Life Returning To Normal For Five-Time NASCAR Champ Jimmie Johnson

After winning five NASCAR Sprint Cup titles in a row, it’s interesting to imagine what offseason life is like for Jimmie Johnson.

Do cheering fans line the streets wherever he goes? Do waves of admirers approach and kneel down to kiss the championship ring? Does Johnson polish his trophies and watch tapes of his victories?

Not really.

“Since the banquet, I’ve just been buckled down at home,” he said Thursday in his typical laid-back manner. “Not that I’ve lost sight of what we’ve accomplished, but I’ve been back to reality and normal life stuff.”

That’s it?

“Right now, I’ve just been in chill mode and haven’t had too many opportunities to be reminded about what we’ve done,” he added.

As it turns out, even Jimmie Johnson could use a break from hearing about how great Jimmie Johnson is. While he appreciates his success, it’s not something that consumes him during his vacation.

“The (championship) banquet was such a butt-kissing experience,” he said with a laugh, “that I’m ready to take a little time off.”

Part of that time off included meeting with elementary school students at the Collinswood Language Academy in Charlotte on Thursday morning, where he announced that his Jimmie Johnson Foundation is awarding more than $650,000 to 13 educational programs in California, Oklahoma and North Carolina.

The kids at Collinswood were pleased to hear that part of the grants included nearly $46,000 for a new playground.

When he was introduced to the cheering children – along with his latest Sprint Cup trophy – Johnson said he had “goosebumps” hearing the principal rattle off the driver’s list of accomplishments.

Through his reign, Johnson has tried to maintain his “normal” approach and stay as grounded as possible. But it’s getting more difficult.

He noticed that while in New York for the traditional champion’s media activities, he was recognized more than ever. And around Charlotte, more fans than before come up to offer their well wishes.

“When we do go out and go somewhere, when I go to lunch or we’re out and about running errands, certainly a lot of people congratulating me on what happened,” he said.

Will they be congratulating him at this time next year?

Johnson said team owner Rick Hendrick challenged the entire organization to get better in the offseason, and the driver has been pleased to see a variety of new ideas and approaches already surfacing.

Throughout the year, Hendrick Motorsports struggled to match its typical high standard as an organization – even though Johnson ended up with the title.

“We really didn’t find a lot with the mousetraps we were building,” Johnson said of his No. 48 team. “We kind of ended up with our basic stuff, which would run third, fifth, whatever it was. But that’s not going to cut it; we need to be better than that.”

Aside from what his team can do to gain speed and mechanical grip, Johnson said he wanted to avoid slipping up mentally as he said he did in the middle portion of this season.

“In the summer months, personally, I let my emotions get the best of me and I made mistakes,” he said. “But I got ahold of that stuff early enough and got into my normal ways and stayed mentally strong through the Chase.

“I need to stay more tuned into that year round.”

Johnson, who was bearded for most of the season, has now returned to his clean-shaven look. Why?

To irk crew chief Chad Knaus, he said.

At a recent postseason sponsor function, Johnson showed up beardless knowing full well that Knaus still hadn’t shaved.

“He asked me to shave all season long,” Johnson said with a laugh. “So now that he has a beard in the postseason, I felt like it would be a great time to shave and walk in without a beard after the season was over.”

A reporter asked what Knaus’ response was.

“He just shook his head,” Johnson said with a grin. “He didn’t even say anything. He just shook his head and wandered off.”