AVONDALE, Ariz. -- Jimmie Johnson will lead the way behind the wheel of another car in Phoenix this weekend, but he won't be going very fast. The two-time defending Cup Series champ will be driving a pace car.Confusing as it may seem, Johnson is the front man for Thursday's NASCAR Camping World Series West event as the Hendrick Motorsports driver is sponsoring the Jimmie Johnson 150, a new role he and his wife are eager to take on.
"It's exciting," said Johnson, who is a graduate of the developmental series. "It will be interesting not having the pressure of starting an event and just enjoying the pre-race ceremonies."
In doing so, Johnson said he hopes to give local families in the Phoenix area an opportunity to experience NASCAR and generate awareness for the foundation created with his wife, Chandra, in 2006.
The Jimmie Johnson Foundation is dedicated to assisting children, families and communities in need and partners with groups such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Hendrick Marrow Program, Make-A-Wish Foundation of America and Victory Junction Gang Camp.
Chandra Johnson, accustomed to watching pre-race pomp, will give the command.
"This will be my first time," she said. "It will be a cool experience. I haven't thought about my style but a few kids from the local charities will be out there to help me out."
And helping out these days is what she does best as her role as co-founder of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation is becoming more prevalent.
"We've really been rocking and rolling, we've been doing this now for two-and-a-half years and we've been busy building houses in El Cajon, Calif. with Habitat for Humanity, helping out with Victory Junction Gang Camp. ... It's something Jimmie and I talk about every day, something we channel this energy into and it's amazing. I love the role that we've created, it's really doing well."
Since its inception, the foundation has donated 1.3 million to various charitable organizations.
While the Johnsons have been rehearsing their pre-race pageantries, the couple also has been eager to support Jerit Johnson, Jimmie Johnson's younger brother who was a last-minute addition to the event.
"He just met with the team owner [Wednesday] and welded his seat in on pit road," Johnson said. "He's done a great job; he's been running at Hickory [Motor Speedway], Late Model Stock division up there ... I'm excited for him to be out there [Thursday] and get some experience on this track."
It's a track where the elder Johnson found his first Phoenix victory last season in November.
In nine starts, Johnson has one victory and seven top-10s on the 1-mile track giving him an average finish of 6.6. He is looking to carry the momentum from his second-place finish this past week at Texas and follow up with a second PIR win this weekend under the lights.
"We've done a ton of testing trying to get things figured out, and it really showed at Texas. We ran up front and the guys had great pit stops all day long," Johnson said. "Hopefully, that run is an indication of how far this team has come this year on the intermediate tracks and we can continue to have good finishes."
nascar.com