FORT WORTH, Texas -- Jimmie Johnson teamed with Samsung on Thursday to dedicate a Habitat for Humanity home for the Hodgson family in Plano, Texas. Johnson spoke Friday what it is like to help hand over the keys to a new home.
When you are part of events like with the Hodgson family, how does it make you feel to see the family's reactions? It never gets old. It is so cool to see everything come together. The family has put their own sweat equity in. The kids are involved. The kids are excited. The neighborhood kids came from across the street to play with them. I met them for the first time. It was really cool to see that.
Did the Hodgsons have any No. 48 memorabilia as part of their interior decorating? No. They had a lot of brand-new Samsung appliances. Our washer just blew up and shot water all over the place and bits and pieces out from under it. I was staring at their washer because we need one of those nice ones at home.
Why did you decide to become involved with Habitat for Humanity? I did stuff before I had any affiliation and then through recent times Lowe's has been a big supporter of Habitat, and we have as well. We built four homes in El Cajon (Calif.), where I grew up. The cool thing about Habitat is there are so many corporate partners that get involved and donate ... Then on top of that, people volunteer their time, too.
Samsung employees built the Hodgsons' house, but what kind of construction skills do you have? I worked some summer jobs growing up, so it's been a long time. And I was young, so I was always the guy with the shovel. If they needed to take something down, they would let me. But, really, finish work and putting stuff up, they wouldn't let a teenager do that. It was just a summer job for me.
If we need a handyman and have to choose a driver, are you our guy? No, I've been out of the saddle too long ... I've got a honey-do list at home that I drag my feet on every week. I'm not the handyman I should be.
Double homecoming
James Buescher of Plano, Texas, is pulling double duty this weekend, racing in the Camping World Truck Series on Friday night and Nationwide Series races. Buescher, 19, raced in the spring trucks race, but Saturday was his first Nationwide race at the track where he began racing Bandoleros at 12.
This is Buescher's first Nationwide race this season in the No. 1 Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet. He has signed to race full time on the Nationwide Series next year as well as in 19 trucks races.
Buescher was a spectator in the first race at TMS, in 1997. He estimates he has missed only three or four Cup races, all because of racing obligations.
"To be able to be racing with the people that I was a fan of growing up, that's pretty cool," Buescher said.
Buescher remembers Sundays after Cup races when he would race in Legends races on the quarter-mile track alongside the front stretch.
"We thought that was big time," he said. "Now I guess we can say we're in the big time. Or close to it. We're not to Sundays yet, but we're getting close."
Queen of Victory Lane
Anne-Marie Rhodes is one of two people to carry the title of Miss Sprint Cup. After a little more than half of the races, Rhodes is the one you might see standing next to winning drivers in Victory Lane.
As a Miss Sprint Cup, she serves as an ambassador for the title sponsor, spending time with fans and keeping fans up to date on NASCAR happenings via social networks.
Since becoming Miss Sprint Cup in 2007, Rhodes has visited more Victory Lanes than any driver. When asked to pick her most surprising Victory Lane moment, she answered quickly: in April at Talladega, when Brad Keselowski won his first Cup race.
Keselowski said he didn't know how to open a champagne bottle, so Rhodes helped him.
"Unfortunately, I didn't know he had already shaken the bottle," she said. "So the cork popped out and he dumped (the champagne) on my head. And they got a pretty cool picture."
She reminded Keselowski about the incident Thursday night at a charity bowling tournament.
"I made sure he knows I'm going to get him back when he wins again," she said.
FORT HOOD TRIBUTE
Track workers on Friday afternoon painted a U.S. Army logo with the words "God Bless Our Fort Hood Troops" on the infield grass in memory of those who lost their lives Thursday in the Fort Hood tragedy. TMS staff members also wore black ribbons.
The man behind the cover
Sam Bass is the artist responsible for the cover art on this weekend's program.
The 47-year-old Bass, who lives in Concord, N.H., and has been a NASCAR fan for 40 years, has designed the program cover for every TMS race.
He spent about 150 hours on the watercolor painting for this weekend's program. It is one of about an estimated 3,000 pieces he has completed as NASCAR's first officially licensed artist.
As an artist, Bass says he likes NASCAR because of its color, excitement and speed.
"It's always been important to me to try to capture this sport at its greatest," he said. "So I try to come up with stuff that's different and unique every time on every cover that I do. That's the challenge."
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