February 16, 2025
After running out of fuel in his second Duel race, two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson fell from running as high as second to an eventual 19th-place finish. As a result, he starts 40th and next-to-last in Sunday's race as he was forced to advance to the Daytona 500 by virtue of his qualifying position instead of his Duel finish. Given his past history, his starting position, and the fact that the Toyotas seem to be the fastest in the draft based on the Duel races, he is a very tempting selection for DFS consideration, especially since he only costs $5,500. The problem is that most people don't expect him to finish the race, as he hasn't finished in five of his 12 starts since his return and he has never finished better than 26th in a race. There is some value here, but his ceiling is likely too low to make him a top option.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
February 13, 2025
Jimmie Johnson clinched a spot in Sunday's Daytona 500 by qualifying 29th in Daytona 500 qualifying on Wednesday evening, which ranked second among drivers for non-chartered teams. Johnson's qualifying run was impressive, as he outqualified both of his full-time drivers Erik Jones and John Hunter Nemechek while tying his Toyota stablemate Bubba Wallace in qualifying, even though the 23XI Racing cars are usually far faster than the Legacy Motor Club cars. The seven-time champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner is unlikely to contend in either his Duel race or the Daytona 500 itself, as he has never finished better than 26th or had an average running position better than 19th since his 2023 return. But at least he avoided the ignominy of a high-profile DNQ.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 20, 2024
Jimmie Johnson used to be great at Las Vegas with four wins from 2005 to 2010, most notably the 2006 event where he led only the final lap after passing Matt Kenseth on a green-white-checkered restart. However, he has not been competitive anywhere with the Next Gen car and Legacy Motor Club hasn't been much better. He starts 29th today and considering he finished either 28th or 29th in four of the five races he finished, you can probably figure on him getting a similar finish today if he doesn't crash. Since his average running position has never been better than 28th this season, even a top 20 would be a big stretch.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
September 29, 2024
Jimmie Johnson qualified 35th for today's Kansas race. Although he thrice won there in days of yore, he has not been remotely competitive since his return to the NASCAR Cup Series in the Next Gen era as his best finish is 28th and his best average running position is 19th. He did run the Kansas race in the spring where he finished last after being wrecked by Corey LaJoie, but he was only running 27th before that although he was ahead of both of his teammates John Hunter Nemechek and Corey Heim at the time he wrecked. While the Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing will almost certainly be very fast, it's obvious Legacy Motor Club is getting far less support from Toyota, so even if he had speed, he probably wouldn't be competitive. Expect him to finish around 30th.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
RADIO
