Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional stock car racing driver and a six-time champion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He currently drives the No. 48 Chevrolet SS for Hendrick Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Johnson was born in El Cajon, California, and began racing motorcycles at the age of four. After graduating from Granite Hills High School he competed in off-road series. He raced in Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group (MTEG), Short-course Off-road Drivers Association (SODA) and SCORE International, winning rookie of the year in each series. In 1998, Johnson and his team, Herzog Motorsports, began stock car racing. He moved to the national American Speed Association (ASA) series for late model touring cars, and won another rookie of the year title. In 2000, he switched to the NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series).

He moved to Hendrick Motorsports in the Sprint Cup Series in 2002. After finishing fifth in the points in his first full season, he was second in 2003 and 2004 and fifth in 2005. Johnson won his first Cup series championship in 2006 and with further wins in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, he became the first and only driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive championships. Johnson finished sixth in the points standings in the 2011 season and third in 2012. In 2013, Johnson won his sixth championship, one fewer than Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt who both have the record for the most championships at seven. Johnson is also a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, winning in 2006 and 2013. Between 2002 and 2015, Johnson has recorded six championships, 75 career race wins, 207 Top 5's, 314 Top 10's, and 34 pole positions.

Jimmie Olden Johnson, Jr. (born October 6, 1966) is a former American football tight end and current coach. Johnson played college football at Howard and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) from 1989 to 1998. He is a member of Omega Psi Phi fraternity.

Early life and college

Johnson was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia and attended T. W. Josey High School. In 1989, Johnson graduated from Howard University with a bachelor's degree in consumer studies. He played four seasons on the Howard Bison football team and was a first-team All-MEAC selection in 1988 as a senior. With Howard, Johnson made 73 catches for 1,229 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Coaching career

Johnson began his coaching career in 2001 as running backs coach at South Carolina State University. He then became running backs and tight ends coach at the NCAA Division II Shaw University in 2002. From 2004 to 2005, Johnson was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Southern University. In 2006, Johnson joined the Minnesota Vikings as the tight ends coach. He was let go by the Vikings at the end of the 2013 season after head coach Leslie Frazier was fired.