CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When you think of the Coca-Cola 600, you probably think of a few things.

Maybe first you think of it as the longest race in NASCAR: its unending 600 miles, its man-vs.-machine lore. Maybe next you think of Charlotte Motor Speedway architect Bruton Smith, or of Coke 600 race all-time wins leader Darrell Waltrip.

Undoubtedly and eventually, though, you’ll think of Jimmie Johnson.

And in this year’s race, there will be reason to again.

Johnson is returning to Charlotte Motor Speedway’s biggest race on Sunday for his 700th Cup Series start. The Legacy Motor Club part-owner retired from full-time racing in 2020 but occasionally makes starts in the Cup schedule, including in this year’s Daytona 500, where he finished in third. He’ll be driving the No. 84 car on Sunday, still in search of his 84th Cup win.

Johnson was a first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Famer, voted in August 2023, thanks to a career that saw a tied-for-series-most seven Cup Series championships and 83 Cup wins. He’s won eight points races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Four were the Coke 600, one behind the aforementioned Waltrip. He’s also led 1,936 laps at CMS — he’s only led at two racetracks more, and that’s Martinsville (2,932) and Dover (3,113).

But the intertwining legacies of Johnson and the Coca-Cola 600 go beyond his four wins.

Here’s a look at the eight biggest Coke races of Johnson’s career — and an explanation of why the upcoming 2025 race is already on the list.

Jimmie Johnson’s first start at Coca-Cola 600

Jimmie Johnson’s first start in his Cup career didn’t come in the Coke 600. But it did come in Charlotte, and in that fall 2001 race, the rookie had an admirable run before getting caught in a crash and finishing P39. His next time in Charlotte — the 2002 Coca-Cola Racing Family 600 — the 26-year-old driver had clearly figured something out: He finished in seventh, earning his eighth of 21 Top 10s that rookie year and preceding his second career Cup win.

Johnson’s first win at Charlotte in 2003

Johnson’s first win at NASCAR’s longest race didn’t take him all that long. It arrived in his second season after qualifying 37th and climbing up the field to take P1. He didn’t have all 600 miles to do so, either — he earned the win thanks to being ahead when NASCAR called the race because of rain after the 276th lap out of 400. This was after claiming an All-Star Race win at the same track a week prior.

There’s a funny exchange between Michael Waltrip and Johnson after the race. Waltrip, who’d won the Daytona 500 earlier that year after being ahead when rains came, jokingly insinuated that Johnson’s win should have an asterisk.

Waltrip: “How does it feel with a little bit of rain falling? Are you OK with it?”

Johnson: “Yeah, I’m good with it.”

Waltrip: “So you’re gonna walk away with a clear conscience?”

Johnson: “Yeah. Did you at Daytona?”

Waltrip: “Perfectly clear.”

Back to back!

Any murmurs of a Mickey Mouse win the year before were put to rest the following year, in 2004, when Johnson started on the pole of that year’s Coca-Cola 600 and came out victorious. Talk about dominance. 400 laps run, 334 laps led, dropping to fifth late in the final stage only to roar back to first with 16 laps left and take the checkered flag. Who was in second? Michael Waltrip.

Three-in-a-row at Coke 600 — most all time

No one had won the Coke 600 three years in a row. And besides Johnson’s feat in 2005, still, no one else has. But this one was particularly special considering how exciting it was, when he somehow made a last-lap pass on the outside of Bobby Labonte. It was so insane that the Fox broadcasters couldn’t believe it.

Darrell Waltrip: He can’t do it. I don’t believe he can do it.

Larry McReynolds: There he goes to the bottom Darrell; they’re gonna be side by side with Bobby on the high side!

DW: You can’t pass over there, there’s no way. ...

LM: There he is! Outside, outside! Just like in Atlanta last March! He’s not gonna be able to do it, I don’t think —

DW: Oh yes he is!

Mike LaJoie: Here he comes! Jimmie Johnson!

Check out the YouTube highlights to get some adrenaline pumping.

2006 sets stage for first Cup championship

This year’s Coke 600 result won’t be remembered like some wins will. Johnson finished a ho-hum third after starting P2. But it was one of 24 Top 10s on the year which fueled his ascension to the sport’s ultimate height — his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.

2014: Final race win at Coca-Cola 600

This was Johnson’s first win of the 2014 season — a rarity considering that Johnson was coming off a championship year in 2013 (his sixth title after winning five in a row from 2006 to 2010). He started on the pole and won, silencing those wondering if he’d make it into “the Chase” — a new NASCAR-instituted playoff structure made specifically to promote parity in the sport (a direct response to Johnson’s dominance).

Johnson attempts his own version of The Double in 2024

Johnson didn’t win a Coke 600 after 2014. He retired in 2020 from full-time NASCAR racing but as a team owner has made spot starts here and there — and has never missed the chance to do so at Charlotte’s biggest race “in retirement.” Last year was particularly special: He was part of the NBC broadcast of the Indy 500 before hopping on a flight and then hopping in a Legacy Motor Club car and racing at the Coke 600 — his own version of “The Double,” if you will. He finished P29 in the rain-shortened race.

Johnson’s 700th career Cup start in 2025

This year already marks one of the eight most memorable Coca-Cola 600 starts for Johnson because of all the history wrapped into it. It’s his 700th Cup start — one of the longest in the sport’s history — and it’ll be a long day for the transcendent racer. After all, he’ll be driving the pace car for the Indy 500 with retired NFL quarterback Tom Brady in the passenger seat. And after a third-place finish at the only other race he’s been in this year — the Daytona 500 — who’s to say Johnson can’t be the fastest again?

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