NASCAR salutes retiring Jimmie Johnson at his last Fontana race with epic parade lap

Jimmie Johnson’s last race at what’s considered his home track didn’t end in victory, but he had a winning day just the same.

NASCAR saluted the retiring Johnson before the Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., where he has won more Cup Series races than any other driver.

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The field lined up five-wide with Johnson leading them on a parade lap as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

"Damn, that gives me the goosebumps. That is so cool,” Johnson said over the radio as he circled the two-mile-long oval.

Johnson then lined up on the front row as the second-place qualifier and crossed the starting line as his wife Chandra waved the green flag with their two daughters standing beside her on the stand.

The six-time Fontana winner grew up about 100 miles south of the venue in El Cajon, and picked up his first NASCAR win at the track in 2002. Unfortunately, although he was vying for a bookending win for most of his race, he had to settle for seventh place this year due to tire issues, marking is 18th top 10 finish at the track out of 26 tries, in which he completed every lap.

Johnson currently sits fifth in the season standings as he heads to Phoenix on March 8 to continue his quest for an unprecedented eighth NASCAR Cup championship.

The Associated Press contributed to this report