Kyle Larson Credits Jimmie Johnson for Starting the Tradition That Excites Every NASCAR Champion

The NASCAR Champion’s Journal is a book that every Cup Series champion passes on to his successor after each season. Kyle Larson, who won the 2025 title at the Phoenix Raceway on Sunday, has got his hands on it.

During a conversation on NASCAR’s The Day After, Larson was asked if he had taken a look at its pages and which was the first entry he went through. He revealed that he has started going through it right from the very beginning.

The tradition was started by the seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in 2005. Over the years, it has become one of the most cherished practices in NASCAR. After all, it is a privilege that comes with winning the ultimate prize in the sport.

“It’s just really cool to see how long it’s kind of gone on, and it’s definitely the most special piece of winning the championship,” Larson said.

“It’s really cool that I’ll be in there a couple times now, and I get to read what Joey [Logano] wrote to [Ryan] Blaney and then what Blaney wrote back to Joey. I think that is what I’m most excited to see now,” he added.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver spoke further, giving credit to Johnson for beginning the tradition in the first place. Larson hoped that he could keep it in his hands for as long as he can. Well, to keep it for more than a year at a stretch, he has to win the title again next season.

“I’m so thankful that Jimmy started that because I think it’s going to continue on for who knows how long, and it’s going to be pretty amazing to see someday. I guess I won’t be able to see it at some point, but hopefully, yeah, I get to keep my hands on it for a while,” said Larson.

So, what is written in the journal that the newly-crowed champion is so obsessed with?

The secret content of the Champion’s Journal

In short, nobody knows what is written in the journal except for those who are Cup Series champions. The journal itself might have remained a secret forever had Johnson not been photographed handing it over to Martin Truex Jr. in 2017.

Logano, among others, believes that the best part about the book is that its contents are secretive. “That’s the best part about this is that nobody even really knows what it is. Nobody knows what’s written in it,” Logano said in 2022.

Larson himself said in 2021, “It’s something that’s so special that you want to read it once when you get it and once again before I give it to the next guy. It’s an extremely special book.”

Larson will be thanking the gods for putting the book in his hands once again, especially after the stroke of luck that helped him win the title in Phoenix, beating Denny Hamlin.