Jimmie Johnson, a professional auto racer, has recently been making headlines for his decision to take a break from NASCAR racing and being thankful to his fans and supporters for their love in his time of need by respecting his decision to quit the NASCAR Cup Series.
Jimmie Johnson, originally, Jimmie Kenneth Johnson, is a professional auto racing driver, who occasionally participated in the NASCAR Cup Series and has won several times was born in El Cajon, California, on September 17, 1975.
Jimmie completed his high school education at Granite Hills High School after which he competed in the off-road series and several other races, following which he won rookie of the year in several of these series.
Jimmie won his first NASCAR series, following which he won the title for four consecutive years, thus making him the first and only racer to make history by winning the series title for five consecutive years.
Jimmie is the son of Gary Ernest and Catherine Ellen, with the couple having two other sons who were Jimmie’s younger brothers with a career as racers in off-road racing series.
They are fairly successful but not to the extent their elder brother is, so his decision to take a break from doing what he loves, that is, participating in the NASCAR car series, came as a shock to his fans and family.
Launched in 2006, by Jimmie and Chandra, his wife, The Jimmie Johnson Foundation is responsible for helping families, children, and communities in need of help while also supporting several other foundations, including Hendrick Marrow Program, Habitat for Humanity, and Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Jimmie is often regarded as one of the best drivers in the history of the NASCAR car race series due to his brilliant performance in NASCAR, thus making the news of his departure from the series harder on his fans and supporters as everyone loved him on the tracks.
Jimmie tied the knot with his beloved wife, Chandra Janway, on December 11, 2004, in a beautiful ceremony after dating for a while after the two were introduced to each other by Jeff Gordon, the American car racing executive and got involved in a loving relationship.
Why Did Jimmie Johnson Leave NASCAR? Reason Revealed
Jimmie Johnson has a brilliant career as an auto racer in the NASCAR series, so imagine everyone’s shock when he decided to withdraw from this weekend’s Nascar Cup street race that is to be held in Chicago, thus making his fans curious as to the reason behind his decision.
Well, the reason behind Jimmy’s decision to withdraw from the upcoming NASCAR series is the tragedy that stuck with his wife’s family, which ended with the death of his mother-in-law, father-in-law, and nephew.
On June 26, 2023, the bodies of Jack Janway, 69, Jimmie’s father-in-law, and Terry Janway, 68-year-old mother-in-law of Jimmie Johnson, were found shot dead with their 11-year-old grandson by the cops in the Muskogee, Oklahoma home of theirs’.
The death of Jimmie’s in-laws and nephew of Jimmie’s was suspected to be a case of murder-suicide, with the police speculating that Terry Janway took the shot and killed her husband and nephew before killing herself, following which the NASCAR team shared their condolences with Jimmie and his wife’s family.
After the news of Jimmie’s in-law’s death came to light, Marlon Coleman, the mayor of Muskogee, gave his condolences to the family, stating that” it was traumatizing for him to find out that the long-standing family who had so many contributions in the betterment of their community met such a tragic end and the involvement of a child made the event even more bone-chilling”.
Well, following the incident, Jimmie’s family maintained their silence on the incident while requesting privacy from the media and support from his fans.
So, overall Johnson hasn’t fully retired from the NASCAR car series but took a break from it for a while to cope with the heavy loss while helping his wife and kids to deal with the mourning process with no media involvement.
