Jimmie Johnson is now the ‘grandpa’ at Hendrick Motorsports

William Byron and Alex Bowman like to refer to Jimmie Johnson as “grandpa,” Chase Elliott prefers to call Johnson “uncle.” Good-natured ribbing that highlights the age gap between Johnson and his three Hendrick Motorsports teammates and the role the seven-time Cup Series champion plays within the organization.

The 42-year-old Johnson is the oldest full-time active driver in NASCAR’s top division, while the 20-year-old Byron is the youngest. Elliott is 22, and Bowman turns 25 in April. It’s no wonder then why Johnson jokingly sounded like a dad when informed of what Byron, Bowman, and Elliott said about him Tuesday during the NASCAR media tour.

“I guess I’m going to have to put him in timeout or something the way that’s going,” Johnson said at the Charlotte, N.C., Convention Center. “It’s so wild. I went from the young gun and every time I’d see my name written, it was ‘rookie Jimmie Johnson.’ Now I’m grandpa. It’s gone fast.”

Johnson admits that he opened the door to being referred to as “grandpa” after he had Byron and Bowman sit in car seats in the back of his SUV when the trio went to go and get something to eat last fall. Johnson posted a photo on social media with the caption, “Just taking the kids to lunch.”

But while Johnson may be the old man of the group, his teammates revere his accomplishments and know his experience is something they can lean on entering what is a transition season for Hendrick, which is coming off an underwhelming 2017 season. Bowman and Byron are new to the team on a full-time basis, with Bowman taking over for the retired Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Byron replacing Kasey Kahne, who was released from his contract. (Bowman drove a limited schedule for the team in 2016 when Earnhardt was sidelined with a concussion.)

“He is kind of the grandpa of the organization, but it is awesome to have a seven-time champion as your teammate and have a person like him to lean on,” said Byron, who is a rookie this season. “That is really special. I think he’s going to take us to school a few times, but we’re going to hopefully learn from it and be better.”

That Johnson is now the teacher and not the student is a role reversal of sorts. When he entered Cup in 2002, Jeff Gordon was Johnson’s mentor. How Gordon helped him acclimate and be successful is something Johnson hopes to pass along to his much younger teammates.

“I remember watching Jeff in moments and then telling him that I just learned something from him,” Johnson said. “And he was like, ‘What? Really? How did you learn anything there? I wasn’t trying to teach you anything.’ So I think first and foremost, the way I carry myself — leading by example would be another way to put it — is very useful and helpful. And those three guys are very aware and have been studying me for a long time, so, surprisingly, they kind of know what I’m up to, what I’m about.”