Getty Jimmie Johnson races at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
One of Jimmie Johnson’s Crown Jewel-winning schemes is making a comeback for Throwback Weekend. Legacy Motor Club driver Noah Gragson will take the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro back to the 2014 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Legacy MC teased the scheme on May 4 with a skit featuring Johnson and Gragson, which started with the seven-time champion walking through the office and stopping at a desk where the driver of the No. 42 Chevrolet sat.
Gragson wore Johnson’s firesuit from the 2014 Coca-Cola 600, and he sipped from a can of Black Rifle Coffee. He then revealed that he will run his own version of the Lowe’s scheme during the Goodyear 400 on May 14.
.@NoahGragson is throwing it back ⏪ to an iconic @JimmieJohnson car from the 2014 Coca-Cola 600
See you in Darlington next weekend!
The video did not show the full version of Gragson’s Throwback Weekend scheme, but Legacy MC later revealed the full version. The No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro will feature the same red, white, and blue scheme with the stars that previously traveled around Charlotte Motor Speedway, but the 2023 version will have Sunseeker Resort as the primary partner instead of Lowe’s.
No. 42 🇺🇸 for @TooToughToTame 🔥
The 2014 Coca-Cola 600 Continued Johnson’s Dominance
GettyJimmie Johnson celebrates a Coca-Cola 600 win.
As a driver with 83 Cup Series wins, Johnson was in contention to win every time he climbed into the No. 48 Chevrolet. Though there were some tracks where he was particularly successful. This list includes Dover Motor Speedway (11 wins), Martinsville Speedway (nine wins), and Texas Motor Speedway (seven wins).
Johnson continued this run of success with eight wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Four of these wins were the Coca-Cola 600, which is a Crown Jewel event. This stat line includes three straight Coca-Cola 600 wins in 2003, 2004, and 2005.
The 2014 season marked the final time that Johnson won the Coca-Cola 600. He started from the pole in the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, and he led 164 of the 400 laps. Johnson held off Kevin Harvick on the final run to the checkered flag, and he celebrated once again in Victory Lane next to the scheme that will now return for the 2023 Goodyear 400.
Johnson Will See the Scheme in Action
GettyJimmie Johnson (left) will return for the Coca-Cola 600.
Throwback Weekend is unique in that the active drivers use the respective races to honor stars from NASCAR history. These legends of the sport may be on hand to watch this race — something that will happen as NASCAR honors the 75 Greatest Drivers — but they will not be in the field competing alongside a tribute scheme.
This trend will continue when Gragson suits up for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Johnson will likely be on hand to see the No. 42 Chevrolet Camaro compete at The Lady in Black, but he will not be in the starting lineup. Darlington Raceway was not on his list of races in which he would return to the Cup Series.
Johnson’s next start in the No. 84 Chevrolet Camaro will be the Coca-Cola 600. He will join Erik Jones and Gragson in the lineup, and he will try to capture his fifth Crown Jewel win at the Concord track.
Johnson’s first two starts of 2023 have not gone as planned. He performed well during the Daytona 500, but a late crash took him out of contention for a top-10 finish and dropped him to 31st overall. A five-car incident on the opening lap at Circuit of the Americas then sent him to the garage.