raceway hosted a throwback weekend for the NASCAR paddock. In light of that the soon-to-retire driver, Jimmie Johnson revealed that he had very special plans, and he was going “all in”.

Many consider the Southern 500 to be the “crown jewel” race. That weekend, NASCAR elected to pay tribute to its rich past. So, various drivers and their teams chose to use throwback paint schemes celebrating all the NASCAR legends.

Admittedly, Jimmie Johnson himself is the subject of several tributes, since he is set to walk away from NASCAR soon. Among the many Johnson tributes. there are some from his Hendrick Motorsports teammates.

However, the 7-time NASCAR Champion is set to jump onto the tribute bandwagon. The only difference is that he is paying tribute to fellow-7-time Champions, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

Jimmie Johnson went the extra mile in his tribute

Apparently, the 44-year-old felt that a tribute livery was not enough, so he turned to a bit of cosplay. To be precise, he dressed the part ahead of the Southern 500.

Johnson sported a pair of sunglasses that resembled the iconic ones that the late Earnhardt wore. He also donned a stetson hat with feathers, and it looked eerily similar to the one that Richard Petty wears to the track.

According to NBC and Dale Earnhardt Jr, both items are authentic. As it turned out, Jimmie Johnson approached Dale Sr.’s sister to ask for the Gargoyles sunglasses. In addition to that, he managed to acquire a signed hat from The King, Richard Petty.

When Sunday’s race finally arrived, the #48 driver managed to fuse the two iconic paint schemes together. He was also able to pull off the Stetson and sunglasses look.

Admittedly, Jimmie Johnson is merely racing for the sake of personal pride. The Southern 500 marks the first race of the Cup Series Playoffs, but Johnson failed to make the cut for the final time.

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