Kevin Harvick Declares Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR Legacy Is “Overlooked”

Ex-NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick insists that Jimmie Johnson’s racing legacy isn’t getting the respect it should.

Kevin Harvick Declares Jimmie Johnson’s NASCAR Legacy Is “Overlooked”

Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson (Via Imago)

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NASCAR Hall of Famer Jimmie Johnson is one of the three GOATs of stock car racing, as the seven times champion sists in a pedestal alongside Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. But according to 2014 champion Kevin Harvick, the Legacy Motor Club co-owner isn’t getting the level of appreciation and respect he should from the community.

In the latest episode of the Happy Hour podcast, Kevin Harvick shared his thoughts on the legacy of Jimmie Johnson. He highlighted how insane the five title wins from the HMS veteran was and asserted that no one is going repeat these accomplishments. The ex-SHR driver believes the racing community is overlooking the historical run the No:48 team had.

Winning five championships in a row is insane. It’s a feat that nobody is ever going to do again. I think when you look back at that 48 team, Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson, and Hendrick Motorsports, and the things that they were able to accomplish during that timeframe, overlooked.

Kevin Harvick said via Happy Hour podcast.

The 83 times Cup race winner going to IndyCar after his retirement, hurt his racing legacy a bit as he failed to hit the mark in the open when championship. But the fact that some use this factor to not give him the respect he deserves for the Cup domination is disappointing, as a few in the community doesn’t talk about the Jimmie Johnson era enough.

That’s the problem with Jimmie Johnson leaving NASCAR and going to IndyCar. It’s like everybody forgot about things like this. It very well could be the most dominant piece of NASCAR history, winning five championships in a row. …The Jimmie Johnson era doesn’t get talked about like he’s a seven-time champion.

Kevin Harvick added.

The former champion asserted that the veteran deserved to be in the conversation for all-time great athletes, regardless of what some feels about Johnson being not a bog personality such as the likes of Jeff Gordon. This exact reason for him the third driver treatment at HMS, when Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were there, despite the fact that he was the one winning races.

No matter what your personality is or your situation, if you’re in there with the all-time greats in other sports, you’re just a part of that conversation. He’s part of that conversation, but it’s the weirdest thing ever from a NASCAR standpoint. I think a lot of it has to do with almost being the most dominant guy, but being the third guy in line at the team.

Kevin Harvick asserted.

Kevin Harvick reveals the biggest flow with NASCAR

In the same podcast, Kevin Harvick discussed the issues with the sport and asserted that the biggest problem with the sport is the one-race finale format. He highlighted how having the most dominant season of series can’t get a racer the championship, if he failed to match his rivals in the last race of the season and that put too much pressure on the competitors.

Kevin Harvick
Kevin Harvick (Via @KevinHarvick/X)

That’s one of the biggest flaws of the whole system, right? Like, you can have the greatest year of anybody in the field and still lose, you know, just off of one moment or one situation or one scenario. That’s the part that su**s when you’ve kicked their a** all year. So that’s a lot of pressure and having to deal with that pressure is difficult.

Kevin Harvick said.

The biggest example of this was Conor Zilisch, who lost the 2025 Xfinity Series championship to RCR’s Jesse Love, despite him winning 10 races in the season. NASCAR seems to be on the path to fix the issue, as they are set to change the format starting from next-year, potentially having a bigger sample size to crown the champion.

Also Read: Joey Logano Declares He “Doesn’t Really Care” About NASCAR Changing the Playoffs Format