Hey guys I am back. I wish i got to write more and I will make an effort in the future but writing has been more difficult recently with all I have going on in my life and since my mom 2's passing. With that said. How do you start to say goodbye to someone who means so much to this sport to me personally. Jimmie Johnson did not get the send off he deserved due to covid. It is hard for me to truly express how much Jimmie Johnson has meant to me. However I owe it to him and others to try so here we go.
Jimmie is one of those guys who has been in the sport since I started watching. I never watched Richard Petty or Dale Sr race but I am proud to say I got to watch most of Jimmie Johnson's career. I instantly liked him seeing all he had been through losing Blaise the weekend of his first cup start and then winning the day of the Hendrick Plane crash and the week after. His nice guy personality drew me in and I loved watching how he was a great winner but also carried himself well on the days it didn't go so well. He was just what our sport needed for a champion.
As the years went on I had other drivers I really grew to love and call my favorites but Jimmie always had a special spot in my heart. That only grew after I met my best friends Katie and Ashley and their family. Their mom was a die hard NASCAR fan like myself and we instantly bonded over our love for NASCAR. She became like a second mother and my favorite person to talk NASCAR with. Her favorite driver was Jimmie Johnson and we spent many years playfully teasing each other about whose driver would finish better. However it was never a loss for me even on the days Jimmie beat my drivers because I loved Jimmie as well. She and her family took me to my first NASCAR race. In 2015 she lost her battle with mental health issues. Loosing her to suicide was one of the toughest things I have dealt with. It made Jimmie that much more important to me. He was my link to her. I celebrated his successes more knowing I was celebrating for two. I lost the person I talked NASCAR with and I have missed that more than I can ever express. Jimmie's 7th championship, the first since her death, was tough. I wanted to be able to call her or text her and celebrate. Knowing I couldn't but knowing she was celebrating from the best seat in the house with Blaise and so many in the NASCAR community who had passed. I had hoped he would get a win more recently but it just shows how you never know what win will be your last. She was a die hard fan and I know she would have been a fan til the very end regardless of the success.
Jimmie's retirement from NASCAR is incredibly tough on me. It makes me miss my mom 2 so bad and I wish we could hug each other and celebrate his career and all that he will be doing in his future. While also being sad we did not get to watch him week in and week out on NASCAR. I am happy he got to go out on top and that he is getting to do other bucket list items and spend time with his girls but I will miss Jimmie more than I could say. I plan to watch his Indy car races and I will be keeping up with him on social media. However it won't be the same out of all the retirements of the guys who were the stars of the sport when i started watching Jimmie is the one I will miss the most because I have a special emotional connection because of my mom 2. My mom 2 never got the chance to meet Jimmie before her untimely death. She got a lug nut of his car from a fellow fan at MIS during my first NASCAR race and I know how much that meant to her. We went to MIS for my second race to celebrate her life. I was supposed to go to Pocono this year with pit passes and I had hoped to meet Jimmie and watch him race one final time but covid struck and I did not get that opportunity. That has been hard to swallow because I wanted to watch him live one final time.
Jimmie
Thanks for being first off the person you were on and especially off the track. Being a teacher the work you have done with your foundation and for teachers and students across the country means a lot because I know how deserving those teachers and students are and what support like that means. You are the type of guy we should all strive to be. You stood up for things you felt needed addressed but you always did it in a classy and respectful way. What you wanted to do for Bubba at Talladega that created the incredible moment of unity in the sport shows the type of guy you are. You helped others and even today didn't want to take away Chase's moment. You have always carried yourself like a true champion on and off the track. The accomplishments on track are incredible and deserve to be celebrated way more then they were. However the type of person you are and all you have done off the track helping public education, cleaning up after tornados and countless other actions are what make me most proud to have been a fan of yours and wish I had the chance to meet you in person. You have changed my life more than I could ever express. I am glad you got to go out on your terms. I know you would have loved more success. I wish you had been able to win one more time. I wish you nothing but the best in all your future endeavors. Thanks for giving all us fans so many incredible moments through your career.
Sincerely,
Jessica
It is fitting that this is also Chad Knaus last race as crew chief. You did not end as driver and crew chief but in a way you still went out together. I wish you the best of luck in your new role. Congrats to Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer on incredible careers as well. Clint I cannot wait to hear your commentary in the booth I am sure you will make it amusing. Krista Voda you have always been one of my favorite reporters and I hope you find a way to stay in this sport. Thanks for all your years covering the sport and if you are not in the sport just know you will be missed. This has been a crazy year but I am proud of my sport. Stay tuned for my championship post!
