NASCAR News: Jimmie Johnson plans to race again in San Diego

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (pictured) is returning to the No. 84 Toyota Camry for another start in 2026. Jimmie Johnson has announced he will take on a bucket list event in his hometown.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

The salt-tanged breeze off the Pacific whispered through the open windows of Jimmie Johnson’s El Cajon garage, a place frozen in time since his dirt-track days. It was November 5, 2025, and the seven-time champion sat on a worn stool, phone in hand, the glow of Brandweek Atlanta still fresh on his face. At 50, with 83 Cup wins etched into his legacy like skid marks on blacktop, Johnson had long traded full-throttle seasons for the steady hum of Legacy Motor Club ownership. But tonight, under the flicker of a single bulb, a spark reignited.

“I never thought about something like this,” he murmured to himself, replaying the words he’d just uttered on stage. NASCAR on Naval Base Coronado—a 3.4-mile beast of a street course snaking through San Diego’s military heart, 16 turns of concrete and asphalt begging for horsepower. June 19-21, 2026. Father’s Day weekend. The 250th birthday of the nation he’d raced across like a comet. And the 20th anniversary of the foundation that had rebuilt playgrounds from wildfire ash and handed out computers to kids who dreamed bigger than their zip code.

It started as a whisper in July, when NASCAR dropped the bombshell: San Diego, his San Diego, getting the Cup Series circus. “The desire to race in my hometown is off the charts,” he’d said then, voice cracking with that boyish fire. Now, it was official. Not just the Cup finale on the 21st in the No. 84 Toyota Camry, Carvana splashed across the hood like a badge of full-circle fate. No—he was going all in. Three days, three series, three shots at etching his name into the harbor mist.

Thursday, the Trucks would roar first, a brutal ballet of drafting and daring on the base’s edge. Johnson pictured it: qualifying for an open spot, no handouts in this game, just raw speed or the slow walk home. “Be fast, or go home,” he’d grin, the words his mantra. Friday, Xfinity—faster, fiercer, a nod to the undercard that built legends. Then Saturday, the big show. Cup cars thundering past fighter jets on static display, the crowd a sea of new faces—70% fresh blood, NASCAR’s biggest waitlist ever—cheering a Hall of Famer come home after 30 years away.

But it wasn’t just rubber and fuel. This was personal history, wrapped in red, white, and blue. His wife Chani and the girls in the stands, close enough to smell the burnt rubber. Friends from El Cajon high school, now graying but eyes wide like kids. The foundation’s donors, San Diego suits who’d already started buzzing about auctions and outreach. “This could be a huge weekend for the foundation,” he thought, already mapping charity laps between practice runs. And the military tie? Pure poetry. Racing where sailors trained, honoring the Navy that shaped the city he loved.

Johnson leaned back, tracing a finger over a faded map of the course pinned to the wall. “Growing up just miles from San Diego, I dreamed about racing here… but I never thought it would be possible.” Mind-blowing, he’d called it. A bucket-list bullet point checked with a V8 roar. Sure, there was the fine print—provisional spots if qualifying slipped, balancing seat time with family picnics—but doubt was for rookies. He’d aggressively chase every grid slot, Legacy’s third charter humming in the background like a promise.

As dawn cracked over the bay, Johnson fired up the old simulator in the corner, the whir of virtual tires echoing his pulse. 2026 wasn’t a plan; it was a homecoming. A shock in the very best way. “I’m pumped,” he whispered to the empty room, the words carrying on the breeze. San Diego was calling. And for the first time in many years, Jimmie Johnson was answering—three events wide, legacy deep, and heart full throttle.