NASCAR

When Bubba Wallace Regarded Jimmie Johnson as Perfect Role-Model for Kids

Shaharyar
|Published Jan 27, 2024 04:40PM UTC

In many ways, NASCAR drivers can be deemed superhuman or at the very least, humans who are a step above the rest. But then again, in many ways, they are, even the best of them, humans. And humans have flaws. But if there was ever a perfect role model from NASCAR, especially for kids, it would be Jimmie Johnson. This was something that Bubba Wallace put forward many years ago.

In an interview with USA Today from 2014, Wallace was asked about which driver he would want his kids to be around in the garage area, a driver he could point to as a good role model.

“Right now, if I look in the Cup Series, definitely Jimmie Johnson,” he replied as he revealed the different aspects of different drivers he would want in his personality. “I put out a tweet awhile ago where I said I wanted to have the success of Jimmie, the attitude of Brad (Keselowski), and the fan base of (Dale Earnhardt) Jr.”

“So if you become like that, you’re good. It just comes down to doing the right things.”

What Jimmie Johnson hoped his legacy in NASCAR would be

Being a 7x Cup champion standing alongside Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty, it’s of course easy to remember Jimmie Johnson as one of the greats. But he himself wanted to be remembered for something bigger than that.

“Legacy wise, I hope I’m a people person and I’ve built a lot of interesting relationships in this industry, in this garage area. I go back to my younger years and various teams, and series I raced in, there’s always been a feeling there in a friendship, a bond, a respect,” he said in 2019. “So ultimately it’s that respect in being one of the good guys out there on the track.”

He explained that when he looked back on his career, he could only think of the memories and the people he shared those memories with instead of standing and “holding a trophy somewhere.”

Johnson claimed that his headspace in this regard was to remembered for more than just “stats.”

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About the author

Shaharyar

Shaharyar is a NASCAR journalist at the SportsRush. Along with two years of experience covering the sport, he is also a filmmaker and a big fan of soccer. His favorite NASCAR drivers in the modern era of the sport are Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch but when it comes to the GOAT debate, he believes no one is or will ever be as great as Dale Earnhardt.