Relive Jimmie Johnson’s Wonderful Gestures After Chase Elliott’s Maiden NASCAR Race and Title Wins

Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott have shared a great relationship ever since they became teammates. The two also have a lot of mutual respect, and Johnson always made sure to celebrate Elliott’s successes. In a sense, Johnson has become a pseudo mentor to the #9 driver.

In 2018, when Chase Elliott won his first-ever Cup race, Johnson helped push his car to Victory Lane. Fast-forward to the 2020 season, and Elliott had just clinched his maiden Cup title.

In light of that, Jimmie Johnson was understandably proud of his ward. So he was literally one of the first people to congratulate Elliott for a job well done.

In a sense, Johnson’s congratulations were perceived as a passing of the torch. It is all the more significant, as this was Johnson’s final year in the NASCAR Cup Series before he retired.

Jimmie Johnson and Chase Elliott have a lot of mutual respect

In a way, Elliott clinching the title on the day of Johnson’s final race is very poetic. Back in 2018, when Chase won his first race, he ran out of fuel at the end.

Owing to this, Johnson decided to give him a helping hand back to the pit lane and on to Victory Lane.

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“He pushed me back around to the front straightaway, which I thought was really cool,” Elliott said. “And a person you look up to like that, in a moment like that — to share that in photos and things forever I think will be pretty cool. So that was a neat one for me.”

In a way, this signifies the end and the beginning of an era. Johnson is effectively handing over the reins of the Hendrick Motorsports wagon to Elliott.

This is important because Jimmie Johnson was Hendrick’s last champion, and Elliott is picking up right where he left off.

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