Marbles in the field: Live and up close at Jimmie Jam

[Editor's note: Reader Trevor Brownell attended Monday night's "Jimmie Jam" in Santee, California, celebrating Jimmie Johnson's fourth championship. Here's his report. -JB]

At first, all I knew about "Jimmie Jam" was that Jimmie would be attending an event at his hometown Lowe's store after visiting his elementary school in Crest, where he grew up, and visiting with Marines and their families at Camp Pendleton.  I figured I could leave my house about 3 miles from the Lowe's store around 6:15 for the event starting at 7:00 because 1. it was a school night and 2. we're not in Charlotte. There aren't any NASCAR fans in San Diego, right? 

Well, I was wrong. My wife and I knew we were a little tardy when we saw Cal Trans signs on the freeway and road to the store alerting drivers to the event.  Once there, we saw that, contrary to what you might read online, there are plenty of NASCAR fans.  One woman in attendance drove out from Phoenix to see Jimmie, about 325 miles or so.  Another showed up at 7 in the morning for the event starting at 7 that evening.  The atmosphere was great; no one was fighting to get closer to the stage or his car.  They even had signs telling everyone that NASCAR and Team Lowe's Racing would allow us to videotape the event if we wished. That may not seem like a big deal, but it's rare out this way.

To the side of the stage, Lowe's had Jimmie's Memorial Day car set up for viewing, complete with all the names of Lowe's employees who have served our country on the hood.  It felt special that they brought that car along instead of the standard Lowe's car or a Kobalt Tools car.

Right at 7, a band from Las Vegas by the name of "Yellow Brick Road" took the stage and played for 45 minutes to help pass the time before Jimmie arrived.  I was expecting a quick appearance where he would thank everyone for showing up, show his trophy, then hurry off to get to Auto Club Speedway before going on to Las Vegas for NASCAR's ceremonies.  It was a lot more fun and meaningful than that.

Jimmie came out with his trophy, and he did talk about being back in his hometown and thanked everyone for supporting him, but then it began to feel more personal.  Jimmie's dad came out and shared stories about Jimmie growing up and talked about how he was as a kid racing mini bikes around San Diego County. 

Next, three of Jimmie's childhood friends came out and shared stories about growing up with Jimmie.  It was fun to hear them talk about his transition from dirt racing to asphalt racing, and how none of them could understand why he would want to go all the way to North Carolina to race on pavement, and how he was the only one who would bump draft driving down Interstate 8.  Two of Jimmie's early racing mentors followed and described how they knew he would be dangerous once he won his first race. 

After a "questions from the audience" period, the mayor of Santee came out and presented Jimmie with a key to the city and declared that whatever the posted speed limit was, Jimmie could go 10MPH faster. Jimmie then asked if they could just change all the 45 zones to 48s.  The mayor was followed by East County's councilwoman, who presented Jimmie and his wife, Chandra, with a declaration from the county that today has been deemed 'Jimmie Johnson Day' throughout San Diego County.

Jimmie concluded the night by thanking everyone for the support and promised to go for number 5 next year.  Leaving, it felt more like we had just spent time with an old friend hearing stories from the past than attending a celebrity athlete's victory rally.  We were exposed to the generosity of Jimmie's foundation around San Diego, and the type of guy that Jimmie really is outside the car, and reinforced my feeling that we really can't have a better champion.