NASCAR Talk

“You know, one of the things I love about NASCAR is not only are these great athletes, but they’re socially minded folks. Chandra [Johnson] and Jimmie [Johnson] and I met several times — one time at a place where the folks of NASCAR are putting something back into the community to help the less fortunate. In this case it happened to be in a place called Victory Junction, in North Carolina, and it was a fabulous experience. And I want to thank you all very much for taking your fame and lending it to help somebody in need. It’s really what makes America a great place. You’re leaders on the track and leaders off the track.” — President George W. Bush

2007 Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and his wife Chandra spent the day in Washington, D.C. with President George W. Bush as his special guests. This is Johnson’s third invited trip to the Oval Office and meeting with President Bush. He also attended the meeting and photo opportunity last year after his first Nextel Cup Championship. He was also a part of the group NASCAR trip for the top ten drivers that made the Chase for the Cup the first year it was implemented.

President Bush claims to be a NASCAR fan, and has, in the past, attended some races including the Daytona 500. There is no word on whether or not he’ll be making an appearance at the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in a couple of weeks. Jimmie Johnson, on the other hand, will most definitely be there. Let’s hope that President Bush gave him back his helmet after that photo above was taken this afternoon so he can drive in the race.

NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson, Chandra Johnson, President George W. Bush NASCAR

Name: Jimmie Johnson
Car #: 48
Series: Sprint Cup
Sponsor : Lowe’s
Manufacturer : Chevrolet
Car Owner : Jeff Gordon
Team : Hendrick Motorsports
Crew Chief : Chad Knaus
Birthday: Sept. 17, 1975
Hometown: El Cajon, Calif.
Personal : Married (Chandra)

Jimmie started out riding motorcycles at the age of 4 and was winning championships on those by the age of 8, so this back to back Nextel Cup Champion is no stranger to success. He continued his winning ways in motocross with three consecutive years of championships from 1992-1994 in the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group Stadium Racing Series. After that, he moved on to off road racing and won more championships in that series in 1996 and 1998.

Soon after in 1998, Jimmie made his Busch Series debut in three races and began running the Busch Series full time in 2000. It only took a year before he posted his first Busch Series win at Chicago in July of 2001, which earned him a ride in the Nextel Cup series that October at Lowe’s Motorspeedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The following year, Hendrick Motorsports gave him a full time job driving a Cup car owned by none other than Jeff Gordon. In his rookie season, Jimmie finished 5th in the Championship Standings.

Now with back to back Nextel Cup championships under his belt, Jimmie Johnson is negotiating a lifetime driving contract with Hendrick Motorsports.

Jimmie Johnson websites:
Hendrick Motorsports
Jimmie Johnson Official Site
NASCAR.com Driver Page

If you know a great Jimmie Johnson Website that should be added to the list, please leave a comment below!

NASCAR, NASCAR Driver Bios, Jimmie Johnson Bio

NASCAR drivers and their team sponsors are known for their charitable acts ranging from Kyle Petty’s Victory Junction Gang Camp to Greg Biffle’s Animal Charities. The California wildfires have caused the need for charity and help from across the country, so of course some of NASCAR’s big names are doing their part to help the victims of the terrible fires.

Native Californian Jimmie Johnson not only won the race in Atlanta this past weekend, he donated those winnings to the Southern California Red Cross to help with the recovery from the devastating wildfires that ripped across the state. The #48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team took home a total of $343,861 in winnings from Atlanta. Every penny of that paycheck will be presented to the Red Cross in a special ceremony in Texas before this weekend’s race by Jimmie Johnson himself. The team’s title sponsor Lowe’s has vowed to match that amount and also raised an additional $10,000 from its employees nationwide. Burton Smith, CEO of Sonic Automotive also pledged to match that amount, bringing the total to over $1 million for the Red Cross and its disaster relief in Southern California.

Johnson isn’t the only NASCAR related person to make donations to aid in the fire relief. The First Family of NASCAR, the France Family, has joined together with the California Speedway to donate more than $250,000 to the cause. Also, the food and beverage provider company at California Speedway has been delivering several pallets of drinks such as water and Gatorade to firefighters in the area. The Speedway also has a list of needed items on their website and is urging people to donate what they can to help.

NASCAR, NASCAR charities, Jimmie Johnson