Drew Brees, A Class Act, On and Off the Field

Jimmie Johnson Blog by Gary Heinlein IMD jjchevy.com

Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet would like to congratulate Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints for winning the 44th Super Bowl. It was a good game all the way to the end and had plenty of great plays and lots of excitement. Both teams played well but it was the Saints that prevailed as the winners.

Drew Brees, who won the MVP of the game, should be up for father of the year also the way he gave attention to his little boy after the game. I loved the way his baby boy was so interested in all the excitement going on around him while Drew attention was turned toward his son.

From the years that Drew Brees played here in San Diego, and through the years of watching him in New Orleans, he has always been a class act as an individual. Again congratulations to Drew Brees, the New Orleans Saints, and to the Colts for fighting right up to the end making it a very good game.

Picture Credit: Reuters/Jeff Haynes

Pregnancies are keeping NASCAR Drivers busy

Jimmie Johnson Blog by Gary Heinlein IMD jjchevy.com

I announced several weeks ago that Jimmie and Chandra Johnson are expecting their first baby later this year. The competition of the race track seems to apply to off the track when it comes to having babies. Jimmie’s teammate and co-owner, Jeff Gordon became the latest driver to announce a pregnancy.

Jeff and his wife, Ingrid, said they are expecting their second child in August. So with the Gordons and the Johnsons both expecting babies there is also Carl Edwards, Elliott Sadler and Juan Pablo Montoya who have pregnant wives.

“I don’t know what’s going on in our sport right now.” Jeff Gordon had to say about all the pregnancies.

Chandra Johnson is due in July. Edwards and Sadler could become first-time fathers in the next few weeks. Edwards’ wife is due Feb. 17, right after the season-opening Daytona 500. Sadler’s wife is due in early March and Montoya’s wife is due in July also.

It will be interesting to see how all of these drivers juggle a delivery with the racing schedule. It looks like Edwards will be the first to have to do so and this is what he had to say about the situation.

“My plan is to go race the best I can and we’ve got backup plans in case something happens. I don’t anticipate missing any car time. Not at all. My wife’s pretty cool. She’d be mad at me if I left. Hopefully, the timing will work out. Hopefully, the worst case is I miss some practice.”

So it looks like we have a lot of drivers at this time who are expecting some new little champions. All of us here at Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet in San Diego would like to congratulate all of these driver’s and wives who are expecting.

Photo by Whit Honea posted on Babble.com

NASCAR Season starts this Saturday February 6th with the Budweiser Shootout

Jimmie Johnson Blog by Gary Heinlein IMD jjchevy.com

The NASCAR Season starts this Saturday February 6th with the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona. The Budweiser Shootout is a pre-season, non-points event that features some of the sport's top drivers and top performers. Eligibility is based on the 12 drivers who competed in the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup title, plus past Cup Series champions and previous Budweiser Shootout winners. The reigning Rookie of the Year in Cup is also eligible.

The Budweiser Shootout will be run in two segments, just as it has since 2003. The first part of the race will be 25 laps and the second part will be a 50-lap sprint for the win. That's 187.5 miles on the track's high-banked, 2.5-mile layout. During the break between the first and second segments is a 10-minute "pit stop" which gives crews the opportunity to make adjustments to their cars. The adjustments are those that they would normally do on routine pit stop during a regular Sprint Cup race.

Anheuser-Busch and its Budweiser brand has sponsored the race at Daytona International Speedway since 1979. Called the Busch Clash until 1998, the name was changed to the Bud Shootout and then renamed the Budweiser Shootout for the 2001season. The event just underwent the most significant changes in its format and eligibility since its inception in 1979. Throughout the 31 years of this event, there have been 18 different winners.

The following weekend, February 14th, the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (points season) kicks off with the 52nd running of the Daytona 500. All of us here at Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet in San Diego are all ready to root Jimmie onto a fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship.

Here are some Good Names for Jimmie and Chandra Johnson’s new baby

Blog by Gary Heinlein IMD jjchevy.com

Here are some names for Jimmie and Chandra Johnson’s baby that is expected this coming July. It looks like the list comes from Brant James of ThatsRacin.com.

The top-five names that four-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson and is wife, Chandra, might ponder as they anticipate the birth of their first child this summer:

1. Chase – Time to honor the playoff system that helped make dad what he is today (and pay for those piano lessons, ponies and braces in a few years).

2. Chad – In honor of the uncle/crew chief. Hopefully, the kid will have the sense of humor to one day change his last name to Quatro Ocho.

3. Junior – Instant cred with the nostalgia crowd, and maybe the 88 crew, too.

4. Danica – Search engine nightmare for the Googlers and the Bingers. And what an ice-breaker with the new part-time teammate.

5. Charlotte – As in "Motor Speedway." A nod to one of two tracks where he's won a career-best six times. What, you'd prefer "Martinsville" Johnson?

Here is the link to ThatsRacin.com website http://www.thatsracin.com/140/story/25472.html so we can give him credit for this list of fine names for the Johnson’s little one.

Rolex 24 hour Daytona Race with Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson Blog by Gary Heinlein IMD jjchevy.com

Jimmie Johnson, Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and Jimmy Vasser of the No. 99 GAINSCO/Bob Stallings, had to drop out of the Rolex 24 hour Daytona Race due to oil pump issues.

The race got started under caution Saturday due to heavy rains that soaked the track prior to the start. Even after the rain let up, conditions remained treacherous due to damp conditions. Sunday's portion of the race was dry but with very chilly and windy conditions.

The race was slowed 16 times by caution for 74 laps and it featured a record 53 lead changes among 29 drivers. Jimmie Johnson, our four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champ, drove solid stints but a gearbox change in the 14th hour had already put the car several laps down.

Alex Gurney and Jimmy Vasser both led the race and Johnson got up to third during the first part of the day-long race. Jon Fogarty took the wheel late Saturday night and worked his way back to eighth position after the car was taken in for an extended pit stop for some spring changes.

Overall the team overcame one of the toughest weekends in team history for a solid eighth place showing in the season-opening Rolex 24 at Daytona. They had a lot of problems from the very beginning of Thursday's opening practice straight through retiring from the event with mechanical problems early Sunday afternoon in the race's 21st hour.

So now its onto Daytona for the opening of the NASCAR race season and all of us here at Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet in San Diego look forward to an exciting season of the Chase for a fifth straight Sprint Cup Championship for Jimmie.

Jimmie Johnson in a Crash

Jimmie Johnson Blog by Gary Heinlein IMD jjchevy.com

During a practice Thursday afternoon in preparation for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson crashed the No. 99 Chevrolet Riley Daytona Prototype. Jimmie is fine from the crash and will still be part of the GAINSCO/Bob Stallings team in the race which starts Saturday at Daytona International Speedway's road course. He will be driving with Alex Gurney, Jon Fogarty and Jimmy Vasser.

It was last year, while preparing to race the final segment of the Rolex event, Johnson cut his left middle finger with a kitchen knife while trying to ventilate his firesuit. He had minor surgery to repair a tendon and a nerve but that didn’t stop him from any of his NASCAR races and him going on to win a fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Championship.

All of us here at Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet in San Diego are very glad that Jimmie is okay and is ready to get back to his job of racing.

Meeting Jimmie Johnson! It was just like, WOW!

Jimmie Johnson Blog by Gary Heinlein IMD jjchevy.com

I told you last week about Richard Johnson, a life-long NASCAR fan, and three of his friends who were the guests of Team Chevy at a celebratory team luncheon at the Hendrick Motorsports complex, where they presented Jimmie with a huge congratulatory card.

I don’t think I told you that Richard and his guests were treated to a behind the scenes tour of the entire Hendrick Motorsports shop as part of the winner’s package. This is what Richard had to say about winning the contest and his thoughts about Jimmie Johnson.

“I was a member of the Team Chevy page on Facebook and saw that you could send a congratulation note to Jimmie Johnson so I filled it out and sent it,” said Richard. “I didn’t realize it was a contest. I just wanted to say congratulations. I am a huge NASCAR fan, but I pull for all of Hendrick Motorsports because it is not just one team and one driver, it’s the whole organization."

“You don’t realize what the race teams have to do. You just go to the races and think they just show up at the track and race. But man, they are down here working all the time, not only the stuff on the cars, but they have to do commercials for their sponsors and all the other things you don’t see at the race track.”

“It was just awesome. Jimmie stood there and talked to us for about 15 minutes. He asked us questions and talked to us like any other guy would. Jimmie is just so down to earth. Meeting Jimmie, being able to see behind the scenes at Hendrick Motorsports, it was just like, WOW.”

Richard we do agree with you. When Jimmie stops by here at Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet in San Diego we usually end up saying the say thing of how down to earth he is.