Jimmie Johnson wants to make his final NASCAR Cup Series race one to remember. And thanks to the efforts of Rick Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports, much of that vision has come together. At next year’s Daytona 500, Johnson will once again climb behind the wheel of the iconic No. 48, the same number he drove to seven Cup Series championships and 83 race wins. But one key piece of that legendary chapter will be missing. Despite everyone’s best efforts, Johnson won’t have the one constant that stood beside him throughout his championship-winning years.

Jimmie Johnson not getting the storybook farewell

The No. 48 being loaned to Jimmie Johnson by Alex Bowman for one race is a classy gesture, but his longtime sponsor, Lowe’s Home Improvement, won’t be returning for his final Daytona 500. Johnson spoke about the unsuccessful attempt to reunite with the brand during a recent interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

“I know [Rick] Hendrick has tried for a long time, and I certainly have,” he said. “You never want to say never, with Carvana and our agreement, an announcement that they’re going to be with me through my final ride in Daytona. I wish there was something there, but this seems like too far of a reach.”

It’s a sad but unfortunate reality. The sport doesn’t work on emotions. Since 2021, Carvana, an e-commerce platform for used cars, has been Johnson’s primary sponsor. They funded his No. 48 entry with Chip Ganassi Racing in IndyCar and have also backed his part-time NASCAR appearances in the No. 84 for Legacy Motor Club. So, contractually, Carvana will have to be on the hood and doors of the car at Daytona next year. It can’t be Lowe’s, the brand that became synonymous with Johnson during the prime years of his legendary career.

It was a time when brands stayed with drivers for the long haul, creating some of the most iconic partnerships in NASCAR history. Jeff Gordon’s DuPont No. 24, Tony Stewart’s Home Depot No. 20, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s Budweiser No. 8 remain etched in fans’ memories to this day. But no sponsor-driver partnership matched the success Johnson enjoyed with Lowe’s.

Johnson won all seven of his Cup Series championships and 82 of his 83 career races with Lowe’s branding on his car. The company partnered with him from his rookie season in 2002 and remained by his side as primary sponsor through 2018, before leaving NASCAR as part of a shift in its marketing strategy.

So, while Johnson will get to retire behind the wheel of the iconic No. 48, he won’t be able to represent one of the defining parts of his career. It’s especially disappointing because everyone involved tried their best to make it happen. Brands have reunited with their biggest stars before. In 2024, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to Late Model racing, Budweiser revived the iconic No. 8 “King of Beers” scheme for him. Granted, that wasn’t for a one-off race but as part of a new sponsorship agreement.

Missing out on a Lowe’s reunion is undoubtedly disappointing. But if there was one piece of his legacy Johnson would have absolutely loved to reclaim, it was the No. 48. Getting that done, however, proved to be a challenge in itself.

Johnson on Hendrick getting him the No. 48 for the 2027 Daytona 500

Johnson confessed in the same interview that the idea of racing for the final time in the Cup Series in his iconic number came to him on a whim. He was also aware of how difficult it would be to pull off.

The No. 48 is owned by Hendrick Motorsports, but it is currently assigned to Alex Bowman. That also meant Ally Financial, Bowman’s primary sponsor, had to be consulted and agree to loan the number for the Daytona 500, arguably NASCAR’s biggest race. Johnson decided it was worth asking anyway and called Rick Hendrick with the proposal. Hendrick’s response? “Yeah! I love it! Let me get to work!”

Thankfully for Johnson, Rick got the green light from the stakeholders. And needless to say, the Legacy Motor Club owner is excited to bow out from the Cup Series with the same number that defined him. For that, he’ll always be grateful to Rick.

Johnson said about Rick Hendrick, “It also speaks to the relationships he has, far and wide. To be able to pull this off, with different manufacturers, obviously title sponsors. We had conversations with NASCAR, the variety of layers that are there. Only one man can pull it off; that’s him.”

Hendrick Motorsports is NASCAR’s most successful team, with 15 Cup Series championships to its name, and Jimmie Johnson accounts for nearly half of them.

Over the years, the organization has fielded some of the sport’s biggest names, including Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Mark Martin, Terry Labonte, and even Kyle Busch. Johnson remains its most successful driver with seven titles, while Gordon won four, Larson has two, and Elliott and Labonte have one each.

Sadly, for this highly anticipated finale, little can be expected performance-wise from Johnson. Ideally, the sport would love to see him shine in the No. 48 once again, but since leaving NASCAR full-time six years ago, Johnson has really struggled, especially with the next-gen cars. He has had zero wins and zero top five finishes in this period.

That, however, may not matter all that much. Johnson isn’t chasing an eighth championship or one last victory. He wants to end his career with his head high.