Jimmie Johnson’s dreams first came true when he was given a motorcycle for Christmas at age 4. That was when he fell in love with racing.

Johnson was honored for his career on Friday night when he and crew chief Chad Knaus, who he teamed up with to win a record-tying seven Cup championships, were inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

The sport’s dominant duo, both first-ballot inductees, joined Donnie Allison, an original member of the “Alabama Gang,” in a celebration at the Charlotte Convention Center as part of the Class of 2024. Janet Guthrie, the first woman to race in both the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500, was inducted as the Landmark Award winner for contributions to NASCAR.

Johnson won 83 Cup races — tied for sixth most in NASCAR history — in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet, all but two of them with Knaus as crew chief. Knaus, now the vice president of competition for Hendrick, was suspended for two of Johnson’s wins, including one in the Daytona 500.

Their five straight Cup championships from 2006-10 stand as a NASCAR record.