RaceBud

A really wide swing of the racing pendulum took me from the Turn 3 Race Team’s palatial campsite at Texas Motor Speedway last April. Off I went to a city park in Fort Worth to lend a hand as a coach at a Soap Box Derby car-building workshop. It seemed like it would be a meaningful experience with the added hook of a rumored appearance by Jimmie Johnson, winner of the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship.I should explain that my invitation didn’t come because I am a seasoned veteran of Soap Box Derby construction. I was just expected to follow instructions and pass on the basics of mechanical theory – lefty-loosey, righty-tighty – to a teenager whose background had not included a parent to share this basic knowledge.

A group of disadvantaged high school kids was sponsored by the Plano Rotary Club to race in the North Texas Regional Soap Box Derby, also sponsored by the Rotary group. The national SBD program is sponsored by Levi Strauss, who also maintains a personal sponsorship with Jimmie Johnson.

So, the workshop was held to show a group of kids how to assemble their car kits. The Levi folks developed the opportunity to generate buzz for the program by inviting the media. And the media came so they could interview and photograph a popular driver who was in town to participate in the NASCAR races that are so important to the area.

Jimmie Johnson showed up and a very cool thing happened. He was quickly surrounded by the media, eager to get their stories. But Johnson politely excused himself and turned to the first table where a shy kid, accustomed to being overlooked, was watching and waiting for a real race car driver’s words of encouragement.

Johnson kneeled down on the ground and got eye to eye with the kid. “Hi. I’m Jimmie. How’s your car coming along?” He spent the next five minutes focused entirely on the teen. The kid’s coach, the sponsors and the media were all looking on while the cameras captured the moment. But the time belonged exclusively to a kid who will always remember the day a big-name, celebrity race car driver gave him his undivided attention.

There were 10 tables set up for the workshop inside a tent. One by one, Jimmie went to each table and engaged the child working there just as he had the first one. One by one, the kids became believers in themselves. Each one suddenly realized that there was a very real chance that he or she could be the first to cross the finish line.

After the first hour going from table to table, Jimmie made two more trips around the room. With those visits, the kids became more comfortable asking questions and requesting autographs. By the time he left, he had signed each of the cars, but not on the outside for the world to see. He signed them all on the floorboard, where each driver will see it every time they climb into their car.

After his visits with the kids, he posed for group pictures and spent a little time with the media. Then, he quietly left with no fanfare at all.

Johnson is a driver I’ve previously acknowledged as a nice guy and competitive driver. Obviously, that opinion was upgraded on Soap Box Derby workshop day. The man is definitely a champion in my eyes, and a super-hero for 10 lucky teenagers.

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