When Jimmie Johnson straps himself in the No. 48 Chevrolet to start the Daytona 500, it will mark the beginning of the end of what may have been the greatest career in NASCAR history.

Johnson, who announced on Nov. 21 that this will be his final season, had the incredible ability of making difficult things look easy on the race track. Perhaps that is why he is not as revered as Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt — the other two drivers who have won seven NASCAR Cup Series titles.

Neither of them, however, won five-straight championships as Johnson did between 2006 and ’10.

Petty and Earnhardt were perfect representatives for their time in NASCAR. Petty was “The King” beginning in the 1960s and carrying that status all the way through his retirement season in 1992. Earnhardt was “The Intimidator” in a career that began in 1979 and ended with his shocking death in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500.

Johnson arrived in the Cup Series in 2002 and quickly became a star at a time when NASCAR was flirting with the mainstream in sports and popular culture. But even though he was the big winner, other drivers such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart were enjoying immense popularity with the fans.

When it comes to accomplishments on the track, it’s obvious Johnson is one of the greatest ever. He may never fully get the credit he deserves, however, because of his easy-going personality and his squeaky-clean style of racing.

In a sport where the fans love aggression, Johnson was rarely an aggressor.

“The fans didn’t like Jimmie because he had the perfect look, the perfect car, the perfect wife and drove for the perfect team,” said NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace. “NASCAR fans don’t like perfect.”

There is no such thing as perfection in NASCAR, but Johnson’s success was stunning.

He is only the third driver in history with seven Series Cup titles. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner and a four-time Brickyard 400 winner. He also won 83 Cup Series races in 16 seasons from 2002 to ’17.

Johnson could leave the competition in the dust on the superspeedways and stay ahead of the aggressors on the short tracks.

Over the last two full seasons, however, Johnson’s performance has dropped off dramatically. For a driver who has experienced as much success as Johnson, 44, he knew the end of his career was near.

“When I look back on the years I’ve had so far in NASCAR, I fall back into thinking about the experiences and the people; those are the memories that come to mind,” Johnson said. “Not holding a trophy in victory lane or on the stage in Las Vegas that we’ve been on several times, it’s the people.

“So, to see some of my peers and their remarks, the phone calls, to connect with those people, text messages, whatever it may be; that part really filled my heart.”

When Johnson told team owner Rick Hendrick that 2020 would be his final season of full-time racing in NASCAR, Hendrick was shocked.

“Every time one of these drivers calls me and comes to my house, I know that’s not a good situation,” Hendrick said. “Everybody knows Jimmie; he processes everything. When he has made up his mind, he is not wishy-washy at all.

“He has done so much for us and for the sport.

“If you just said I’m going to make a list of what the perfect driver would be, from the talent to the ability to work with sponsors, he’s just raising the bar for our company. From fitness to charity, it’s unbelievable how perfect he is. So, whatever he wanted, I wanted for him.

“I told him, ‘We’re not on a clock, you tell me what you want to do and we’ll make it work.’ I thought he deserved that from our company,” Hendrick added. “I knew the day would come; I should be the one retiring. I’m happy for him because I want to see what the next chapter is. He has set the foundation and the benchmark for us at this company that we’ll always strive to get there. He’s going to be a buddy, a friend and we will do things together. He’s just an unbelievable person and an unbelievable friend.

“He’s not just a driver, he’s family.”

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