NASCAR World Furious After Seven-Time Champion Jimmie Johnson’s Hall Of Fame Snub

When you begin to talk about the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time, three names clear all the rest.

There’s Richard Petty, perhaps the sport’s first true superstar and a seven-time champion. There’s Dale Earnhardt, who is perhaps the name most readily associated with the sport and himself a seven-time champion.

And then there’s Jimmie Johnson.

Johnson wasn’t the character of an Earnhardt or a Petty, but he was one whale of a driver when he stepped into a race car. Like the two before him, Johnson is a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion. But Johnson also separated himself from the pack.

The Hendrick Motorsports star won five consecutive series championships from 2006-2010. Prior to that, no one had won more than three in a row.

He has 83 career victories, which is sixth all-time and seven wins more than Earnhardt (though far behind Petty’s record of 200). Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus absolutely ran roughshod over the sport for a number of years.

This year, both became eligible for the NASCAR Hall of Fame on the Modern Era ballot.

Unsurprisingly, both were voted in and will be inducted as part of the 2024 class.

But there’s just one problem. Four voters opted to leave Johnson, one of three drivers with seven championships, off there ballot altogether.

This set off a firestorm among fans, media members and drivers.

https://twitter.com/RodDelCampo/status/1686848467287801856?s=20

“To be a panelist is a honor that should be taken seriously. What 4 people did today is make a joke of that honor and for what? It can only be a couple reasons a person would have to not give someone like Jimmie their vote,” driver and team owner Denny Hamlin said.

While fellow driver Brad Keselowski seemed to agree.

Johnson himself says he didn’t care, but would like to know who didn’t vote for him.

As long as there are halls of fame, there will be voting controversy. But this one seemed like a layup and was easily avoidable.