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Hometown pride adds charm (Photo: Janelle Jalbert)
Jimmie Johnson began his fourth, consecutive Champion’s week by taking a trip home to the El Cajon area of Southern California. Johnson started the day by awarding nearly a million dollars in grants and then went on to visit Marines at Camp Pendleton. The final touch to his homecoming came with a party at a local Lowe’s store where the mayor officially declared it “Jimmie Johnson Day” in front of his family, friends, supports, and heroes.
Johnson and his wife, Chandra, who is a co-founder of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, visited Crest Elementary School, Johnson’s former elementary school, to announce eleven grants to area schools and take questions from his young fans.
Jimmie Johnson and Chandra Johnson (Photo: Janelle Jalbert)
The first order of business was awarding grants totaling $922,000 to K-12 schools in El Cajon and San Diego. The California schools were in addition to schools awarded grants in Chandra’s home state of Oklahoma, and the couple’s current residence, North Carolina. The funds were the result of various fundraising efforts for the 2009 Jimmie Johnson/Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Champions Grants.
Among the beneficiaries were Chase Avenue Elementary, where the $19,500 grant it was awarded will be used to purchase and implement the use of translation software to communicate better with non-English speaking families. Johnson’s former elementary school and host, Crest Elementary, as well as his high school alma mater, Granite Hills High School, were also awarded grants with eight additional schools.
After the checks were presented, Johnson took questions from Crest Elementary School students. The first student asked Johnson how his grades were in school. After a laugh, Johnson differed to a former teacher who reported that the four-time Champ was “very goal oriented.” Johnson added, that his parents required at least a B average in order for him to continue to race.
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Johnson's former elementary school (Photo: Janelle Jalbert)
Nostalgia was evident in numerous comments Johnson made in the small multi-purpose room at the elementary school nestled among palm and eucalyptus trees amid a trifecta of tiny community churches. He was amazed by how “small” everything now looks at his old elementary school. Johnson went on to talk about the hills, now gone, he used to jump with his bike as he rode down the hill to the school, and he took some of the credit for their removal with a chuckle and a “sorry”.
When one student asked how long he has been racing, Johnson was surprised to find it has been 29 years. He continued to tell students that someday they too will look back at a time like this when “someone” came to talk to them and thirty years seemed so far away. He ended his comments by telling students to “enjoy every single second of being a kid.”
During the afternoon, Johnson went to Camp Pendleton and spent time with Marines and their families. The evening’s activities included a blow out homecoming party at the Lowe’s in Santee, California. Among the guests were Johnson’s family and his heroes, Ivan Stewart and Rick Johnson. Santee’s mayor official proclaimed Monday, November 30, 2009 as “Jimmie Johnson Day.”
For more information on Southern California Motorsports, check out:
Jimmie Johnson showcases California style at 'Breakfast with the Champion' event
Hendrick at Homestead: Jimmie Johnson takes title, team takes triple, Hendrick handles emergency
Jimmie Johnson put on a clinic: Let's talk legacy
Janelle Jalbert is a fan of a variety of racing formats and equally enjoys the history of the sport. Janelle grew up in an auto mechanic’s family and swears that there is carb spray running through her veins. She can be reached via email for both comments and story ideas. You can follow Janelle as the Southern California Motorsports Examiner on Twitter as @SoCalMotorsport.
Janelle also serves as the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner. Feel free to join the discussion about the hard racing in the CWTS at the NASCAR Truck Series Examiner fan page on Facebook
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