| New York , NY–
The word sweet comes to mind when you are hitting the streets of New York and for Jimmie Johnson and his team, sweet is celebrating the Nextel Cup Championship in New York for the second straight year.
Today Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet led the top-10 Cup drivers in a 1.5-mile, stock car Victory Lap through the streets of New York, which started on 44th Street and Broadway in front of Good Morning America’s Times Square studios and finished up on 43rd Street and 7th Avenue in front of The Hard Rock Cafe.
“Having a place here allows me to have a better appreciation,” said Johnson of being part of the iconic images. “The photo opportunity in Times Square — I can’t believe we’re there.”
After finishing the lap and taking a few minutes to sign autographs for fans outside of the Hard Rock Cafe, Johnson and the rest of the 10 headed inside for a brief breakfast and introduction to VIP’s and the media.
Hosted by ESPN’s Mike Massaro, each one of the drivers took some one on one time with the media and responded to the season and to reflect on another season of eventful NASCAR racing.
“It is a great honor to be sitting in this room with some of the best in this sport. Both Jimmie and Jeff are excellent drivers and I am great to take part of these festivities when there could be a lot of other drivers here in my place, said Clint Boyer, driver of the Number 7 Jack Daniels Chevrolet.
This season also marked the first time since the inception of the Chase for the NASCAR Cup team RCR had three teams, not only in the Chase, but finish in the top 10.
Boyer who was positioned in front of a huge picture of Jimmy Hendrix, a legend of his own in the musical world, giggled about becoming just as famous racing stock cars some day.
Each driver received a Tissot custom timepiece and Johnson a special one for winning the entire series.
NASCAR CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK NOTES
Comedian/actor David Spade will be the featured performer for Friday night’s awards ceremony, which will air on ESPN Classic at 9 p.m. ET. Spade, a longtime fan of NASCAR, served as grand marshal for the March 19, 2006 race at Atlanta. He is currently starring in the CBS comedy Rules of Engagement, and was nominated for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and an American Comedy Award in 1999 for his role on the series Just Shoot Me. |
