NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson continues 'Hall of Fame Tour' with an induction in Daytona

Jimmie Johnson’s many victories in NASCAR resulted in a very famous tie — seven Cup Series championships, matching the totals of previous legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

But this has to be a record he holds all to himself: This year, Johnson is enjoying three different Hall of Fame inductions. Tuesday night, he formally entered the Daytona Beach-based Motor Sports Hall of Fame of America, two months after his induction into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

“I’m now reflecting,” he said during a Monday night reception at the Hall of Fame and Museum at Daytona International Speedway. “I’ve found that the NASCAR Hall of Fame was the first experience I had that took me so deep down memory lane. I had such an amazing time, visiting with old friends, writing my speech, reliving all these memories.

“But I’m also very excited for this one. It’s special.”

PAUL NEWMAN The racer who also acted would've loved entering this Hall of Fame; Mario Andretti does the honors

In three months, he’ll break out the coat and tie again and prepare another acceptance speech when he’s inducted into the West Coast Stock Car/Motorsports Hall of Fame in Napa, California.

And to complete a foursome, Johnson says there’s another hall, in San Diego — his native area — that’s prepared to enshrine him once they can arrange the schedules.

That’s a lot of “career achievement” stuff for a guy who has nine Cup Series races on his 2024 docket, as well as his duties as co-owner of Legacy Motor Club, which fields full-time Cup rides for Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek.

“I’m in a different head space now, even though I’m driving,” he said. “I never really reflected back on what I accomplished. It was always about what was next.”

Originally, following his NASCAR retirement in 2020, the “next” was two seasons of IndyCar racing with team owner Chip Ganassi — in 2021-22. Along with scratching a competitive itch, those two seasons put wheels in motion for Johnson’s next “next,” which became Legacy Motor Club, which he co-owns with Maury Gallagher.

PAUL NEWMAN'S WATCH Paul Newman drove a Mustang to pick up a Rolex watch at Daytona in 1995; want to buy it?

“I never had a vision for it,” Johnson said. “As a kid, I always wanted to carry a helmet and drive as many different cars as I could. If things changed, I’d say what really started the change was my two years in IndyCar with Chip.

“He put the thought in my mind. And I also found the sponsorship (Carvana) and kinda managed it in a sense. He gave me the freedom to manage the relationship and the situation. And I realized how invigorating it was.”

He also began to realize his place within the racing hierarchy, rare air reached with the force of those 83 career victories, including two Daytona 500s, and the seven championships.

“I also had a great understanding of my brand, my brand recognition and the value of my brand,” he said of culturing the relationships necessary for his two-year IndyCar experience. “And it kinda got the snowball rolling. It was all surprises. I had no clue. Then this opportunity with Maury Gallagher comes along to get into the Cup Series, and here I am. And I’m having a great time doing it.”

As a young kid in El Cajon, Johnson first raced motorcycles. Later, it’d be off-road vehicles before converting to stock-car racing, a move that exploded in 2002 when he began racing full-time for Hendrick Motorsports. Along the way, he moonlighted in IMSA prototypes and became a regular in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Then came the two years in an IndyCar.

His career practically mirrors the roll-call of inductees in his newest hall of fame, which includes hydroplane and airplane racers along with two- and four-wheel giants. This year’s inductee list includes six-time IndyCar champ Scott Dixon, sports-car ace John Surtees and motorcycle champ Bud Ekins.

“It’s amazing,” he said. “I’d heard of the hall, of course, but the level of support this hall receives from all forms of racing is staggering.

“You have all forms of racing colliding. It’s so special.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR: 'Jimmie Johnson Hall of Fame Tour' passes through Daytona