Hendrick Motorsports signs Jimmie Johnson to 3-year extension

Jimmie Johnson will continue to tread the track for Hendrick Motorsports until at least 2020, as the racing team signed the seven-time champion to a three-year extension.

"Jimmie is one of the best to ever drive," Rick Hendrick, the owner of Hendrick Motorsports, said in a statement. "We're so fortunate to have him as part of our organization, and I feel even luckier to call him a friend. He's a great champion, a terrific advocate for Lowe’s and a true ambassador for NASCAR. There's no better person, and he's as good in the race car today as he's ever been."

Johnson, the 2016 NASCAR Cup Series champion, currently ranks seventh on the leaderboard this season, 17 points behind Chase Elliott and 163 behind first-place Martin Truex Jr.

He made his Cup Series debut in October 2001.