Ahead of the 2020 NASCAR Championship Weekend Nov. 6-8, the City of Avondale announced that it has renamed a portion of Indian Springs Road after Jimmie Johnson, a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, sharing the all-time record with stock car racing legends Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
The City has installed two street signs on Indian Springs Road, advising motorists that they are “Entering Jimmie Johnson Drive,” – one at the south end of the Avondale Boulevard Bridge, facing north, and the other placed just west of the El Mirage Road, facing west. There is also a street name sign for Jimmie Johnson Drive at the intersection with El Mirage Road. That stretch of road corresponds to the length of the Phoenix Raceway racetrack, where Jimmie Johnson raced until his retirement this year. Phoenix Raceway intends to change its physical address to reflect the name change.
Jimmie Johnson is the author of one of the greatest championship runs in all of sports, winning five NASCAR Cup Series championships in a row from 2006-2010. Currently in his final year as a fulltime driver, Johnson’s name is synonymous with greatness and his legacy is cemented in the NASCAR history books as one of the greatest to ever get behind the wheel.
For the first time in its long and storied history, Phoenix Raceway will crown the champions in the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series and the ARCA Menards Series West.
NASCAR recently announced that it will bring the Championship Weekend back to Maricopa County in 2021.
“Avondale is not the only city that has demonstrated its excitement for NASCAR’s selection to host the most high profile of races in Maricopa County,” said Avondale Mayor Kenn Weise. “From street banners and billboards, to checkered flag crosswalks, communities across the Valley of the Sun are rolling out the welcome mat for race fans and showing our commitment to keeping the NASCAR Championship Weekend in Avondale.”
Mayor Weise added, “The name change of the portion of Indian Springs Road to Jimmie Johnson Drive will serve to solidify that commitment, as well as pay tribute to the retiring racing legend.”
“It’s impossible to put into words exactly what Jimmie has meant to this sport,” said Phoenix Raceway President Julie Giese. “He is one of the greatest drivers to ever take to the track at Phoenix Raceway and we are proud to honor him with the renaming of Jimmie Johnson Drive. We’ll certainly miss seeing him around the track every year, but we are excited to see what is in store for him in the future and we are thrilled that his name will forever be a part of Phoenix Raceway and the City of Avondale. ”
For more information about the 2020 NASCAR Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, visit PhoenixRaceway.com.
