NASCAR’s 7x Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson began a tradition in 2011 that has been adored and respected by every title winner since. The Cup Series Champion’s Journal is one of the perks that a driver in the top tier receives for being the best of the year. Currently holding the journal in his hands, 2023 champion Ryan Blaney recently explained what it was all about.
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He said in an interview on Today, “The Champion’s journal is something that was started over a decade ago and all the champions write in it. So each year it gets handed off to the next champion. It is a fantastic idea.” The contents of the book are a top kept secret and Ryan Blaney affirmed that even his soon-to-be-wife Gianna hasn’t seen what’s in it.
He continued to compare the journal with the President’s Book from the National Treasure movie series and expressed how excited he was to hand it off to the next champion. He’d also talked about it to NASCAR last month and said, “It was cool. Seeing all the champions in there, Jimmie and Tony (Stewart) and all those guys. It’s just neat. I’m excited to make my own entries.”
Though Blaney mentions that he is excited to be handing it off, he will no doubt enjoy keeping it to himself for yet another year by defending his 2023 title.
What do other Cup Series champions say about the Champion’s Journal?
The journal has entries from coveted drivers like Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and others. The 2021 champion Larson said of it, “That was the thing that I was most excited about from winning the championship, was to receive that. I hope I can win other championships down the road to see what’s been passed on since me.”
Elliott’s only wish was that the journal tradition had been started earlier. He said, “It’s a great honor to have seen that and read what’s in it and be able to pass that along… I wish they had started it sooner. Having been a champion and having a chance to read it, I just wish it went back further. I think it would be incredible.”
Joey Logano has the honor of receiving the journal twice, in 2018 and 2022. He said, “That’s the best part about this is that nobody even really knows what it is. Nobody knows … what’s written in it.”
The secretive book will be up for grabs once again when the season officially kicks off at Daytona.
