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Jimmie Johnson is a Hall of Famer ... Again · Kenny Wallace Media

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  The gathering of the Motorsports industry that come, you know,
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  comes here and the time, the quality time that you have with
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  everyone from two wheels to planes, boats, cars, all types
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  of car racing is incredible storytelling.
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  The camaraderie you know, the respect everyone shows this
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  event by attending and being here and and some just great
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  hang time together is is something I remember from two
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  other trips I've made. But to now be here as an
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  inductee makes it all the more special.
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  Hey Jimmy, congratulations back December, you got to go in with
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  a very good friend of yours, Chad Kanaus, into the NASCAR
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  Hall of Fame tonight. You're going to get to go in
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  with a guy, you get to spend a couple of years with an IndyCar
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  with Scott Dixon. So in a lot of ways, how cool is
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  that? And not only how deserving you
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  are of getting in, but just describe how deserving Scott
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  Dixon is, because he's still he's still pretty fast.
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  He's very fast. It's.
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  It just makes it more special. I mean, this honor is
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  significant on its own. And then to be going in with
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  someone that I've had so much respect for over the years and
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  certainly in the last four or five years, someone that has
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  truly become a very close friend.
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  We live maybe 45 minutes apart now in in England and I've spent
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  a fair amount of time with him over the offseason and you know
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  just he his family. The way our families have
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  combined and in the respect and friendship that we have, it's
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  just very, very special. Dario is also here.
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  Dario's going to introduce him and certainly know the history I
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  have with Dario and his family, So it's great.
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  And then Rick Johnson is here. He's been my lifelong mentor,
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  friend, teammate and just the the Gathering is is just quite
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  special. You're You were a shoo in to get
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  in and was a NASCAR driver alone with 7 championships, but how
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  important was it for you to experience other forms of racing
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  to get an appreciation for everybody else that's going in?
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  Yeah, I mean I certainly have my journey in Motorsports and feel
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  very fortunate to have raced so much and you know this is my
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  third time at this event in the storytelling that takes place
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  really helps me understand and and respect different areas of
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  the country, different forms of motorsport and just the common
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  love that we all have for this industry.
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  And the storytelling is absolutely priceless and and
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  multi dimensional. For me, I just went through this
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  great honor as you pointed out in the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
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  But it's certainly just in that NASCAR lane and to hear the the
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  many stories here with all the inductees, it's it's just
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  incredible. I got to ask you, you know,
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  coming up you're going to get back behind the wheel, pick up
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  car, how excited are you just with how fast the Toyotas have
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  been so far? Yes, super excited.
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  You know, Texas has been a great track for me over the years.
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  You know our our team has made substantial steps forward and we
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  still have a long way to go, but we've had a very exciting start
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  to the 24th season and running I guess 9 in total this year gives
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  me many more reps and a lot of those nine events will be on
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  mile and a half tracks. And so I would assume and hope
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  that towards the end of you know my my events and all the mile
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  and a half set I'll run, I'll be much more competitive.
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  Understand this car, I have very limited experience in this next
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  Gen. car and certainly very little experience in a Toyota.
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  So I just, I just feel like Texas is going to really be the
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  start of the stretch that I I have high expectations for
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  myself. Any specific expectations finish
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  wise? I know, I know what the dream
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  is. The dream is to go back to
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  Victory land and get my 84th win.
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  I don't have a good sense of real expectations at this point.
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  Daytona felt great. You know, our cars are right in
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  the mix, but I don't have a good sense for the other style of
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  trucks yet. You know, you've had the unique
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  opportunity to go through this Hall of Fame process not once,
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  but twice in the last, you know, three months.
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  Just what's been to some of your favorite moments thus far?
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  Obviously tonight's going to be a big moment as well, just going
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  through this whole process, You know, twice.
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  It's really reflecting back throughout my career I was so
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  focused on the next race, the next season and and also I think
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  many racers perform better by not reflecting on on the good or
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  bad That's really happened. It's just ice forward and
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  continue to March along and since I've you know stopped full
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  time racing, certainly stopped NASCAR full time racing and then
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  has slowed down in 23 some, It's allowing me to reflect and I'm
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  really enjoying these moments. I'm going to the NASCAR hall
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  was. I knew it was going to be
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  special, but I didn't realize the magnitude of how special it
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  would be. And that has set me up very well
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  for this experience and I've been very excited for this week
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  and certainly savoring all these moments.
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  Yeah. And final questions is obviously
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  being inducted alongside Scott Dixon as well.
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  Bruce mentioned a little bit about it, just having raced with
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  him for a short amount of time, just what were some of your
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  biggest takeaways? This was working with him and
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  just seeing him in his element. His dedication for the the sport
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  is is quite impressive. Obviously you know his skills,
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  but the thing that stands out to me the most is that he still
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  loves it. I mean he is still when he
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  giggles and talks about racing, I can, I feel like I see a
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  teenage version of Scott Dixon sitting there and he still has
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  that gleam in his eye that a teenager does for the sport.
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  So that's that's probably the thing that stands out to me
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  most. And you know the other things I
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  mentioned are extremely impressive.
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  He's a six time champion, the skill, the passion, all that
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  stuff, but he he loves driving race cars.
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  Yeah, Jimmy, I'm being inducted into this Hall of Fame.
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  Considering your history and motorcycles off road, having
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  done IndyCar, just is it any sort of different kind of
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  feeling going into and a whole thing that kind of recognizes
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  all those disciplines? Yeah, I I do believe so.
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  I know that from a speech standpoint, you know, it gives
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  me the flexibility to talk more about the various things that
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  I've raised and I think the room has a greater understanding and
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  appreciation of the journey and and racing All in all the
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  different series. There's one element, I'm not
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  sure if you guys have heard about this hydroplane boat in
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  the Muncie family, but one of the many forms of racing that I
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  watched when I was a kid was the Thunderbolts.
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  I think the APBA Thunderbolt series, what it was at least
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  called years ago. But there was a very successful
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  driver named Bill Muncie who my family was close with and Bill
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  was tragically killed when I was quite young.
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  But the team continued on. The Muncie family continued on
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  Bill's son Ed Muncie. My dad used to take Ed and
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  myself racing motocross all around California and Arizona,
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  Nevada. So we had this great connection
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  with the Muncie's. But the inbound driver was a
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  driver named Chip Henhauer, and Chip took over the Atlas Van
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  Lines boat while the family still still was racing.
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  And as a kid we would always go to the San Diego event that
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  would take place. Stand in the pits, you know,
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  enjoy, have have a great time. But one of the one of the years
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  we're on the opposite side of the racetrack when Bill was
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  still alive and the boat broke and it coasted to a stop.
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  And they have a picture of my dad setting me up onto the deck
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  of this boat and as it broke down right in front of us.
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  And so that the picture circulated around probably in
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  2019-2020 and behind the scenes there's been this push to let me
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  drive the boat to this, all these connections that exist.
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  And last night when I arrived for the opening ceremonies,
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  surprised to see the Muncie family there, I was surprised to
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  see the boat on display and they called me on stage and the
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  opportunity to drive the boat is is here.
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  It's now they they they invited me to come drive the boat, the
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  famed boat that the Bill once raced and obviously an
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  opportunity of a lifetime. So again, to kind of speak to
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  the many different disciplines in the room and the freedom I
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  have and the experience I am having, this is beyond my
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  wildest dreams this weekend or this week.
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  Pardon me for. Interrupting Bob.
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  But if any of our media friends are interested in receiving that
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  picture for story, just send send a e-mail to Amanda or Amy
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  or or myself and we'll hook you up.
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  You could just take, you could just taking it out on Lake
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  Lloyd. I don't think it's big enough
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  for this boat and the speed that it runs, it's like a 200 mile an
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  hour boat. OK.
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  And then I wanted to ask, I don't know how many races last
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  year you you came just to observe you know and sit on top
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  of a box. But I'm curious you know you did
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  that on, you did that on Sunday. So I'm curious what you saw,
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  what what you saw that you felt was different this year from
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  watching the team just with your owner had on at a race versus
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  last year? Yeah, last year and when I left
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  for Le Mans, yeah, it was really a short period of time that I
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  was at the track and I went to probably three or four races and
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  sat on the box and then our tragedy happened and I didn't
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  tend to attend any more races or driving in anymore in 23.
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  So it's I don't have a fair apples to apples comparison as
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  the team was evolving but you know certainly from you know
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  March of last year to March of this year to see the growth of
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  our team, it's quite impressive. You know I felt like at the
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  start of the race in Phoenix we had a car capable of winning the
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  race and and Eric was up there battling hard for the for the
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  lead and we still have some things to iron out.
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  We're we're a young team in a lot of ways and the consistency
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  that the big organizations have with speed in their cars with
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  the performance on pit lane. You know there's just a lot of
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  layers here that that we still have to mature in and you know
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  the important things to have speed and and we had it all
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  weekend long and our relationship with Toyota has
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  been you know company changing to say the least and to put it
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  loudly and we're we're very excited to get more reps.
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  I think our first time to a lot of these tracks it's going to be
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  such a learning curve for us with our new tools and new
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  equipment. But I would expect in the
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  second-half of the season as we return to these tracks the
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  second time we should have more natural speed in the cars.
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  Our brand new over the wall department will have more reps
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  and you know we'll be able to to really lock in those consistent
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  pillars that we need to race for wins, make the playoffs, advance
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  rounds in the playoffs. Jimmy, with you getting another
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  Hall of Fame. It reminds me of something that
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  I remember hearing Jeff Gordon talking about and getting into a
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  Hall of Fame at what he felt like was an early age.
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  He just felt like it kind of weird for him and and I'm
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  curious with you being under 50 to being in a Hall of Fame's and
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  and getting these introductions, what is that like?
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  Because in one sense you're in that sense, you're still a young
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  guy and and and quite frankly you're probably one of the
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  youngest guys in the room now. Yeah, I think it's twofold.
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  I mean, I I do feel like younger drivers help draw a bit more
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  attention. Help put more eyeballs on the
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  particular ceremony that's that's taking place.
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  So I think that's helpful. But I do feel like if it was 20
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  years from now and my opportunity to reflect back on
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  it, it it it would certainly be. And this isn't in in any way not
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  a respectful way to to phrase it, but it would be more
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  meaningful. It means the world right now.
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  I'm absolutely loving this experience but I think the
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  further you are away from holding a steering wheel that
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  just deeper reflection that you have a greater appreciation one
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  will have for their, you know their time behind the wheel.
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  And I'm still holding a wheel, Scott Dixon still is holding a
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  wheel. So we're we're at the Max of of
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  what we can experience in this moment.
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  But I do think 20 years from now in the moment would would have a
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  bit more weight to it. And that being said, being a
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  young guy in the room in this sense, in another sense in the
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  racing world, you're an older guy at at this age, which is
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  obviously the the, the irony of it all.
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  How will you look at what you do this year and determining how
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  much more you'll you'll race or is it is it part of that like
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  you referenced I think to Bob's question about you know you
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  getting to run gets extra reps for some of the people at your
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  organization as you build it that hey that and maybe it's
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  more important for you to run even longer to kind of run that
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  car and get other people reps How, how does this year
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  determine whether we're going to see Jimmie Johnson and Cub
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  beyond this season? Yeah, it how how you know
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  there's a few factors that go into it. 1 My performance.
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  You know, I want to make sure that I'm I'm in the mix.
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  Not that I have to win races. I'd love to of course but I want
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  to make sure I'm in the mix and and and the time away, the time
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  it takes to do this that it's it's really worth it from that
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  standpoint. The next piece is partners and
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  sponsorship obviously are manufacturing Toyota and if it
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  makes sense for them, if it's helping the program.
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  So there's probably three or four different lanes that need
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  to make sense. This year is a big year for us.
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  I mean last year I intended to run five to three.
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  I'm doing 9. I'm I'm personally open to
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  probably a 15 race schedule but that would include sports car
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  and vintage classic car racing plus NASCAR you know all of that
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  lumped into one. And so in in my mind I'm kind of
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  looking for that 15 race schedule, marquee events, unique
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  events. I'd love to diversify and and be
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  back in sports cars in Le Mans or the Rolex 24.
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  I will drive some extreme E races this year and I'm really
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  excited for that experience. So it's still fluid at this
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  point, but you know, I'm, I'm hopeful to have a great year
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  behind the wheel and I can set up another fun year in 25.
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  What's it? What is about the extreme E that
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  that enthuses you? I think there's a lot of
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  factors. Racing internationally is
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  something that I've had limited experience to but love the focus
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  for sustainability and gender equality in extreme E is is is
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  really special for me, especially being a father of two
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  daughters and to see my girls excitement to meet Grey
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  Ledbetter, our our female driver and to come to the races and
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  watch her run. So there's, you know, there's
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  there's a few elements that play into it and I I can't skip over
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  the fact that I grew up on the dirt and I have not been back on
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  the dirt really since probably 97.
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  So it's it's been a minute and then to really get back into a
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  an off road vehicle and get off the ground is going to be fun.
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  Thank you. Thank you.
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  All right, Adam, I'll turn it. Back over to you.
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  Thank you. Just some notes before Amanda
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  wraps it up by Dustin. Spot on.
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  Jimmy and Scott are among our among our youngest 4 wheel
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  inductees. Motorcycle guys, they hang it up
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  a little bit sooner, but Scott Scott's making history just to
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  just to have something to the jab about a little bit.
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  He's our first four wheel inductee born in the 80s.
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  He was born in 1980, but we don't have many born in 1975
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  either. So you guys are thank you for
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  carrying the Motorsports Hall of Fame, America Flag and
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  Contemporary Competition and congratulations.
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  Thank you. Appreciate it.