Driver Profile: Jimmie Johnson- Common Name. Uncommon Talent

Perhaps it’s guilt by association- hanging out with the “pretty people” like Nick Lachey, Jeff Gordon and former NFL Jason Sehorn . Maybe it’s because people love the underdog, and no one “roots for Goliath.” It could be that his laid-back California demeanor looks slightly out of place in the historically rough and tumble world of motor sports. Whatever the reason, though he’s accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time, Jimmie Johnson never quite seems to get his due, though his resume has become increasingly difficult to ignore.

He’s often derided as “boring,” “plastic” and “corporate”- drawing comparisons to Tiger Woods (since when was this supposed to be an insult), another champion accused of being “vanilla.” One fan I talked with today, accused Johnson of trying to “copy Junior” with the beard he’s starting to grow.

Another fan I know, Becca from “letsgoracingfans.com” has a different take on the facial hair, saying maybe he’s trying to add a little “mint chocolate chip” to the “vanilla.” Most say Jimmie is just being Jimmie, and that anyone who knows him says there’s not an ounce of pretense in his body.

After all, this is the guy who once broke his wrist monkeying around on a golf cart.

The winner of 40 NASCAR Cup races and 3 consecutive points titles, Jimmie Kenneth Johnson was born in El Cajon, California on September 17, 1975. Though he hails from the land of Hollywood types and surfer dudes, Johnson’s background is strictly blue collar. His ad Gary operated a backhoe and worked in a tire shop, his mom Cathy drove a school bus.

That he would be drawn to motor sports seemed inevitable. Johnson’s dad was a dirt bike enthusiast, and the family often spent their weekends camping out somewhere where they could run their bikes. Some sources says he started at 4, others say 5, but Johnson was racing 50cc bikes at an early age and doing quite well. By age 8, Jimmie won a 60cc class title. According to a story by ESPN’s Marty Smith, (click hyper link for story) Jimmie was mentored early in life by successful racer Rick Johnson, a 7-time motocross champion. I won’t steal Smith’s thunder, but what struck Rick about Jimmie was his commitment, sometimes to the younger Johnson’s own detriment. After breaking 7 toes and later blowing out his knee, young Jimmie turned his attention to racing of the four-wheeled variety after a break from the motorsports scene.

During the course of his youth Johnson appeared to be headed the way of Robby Gordon as off-road racing stud. By the early 90s, Johnson was competing in the SCORE Trophy Truck Series and for the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group. How good was he? Uh, well, Jimmie won the 1992, 93 and 94 Mickey Thompson Stadium  Truck Series titles, the 1994 SCORE Desert championship, plus the 1996 and 1997 SODA Winter Series championships. He also served as field reporter for ESPN in the SODA series.

Along the way, Johnson attracted the attention of NASCAR champion truck racer Ron Hornaday Jr. who once told Johnson he had a place to stay in North Carolina if he ver found himself wanting to get into the world of “stock” cars. By 1998, Johnson was Rookie of the Year in the American Speed Association ACDelco Challenge Series, going the way of Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace, Johnny Benson and Tony Raines- who all won championships in this series.

Johnson quietly made his NASCAR Busch Series debut in the Kroger 200 at the O’Reilly Raceway Park on July 31, 1998. In 1999, He finished third in the points in ASA competition, while making 3 Busch starts for Herzog Motorsports. Johnson had raced for Herzog in the SODA series, and several years later, the organization had former baseball great Reggie Jackson was part owner.

By 2000, Johnson was racing full time in the #92 sponsored by Alltel. He won no races, but his 10th place standing in the points out Johnson 3rd in the Rookie Of The Year standings. Story has it that Johnson sought out the advice of NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon when Herzog started running into sponsorship problems with Alltel defecting to Penske Racing.

The big highlight of Johnson’ Busch Series career may have come from something drivers would rather not remember. At the Watkins Glen, the brakes on Johnson’s car failed as he headed into Turn One. Johnson smacked the styrofoam insulation and guardrail head one. He picked up “man points” by getting out the car uninjured and pumping his fist into the air in defiance.

Jimmie Johnson won his first NASCAR race in the Busch Series at Chicagoland Speedway in the Sam’s Club Presents Hills Bros. Coffee 300 on July 14, 2001- beating out Mike Skinner and Jeff Burton.  His future NASCAR mentor Jeff Gordon hadn’t forgotten the driver he had met earlier and Johnson was offered a development contract with Gordon’s employer- Hendrick Motorsports.

Johnson debuted in NASCAR Cup competition on October 7, 2001 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway- qualifying 15th and finishing 39th. In spite of the humble beginning, there was now no looking back for the sunny southern Californian.

The Lowe’s #48 ran a full schedule in 2002, with Jimmie Johnson posting one of the most memorable rookie seasons in memory. He finished 5th in the points and matched Tony Stewart’s 1999 rookie total of 3 wins. J.J. also did something you rarely ever see when he swept the season’s two races at Dover- the first time a rookie pulled off a sweep at a track in NASCAR history. He was runner-up to Ryan Newman in the Rookie Of The Year chase.

His first Cup victory came close to home at California in his 13th career start on April 28, 2002. Jimmie also earned 4 poles, his first coming at Daytona. Only James Hylton finished better as a rookie when he finished 2nd in 1966.

It would be just a sign of things to come.

There was no “sophomore jinx” for the phenom in 2003. He improved his placement in the points standings by finishing second to champion Matt Kenseth. Also impressive was the fact Johnson pulled off no worse than a top 10 at a superspeedway, intermediate track, short track and road course. There was also another sweep in store as Johnson took both races at New Hampshire.

Despite 7 DNFs in 2004, Jimmie made another run at a Cup title. In spite of three wins in a row, and 4 out of 5, Johnson lost NASCAR’s first “Chase for the Nextel Cup” by 8 points to Kurt Busch. He swept Darlington, Lowe’s Motor Speedway and Pocono. Johnson posted an impressive 23 top 10s.

Going into 2005, the question was now becoming one of not “if” Johnson would win a championship, but “when.” A blown tire caused Johnson to fall from second to fifth in the points at Homestead. It marred an otherwise consistent season for Johnson, who racked up another 4 wins- once again fortifying the notion that Lowe’s Motor Speedway is the “House that Johnson Built.” He would sweep the season’s events- making it 5 wins at his primary sponsor’s home track.

After knocking on the door every year since his rookie season in 2002, Jimmie Johnson kicked it down in 2006. His first of three consecutive championship wouldn’t come easy.

Crew Chief extrordinaire Chad Knaus was suspended for 6 weeks prior to the season’s opener at the Daytona 500, due to a rules violation. With Darian Grubb on top of the pit box, Johnson won the “Great American Race.” While he’s known  for coming on late in the Chase, Johnson started 2006 in fine fashion, following Daytona with a 2nd place finish at Fontana, and squeaking by Matt Kenseth at Las Vegas. In all, he won 5 races and was consistent down the stretch- finishing 2nd, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd and 9th in his last 6 races- enabling J.J. to rally from 156 points out of first to win it all.

2007 did not get off to the most promising of starts. Jimmie Johnson started out the year with a DNF at Daytona after getting ran into the infield. He quickly followed the star-crossed start with a 3rd place run at Fontana and a pair of consecutive wins at Las Vegas and Atlanta.

Johnson would spend most of the season chasing his buddy Jeff Gordon, though he’d win at Richmond. Uncharacteristically weak finishes in June appeared to set him back, but by summer’s end, Jimmie would go on a late season run that would do Harry Gant proud. Johnson won at California on Labor Day weekend, and followed the performance with a victory at Richmond.

He would visit victory lane in 4 consecutive races to overtake Jeff Gordon in the Chase. Johnson won at Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas and Phoenix. Like many NASCAR drivers, Johnson has a charitable streak- his Atlanta winnings went to victims of California wildfires.   

Surely, there’d be no way Johnson would make history with 3 titles in a row. Only Cale Yarborough had done that in what was arguably a less competitive environment.

2008 was marked in the early going by the impressive surges of Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards. Johnson spent most of the early season in the top 15 before he won the April race in Phoenix. This capped off a run of consecutive top 5s at Martinsville and Texas- propelling Johnson into the top 5.

The planets began to align for the “48″ as Summer turned to Fall. In spite of all the tire troubles, Jimmie Johnson kissed the bricks at Indy. He also took the checkered flag at California and Richmond heading into the Chase.

Kyle Busch blew a figurative tire in the early Chase, and Johnson assumed the points lead after his Kansas victory. While Busch was fading, Greg Biffle and Carl Edwards were coming to apply heat to the HMS star. He had 7 straight top 10s in the Chase, 5 of them top 5s. A win at Phoenix helped Johnson slam the door shut on Edwards, though “Cousin Carl” was mathematically still alive.

Jimmie Johnson made a date with history with the title, putting him alongside Yarborough plus Lee Petty, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson as 3 time champions. Only Richard Petty (7), Dale Earnhardt (7) and Jeff Gordon (4) have won more.

Johnson married model Chandra Janway in 2004. He graduated from Granite Hills High School in San Diego, the same school that produced baseballer Marcus Giles.

Thanks to his Southern California roots, Johnson loves Mexican food. He enjoys watching Friends and That 70’s Show.

SOURCES: JimmieJohnson.net, Wikipedia, 2007 edition of Sporting News 2007 Record and Fact Book, ESPN.com.

PHOTO CREDITS: Top photo by RaceGirl24NEPA, “48″ car by Ghost_of_Niner and Johnson at Coca-Cola 600 by Walter G. Arce. Jimmie and Chandi by BiggerPictureImages. More of their work may be found at flickr.com.