NASCAR legend named one of the best professional athletes of 21st century

As a seven-time NASCAR champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer, Jimmie Johnson's legacy has already been secured since he retired from full-time NASCAR competition in 2020. However, ESPN is just the latest outlet to give Johnson the respect that the El Cajon, California native truly deserves.

Johnson came in 47th on the network's list of the top 100 professional athletes of the 21st century, and deservedly so. Johnson won 83 races at NASCAR's highest level and tied the likes of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty with seven championships, including five in a row.

Even with three different points formats being used to determine Johnson's seven titles, the legendary driver staved off the competition year after year. While Father Time eventually caught up with him, his legacy was already set in stone by the time he won his seventh championship in 2016.

A driver hand-picked by Jeff Gordon to carry on the legacy of Hendrick Motorsports, Johnson won in just his 13th career start and also became the first rookie in Cup Series history to lead the points standings.

From 2006 to 2010, Johnson won five consecutive championships with fellow Hall of Famer Chad Knaus, cementing the duo as one of the greatest driver-crew chief combos of all time. In 2013 — the first season of NASCAR Gen-6 car — the pair won their sixth title, and in 2016, Johnson put together a good enough final stretch to earn his record-tying seventh championship.

It's true that Johnson has looked like a shell of himself in part-time NASCAR competition, but his impressive fitness regimen and business acumen have kept him in the sport both as a driver and executive, as Johnson makes up part of the ownership group for the aptly titled Legacy Motor Club, alongside fellow seven-time champ Richard Petty.

It's not every day that a driver of Johnson's caliber pops up, and it's nice to see ESPN give a legendary figure in NASCAR history his flowers.