Legacy Motor Club co-owner Jimmie Johnson will take to the field in his No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for the sixth time this season in Indianapolis on Sunday. The seven-time Cup Series champion is expected to be amongst the fastest drivers on the infamous Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2.5-mile oval layout. Assisting him in the venture will be his father, Gray Johnson.
Advertisement
The elder Johnson, 71, will serve as a secondary spotter for the No. 84 team alongside Earl Barban. This isn’t the first time that Johnson’s father has teamed up with Barban in the spotter stand. He was a part of the roster in the 2022 Indianapolis 500 as well. Johnson put up a strong performance through the race then with the aid of his father before crashing out in the final laps.
In Sunday’s #Brickyard400, @JimmieJohnson will have his father Gary spotting for the No. 84 @LEGACYMotorClub team in Turn 3, assisting primary spotter Earl Barban.
Barban and the elder Johnson previously teamed up to spot the 2022 Indianapolis 500 for Jimmie Johnson.#NASCAR
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) July 17, 2024
Gray will be covering Turn 3 of the race track this Sunday but the Johnson family’s involvement doesn’t end there. Johnson’s daughters are the ones who designed the paint scheme that the No. 84 car will be wearing, thanks to team sponsor Carvana. On the flip side, Johnson has managed only a best finish of 28th place in the five races that he has run in 2024 so far.
The bumpy ride can be attributed to the fact that he hasn’t had notable experience driving the NextGen car. He moved to racing in the IndyCar Series following his full-time retirement from the Cup Series in 2020. It was only in 2023 did he returned a year after the introduction of the seventh-generation Cup Series car and the journey since has been a deep learning experience.
Jimmie Johnson’s strong record at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Four of the 83 races that Johnson won over his career were Brickyard 400s. His record is second only to his former teammate Jeff Gordon who has won the event five times. Safe to say, he will be well worthy of yet another Cup Series victory should his Camry lend him a hand. He benefits from the fact that the current field hasn’t raced on the oval layout since 2020 either.
He told the press during his media availability, “This place is sacred and I can’t help but smile when I look back on all the experiences I have had over my entire career on this track. With no one racing this car in this configuration, it’s going to level up the playing field slightly. I’m excited to get back behind the wheel and see what we can do this weekend.”
