The American Speed Association season would start in less than two weeks and his to-do list was three weeks long. Not only did cars have to be prepared, but with a new sponsor to impress, everything from race cars to tool boxes to the team hauler needed a fresh coat of matching paint.

It had to be perfect.

So, he gave up sleep.

"He was trying to get everything done because he wanted it to be right for Pennzoil," said Gary Johnson, Jimmie's father. "You don't want to show up with one tool box white and one yellow. He was putting his heart into it, but he was plumb wore out."

Johnson wound up in the hospital, where doctors ordered him to go home and rest. Johnson gave it two days before jumping into the hauler and driving from North Carolina to Florida for the 1999 opening race. After all, he couldn't chase a dream from the couch.

And he chased it hard.

Johnson, a 26-year-old rookie sensation in the Winston Cup series, is one of several young guns who seems to have skipped the dues-paying stage of his stock car career. But his golden opportunity to drive for one of NASCAR's most successful teams is the result of more than 20 years of dedication and work.

Hard work.

"There were a lot of different challenges along the way that were very stressful," Johnson said. "I guess when you're chasing something that is such a passion to you, the sacrifices you make are part of it."

Johnson knows he was fortunate to land his first Winston Cup ride with Hendrick Motorsports, which has won five of the past seven points championships with Jeff Gordon and Terry Labonte. The No. 48 Chevrolet is co-owned by Gordon, the four-time champion who's also Johnson's mentor.

With top-notch equipment -- Johnson's cars are the ones Gordon used to win the 2001 title -- a talented young crew chief in Chad Knaus and all of Gordon's notes, Johnson won two of his first 13 races this season. Were it not for a couple of rookie mistakes, he might have won four.

He is fourth in the standings, competing not only for rookie of the year but the championship as well, trailing leader Sterling Marlin by 86 points.

With three poles this season, including the season-opening Daytona 500, he will be among the top contenders tonight in qualifying for Saturday's Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

"It's not easy to jump in and have success at the Winston Cup level," said Tony Stewart, whose three victories in 2000 are the rookie record. "It's not like you're racing a rookie at all when you're racing against him."

Born in El Cajon, Calif., outside San Diego, Johnson began racing motorcycles at age 5, "because it was cute," his father said. "Every kid got a trophy and it was just fun. But it kept growing and growing. By the time he was 8 he had a factory ride and we were traveling the country racing motorcycles."

Johnson was a natural.

From 1992-97, he won six championships racing off-road trucks in the Mickey Thompson Stadium, SCORE Desert andSODA Winter series. The Johnson family, including mother Cathy and younger brothers Jarit and Jessie, spent summers in a van, driving from race to race.

When Johnson's off-road team, Herzog Motorsports, decided to pursue stock cars, Johnson went along. He moved to Charlotte, N.C., where he did a little bit of everything on the three-person crew, including paint. Even then, there was the perception Johnson raced with a silver spoon.

"I only went to four ASA races in the two years he ran it," Gary Johnson said. "And I met some people and they said, 'You're not Jimmie's dad; he's a rich guy who buys everything for him.' I said, 'We didn't buy it. My wife was a school bus driver for 20 years and I drove trucks and operated heavy machinery. Jimmie earns everything he gets."'

Though Johnson won just once in 72 Busch series starts, he impressed people with his ability to finish in the top 10 with something less than a top-10 car. He began to field Winston Cup offers and was fretting about his decision when he sought Gordon's advice.

It led to a job.

Yes, it was a lucky break, but Johnson earned it.

"I don't know if Rick (Hendrick) and I picked him or if he picked us," said Gordon, who raced against Johnson in a few BGN races.

"It appeared to me if you put this guy in a top-notch team and car in the Winston Cup circuit, he would get a lot out of it."

And make it look easy.

Back to Sports

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

From the Times sports desk

Beauty should be win deep

A cinch to succeed

Mauresmo outlasts Capriati

Champ is underdog for Women's Open

Ex-Gator heads to Sun Belt team

Street Cry the pick in Classic

Night races not new to drivers

Four-run seventh helps Land O'Lakes beat Lutz

Challenge just what they need

Nine-year veteran happy he has job

Kibler's stock on the rise in minors

Outdoors

Daily fishing report

Rays

Close loss encapsulates first half for Tampa Bay

Rays prepared to back union agenda

Bucs

Bucs dismiss award winner

From the wire

From the state sports wire Jacksonville's Spicer placed on IR after leg surgery
FIU-Western Kentucky game postponed because of Jeanne
Brown anxious to face old team for first time
Dolphins' desperate defense readies for Roethlisberger
Former Sarasota lineman sheds tough-guy image with Michigan
Rothstein rejoins Heat as assistant
No. 16 Florida has history on its side against Kentucky

FSU and Clemson QBs both off to slow starts