As Jimmie Johnson prepares for his final full season as a NASCAR Cup Series driver, the obvious questions are already being asked.
Who will be the next driver to wheel the No. 48 Chevrolet? And, which drivers are ready to fill his void in NASCAR as a racing legend?
Filling the seat in the No. 48 is the easy part. Replacing Johnson’s legendary status is not.
First things first; who are the likely candidates that are under consideration at Hendrick Motorsports?
“I’ve already picked a guy,” team owner Rick Hendrick said. “Jeff Gordon is coming back.”
Hendrick’s comment drew a hearty round of laughs because that obviously isn’t going to happen. But it’s obvious the driver who takes over the No. 48 will be reflective of the great young drivers Hendrick Motorsports has developed into champions.
“Listen, we have another year,” Hendrick said. “Our company is really excited; we’re going to put everything we got into all our cars. With Chad (Knaus) sitting as a big part in Jimmie’s career and what he’s done for this company, it’s our goal to get him (Johnson) the absolute best and we want to see him go out on top; winning and getting that championship.”
When it comes to legends, the first homegrown Hendrick legend was Gordon. The driver from Vallejo, Calif., whose family moved to Pittsboro, Ind., when he was a teenager so he could compete in USAC, was among the first of his generation of drivers who came to NASCAR.
Prior to that, the majority of NASCAR’s drivers were from the South. With Gordon, it created opportunities for drivers from the Midwest and California to advance to NASCAR.
Gordon was also among the first of his generation of stars to retire from NASCAR in 2015. Fellow Hoosier Tony Stewart was the next of that group to retire in 2016.
Fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. called it a career in 2017 and Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray have also stepped away from the driver’s seat.
The prevailing sense at Hendrick Motorsports as the season begins is to focus on Johnson’s final year, while waiting on the proper time to name his replacement.
“I can tell you right now, we’re not looking,” said Gordon, former racing legend and co-owner of the No. 48 car with Rick Hendrick. “It’s just because we’re just not there yet.
“The most important thing right now is focused on Jimmie going out on top. That he deserves. He wants it. His drive is there,” Gordon continued. “The connection between he and Cliff Daniels (Johnson’s crew chief) is there. We’ve not done a good enough job giving him the equipment in the last couple of years. And we’re very focused on that, so we’ve got some time before we need to think about that, and I think when we get closer to that process, we’ll keep you guys informed as we can.”
Hendrick Motorsports can wait for the right opportunity and the right driver since the team’s primary sponsor, Ally, is signed through 2023.
While Hendrick and Gordon evaluate Johnson’s replacement in the No. 48, Daniels is committed to giving Johnson a winning Chevrolet.
“It’s the man he is,” Daniels said. “There are so many adjectives to throw at that from things he does on track to things he does off track. Obviously, many discussions happened of things he’s done off track, but on track, he races clean, races respectful, races well at a very high level.
“There’s so much to be said for that because we all know many fierce competitors, athletes and drivers that may not always be the cleanest, courteous or most respectful, and to do that and win that many races speaks volumes,” Daniels added. “So, to me, the man Jimmie Johnson, the competitor both on and off the track is his legacy. That’s what he lives out every day. That’s who he is. I’m thankful to just be a part of that and live some of that with him.”
This is an era similar to the late 1980s and early 1990s when NASCAR legends such as Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker and Benny Parsons parked their cars for the final time. They were replaced by a new breed of stars that included Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace and Gordon.
Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott were part of both of those eras.
What makes the previous generations unique is those drivers raced well into their 50s. Gordon, Stewart, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson and others have called it quits in their early to mid-40s.
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