SEVEN-TIME NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPION AND LEGACY MOTOR CLUB CO-OWNER JIMMIE JOHNSON TO BE INDUCTED INTO MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME OF AMERICA’S 2024 CLASS

LONG BEACH, California (April 14, 2023) — The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) announced its 2024 Induction Class today at the INDYCAR Grand Prix of Long Beach. The 36th Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Induction Celebration, which will formally usher the Class of 2024 into the MSHFA, will be held in the Hall’s home in Daytona Beach, Florida, in March of 2024.

The Class of 2024 includes the all-time winningest NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car crew chief Austin Coil (Drag Racing), six-time INDYCAR SERIES champion Scott Dixon (Open Wheel), HANS Device inventors Jim Downing & Dr. Robert Hubbard (Technology), desert racing legend and Hollywood stuntman Bud Ekins (Motorcycles), seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson (Stock Cars), four-time SCCA national champion and eight-time IndyCar title-winning owner Paul Newman (At Large) and 1966 Can-Am champion and championship-winning constructor John Surtees (Sports Cars). Two additional Historic Category inductees will be announced this summer.

Johnson spent 19 seasons driving for Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 48 Chevrolet. During his NASCAR Cup Series career, he accumulated 83 wins, 232 top-five and 374 top-10 finishes. Johnson tied Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with seven NASCAR Cup Series titles and was the first driver to win five championships in a row. After stepping away from full-time NASCAR competition in 2020, Johnson spent two seasons in the NTT INDYCAR Series along with co-MSHFA inductee Scott Dixon, driving for Chip Ganassi Racing and MSHFA Class of 2016 team owner Chip Ganassi. In 2023, the 47-year-old native of El Cajon, California returned to NASCAR as a part-time driver and team co-owner of LEGACY MOTOR CLUB. Johnson was inducted into the MSHFA in his first year of eligibility.

“It’s an incredible honor to be inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America,” said Johnson. “I’ve been so fortunate throughout my racing career to be honored in many ways, and to be recognized in this capacity is really humbling. I took part in the induction ceremonies of Tony Stewart in 2019 and my childhood mentor Ricky Johnson in 2012, so to be added to this elite group of individuals – by the equally impressive voting panel - is really special. I’m so thankful.” 

Each of the MSHFA’s inductees is elected by a straight vote of 200 motorsports experts. Regular voters include Mario Andretti (MSHFA Class of 1990), Don Garlits (MSHFA Class of 1989), Ganassi (MSHFA Class of 2016), Tom D’Eath (MSHFA Class of 2000), Scott Parker (MSHFA Class of 2009), Richard Petty (MSHFA Class of 1989), Don Prudhomme (MSHFA Class of 1991), Rusty Wallace (MSHFA Class of 2014) and other titans of the sport.

The nine Class of 2024 honorees will be formally brought into the Hall in the 36th Annual Induction Ceremony, the traditional black-tie gala that is the crowning event of the two-day, multi-function MSHFA Induction Celebration. The Induction Ceremony will be preceded the night before by the traditional "Heroes of Horsepower" reception and strolling dinner at the MSHFA Museum on the grounds of Daytona International Speedway. 

Through last month’s Class of 2023 induction, 288 Heroes of Horsepower are currently in the MSHFA, a number that will grow to 297 with the 36th Induction Class.