When Jimmie Johnson announced his comeback to NASCAR in a part-owner, part-driver role, there were many that wondered if that move could potentially hurt his legacy. After all, nobody would want to see a seven-timer get beaten on track by a rookie or someone with less prestige, which is a big possibility. However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is of a different opinion.

The Hall of Famer recently revealed an anecdote about Johnson from the time he himself was considering retirement and shed some light on the mindset of the seven-timer and what drives him.

Junior recalled, “When I was looking at retirement and considering retirement and what that might look like, me and Jimmie had conversations and he’s like, ‘Man you know what would be great? It’s if we split a season. I don’t want to quit entirely, but man, wouldn’t it be cool if we just had a couple of races that we ran and we split a car?'”

“I’m like, ‘That sounds awesome, but it’s not realistic. Nobody’s gonna want, Rick (Hendrick) is not gonna want to do that. But I say that in his mind he never really wanted to stop,” he continued.

“In his mind, he just wanted to do this.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr feels Jimmie Johnson only wants to race

Dale Jr. also described why Jimmie Johnson has been making eyebrow-raising decisions since his first NASCAR retirement, but also why those decisions are ones which aren’t only justified, but one’s people should leave Johnson alone with.

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“In his mind, he still loves to drive and wants to race,” Earnhardt Jr. said of Johnson. “He went to INDYCAR because of the challenge but also because of the limited schedule.”

“Now he’s getting that at the Cup level, go get it.”

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Dale Jr. has no expectations from Johnson as he presses, nothing can taint his legacy

As for those who are concerned about Johnson’s performance in the 2023 season, Dale Jr. separated himself from that crowd. In fact, the JRM co-owner claimed that there’s nothing that can happen in the coming season which would change his opinion of the seven-timer.

“I don’t have an expectation of where he should or could finish. I don’t think it’s gonna change anything about the way I feel about his legacy if he goes out there and doesn’t have a good time or good runs,” Jr. said. “No way in hell all those championships in a row, I mean, nobody’s gonna do that again”

“Nothing can change the way I feel about Jimmie and his legacy because of how dominant he was in that five-year stretch.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is certainly firm in his opinion about Jimmie Johnson, and interestingly had once looked at Jimmie Johnson when deciding to use a smaller steering wheel. What are your thoughts on Johnson?

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