“Jimmie made mistakes along the line, but so did every other seven-time champion we’ve had, and every other good driver is going to make mistakes. You’re going to have wrecks, tear up stuff, bump into people. You’re going to do things you’d like to go back and do-over. But more often than not, Jimmie was capable of reading the moment and adapting to them, and that applied to each race he ran, and each time we might make changes across the board in the garage.”

Helton said watching the Johnson dynasty unfold is good sports.

“Because a franchise or dynasty or iconic athlete isn’t one that, OK, maybe he’s going to have a good day, maybe he’s not,” Helton says. “Those teams or those individuals, every day, the expectation is that they are going to be a remarkable player or in our case, driver. What Jimmie did very quickly – and I say very quickly for the first four or five years of his career – was be identified race morning as a contender for that day consistently. Then he backed it up with wins and championships.”

Fans would get on the bandwagon along the way, hoping to see Johnson continue winning. Others became tired of seeing his success.
Helton (pictured with Johnson in 200 laughs off suggestions that NASCAR changed the rules to try to break the No.48’s dominance, and insists that Johnson and the team were simply better at adapting to change than their rivals. Motorsport Images

“But that’s the nature of sports, and that’s the nature of our sport,” says Helton.

Helton watched Johnson grow up in NASCAR. Johnson entered the Cup Series as a 26-year-old who matured into a champion, married and had children. A “remarkable individual” away from the racetrack, according to Helton, Johnson then puts on a helmet and becomes an incredible race car driver.

“That entire package is special and unique,” Helton says.

Aside from his success, Johnson gets praised for being good for NASCAR in terms of how he represented himself and the sport. It’s hard to find someone who will say Johnson isn’t a good person. Helton not only agreed, but applauded Johnson for trying other forms of motorsports when he left NASCAR.

But Helton and NASCAR are thrilled to have Johnson back in the stock car family as an owner at Legacy Motor Club and part-time driver.

“It means a lot; it’s a big statement,” says Helton of Johnson’s return. “If you watch the last few years and you see Brad Keselowski join Roush Fenway and become part of the ownership package, you see what Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. has done with JR Motorsports, Kyle Busch with his race team that’s separate from his driving career, and Kevin and Delana [Harvick] when they had their truck teams while he was driving.

“Those involvements in the sport beyond being a race car driver sends a big message to the whole NASCAR industry that this is my sport, I’m a part of it, and I want to contribute back to it because it’s been good to me. You want to stay engaged in it.

“A lot of drivers, and there is nothing wrong with this, they’ll go away, and you never hear from them unless we celebrate them at the Hall of Fame or something like that. But the guys like Tony Stewart and now Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr., Brad Keselowski, these drivers who help other drivers get the opportunities that they had, is a big positive statement for us.”

NO ONE has asked why he stopped before he broke the record of seven championships.