A 2007 Chevrolet Impala SS racer driven by NASCAR legend Jimmie Johnson is auctioned at RM Sotheby’s. It will be offered at the company’s sale in Phoenix, Arizona on January 26th.
Johnson won seven NASCAR Cup Series championships during his full-time career with Hendrick Motorsports, with Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt winning the most NASCAR Main Series titles. That included a record five-season championship streak between 2006 and 2010.
This car with chassis number 48-461 is part of this story. Sporting the blue and silver Lowe’s scheme and the number 48 most associated with Johnson, it was ridden to victory in the 2007 season at Martinsville and Phoenix. Johnson drove this car seven times from 2007 to 2009, according to the auction list.
Although designated the Impala SS, this racer’s tube frame chassis and rear-wheel drive system differs significantly from the front-wheel drive Impala sedan of the era. This generation of Impala road cars featured at least one V-8 in SS guise, giving it a tenuous connection to the NASCAR Impala.
2007 Chevrolet Impala SS NASCAR Cup car driven by Jimmie Johnson (Photo via RM Sotheby’s)
This car was built under the then-new NASCAR “Car of Tomorrow” rules, which featured a protruding front spoiler, a decklid-mounted rear wing, and a more upright profile than the previous generation of Cup cars. The car of tomorrow was replaced by the sixth generation NASCAR chassis after the 2012 season, which in turn was replaced by the “next gen” car for the 2022 season.
After retirement, chassis 48-461 was restored according to the Hendrick Motorsports auction list. The car, presented in its Phoenix-crowned guise in 2007, is expected to sell for $150,000 to $200,000 at auction. That compares to the $165,000 price tag for a 2011 NASCAR Car of Tomorrow chassis driven by Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, which went on sale in late 2022.
2007 Chevrolet Impala SS NASCAR Cup car driven by Jimmie Johnson (Photo via RM Sotheby’s)
Johnson retired from NASCAR in 2020 and spent the following two years focusing on an IndyCar campaign with Chip Ganassi Racing. He didn’t find much success and announced he would be retiring from racing in September 2022, but quickly reversed that decision. In November 2022, he confirmed his return to NASCAR as a part-time driver and co-owner of Petty GMS, alongside fellow seven-time champion Richard Petty.
He plans to race a limited schedule in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, beginning with the Daytona 500, which is scheduled for February 19. However, Johnson will not be driving the number 48 car as that number is now used by Alex Bowman at Johnson’s old team, Hendrick Motorsports.
