Jimmie Johnson Confirms First Detail About Legacy Motor Club’s Third Car
What’s Happening? NASCAR Legend Jimmie Johnson revealed the number of the third full-time car that his team will field during the…
Jimmie Johnson recently confirmed that for his final NASCAR race at the 2027 Daytona 500, he will change numbers for the third time in his career. So, why is he making this change, and what is the significance of this new number?
Jimmie Johnson is in the final stretch of his NASCAR Cup Series career, with two races left on his schedule.
The first of these comes in San Diego this summer, with his final Cup Series start scheduled for the 2027 Daytona 500. Shockingly, for his final start, Johnson will switch numbers for just the third time in his NASCAR Cup Series career.
Since 2023, when he began part-time racing with his own team, Legacy Motor Club, he has taken the No. 84 car to the track for all his 15 starts with the team, including the 2026 Daytona 500.
However, for the 2027 running of the Great American Race, he will drive the new No. 13 Toyota for Legacy Motor Club, something Johnson confirmed on the latest episode of Corey LaJoie’s podcast, Stacking Pennies.
What’s Happening? NASCAR Legend Jimmie Johnson revealed the number of the third full-time car that his team will field during the…
During this episode, while answering a fan question about the car number for the third Legacy Motor Club charter next year, Johnson confirmed that the No. 84 would go full-time, leaving Johnson without a number.
When LaJoie followed up by asking what number Johnson would run in the 2027 Daytona 500, the seven-time Cup champion said, “We have the 13 reserved.”
He also explained how the number also ties into the story of his racing career, as he won his first Cup Series race in his 13th start at California Speedway on April 28, 2002. That afternoon, Johnson started fourth, led 62 laps, including the final 14, bringing home the first of his 83 career wins.
The number 13 has long been associated with bad luck, with many choosing to avoid it, which is also called triskaidekaphobia. Prior to his first win, Johnson, a self-described “numbers guy,” said he saw the number as a sign of bad luck.
“My partner at Kighthead Capital, his number is 13. My first win at California, that we’re just talking about, I go into the media center, and I guess just before that, I’m a numbers guy, 13 kept popping up everywhere. I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, another one of those things. I’m going to fail. I’m going to lose my job. It’s bad luck.’ First question from the media is how does it feel to win your 13th start? Like ‘Son of a bitch, good luck thing the entire time.'” — Jimmie Johnson
Johnson has spent his entire Cup career in the No. 48 and No. 84 cars, but the 2027 Daytona 500 will mark both the first and last time Johnson runs the No. 13.
Across NASCAR history, many drivers have driven a car adorned with the No. 13 in Cup Series races, with only one of those entries coming home a winner. That came in 1963, when Johnny Rutherford won a Daytona qualifying race for Smokey Yunick.
In total, the No. 13 has appeared in 663 races across NASCAR history. Two of the most recent popular names to use the number were Casey Mears, who logged 227 starts in the No. 13 for Germain Racing, and Ty Dillon, who tacked on 144 starts in the same entry for the team prior to its 2020 closure.
The number has appeared over the past three NASCAR Cup Series seasons with Kaulig Racing. AJ Allmendinger drove the part-time entry in four races in 2024, while Shane van Gisbergen used it once that same season. Will Brown then took the wheel of the entry during the 2025 Chicago Street Race.
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