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Jimmie Johnson honors Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt with Southern 500 car

For his final Southern 500, Jimmie Johnson will pay tribute to his two fellow seven-time Cup Series champions.

The paint scheme for Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet will be a combination of schemes driven by Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.

More: Southern 500 throwback paint schemes

Johnson unveiled the car on this week’s episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast.

The top of Johnson’s car will evoke one of Petty’s STP paint schemes from the 1970s, while the sides of the car are based on Earnhardt’s GM Goodwrench scheme.

“We’ve been sitting on the idea and obviously with it being the final year it’s so appropriate,” Johnson said on the Dale Jr. Download. “I’m glad we saved it because it’s just fitting and right to do. To play with the scheme, it was split in a few different ways. Once I sent (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) the text on it, I think we were able to really fine tune the attributes that each paint scheme kind of had in them. Another tweak I just love is the 48 (on the sides) is leaning like the 3.”

The Sept. 6 race (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN) at Darlington Raceway will be Johnson’s 24th career start on the track “Too Tough To Tame.” The Hendrick Motorsports driver has three wins there, including two in the Southern 500.

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