It’s time to say goodbye. After 19 long and exciting years, Jimmie Johnson is retiring from NASCAR.

Jimmie Johnson was born in 1975 in California. He has two younger siblings, both of which made professional off-road racing careers. Jimmie Johnson attended Granite Hills High School in California while he raced motorcycles on the weekends. He played Varsity in water polo, diving, and swimming, and graduated in 1993. Due to his impressive skills, his athlete number of 48 has been retired from all sports team’s uniforms at Granite Hills and he was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame.

Jimmie Johnson was close friends with his competitor, Blaise Alexander. After Alexander’s death during a racing accident, Johnson had a flame decal with Alexander’s initials on every car. In 2004, after the plane crash that killed fellow racer, Rick Hendrick’s son along with nine others, the tail number of the crashed plane was added beside Alexander’s initials.

For Jimmie Johnson’s successes in racing, he is often known as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. NASCAR drivers, teammates, and veterans have complimented him for his leadership and helpfulness.

Johnson is tied in first with Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty for the most NASCAR Cup Series championships, the three of them having won seven cups each. He also has the most consecutive championships with five in a row. Johnson is the all-time Cup Series driver at Auto Club Speedway, with six cups, Charlotte Motor Speedway, with eight cups, Dover International Speedway, with eleven cups, Kansas Speedway, with three cups (tied with Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick), Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with four cups, and Texas Motor Speedway, with seven cups. “Up until 2019, Johnson was the only driver to have qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs every single year since its inception in 2004. He also holds the record for the most consecutive and total playoffs appearances, with 15.”

Jimmie Johnson was a great racer, a good sport, and a smart man. He will be sorely missed in NASCAR. We love you Jimmie!