Early and Personal Life
Johnson was born in El Cajon, California, on September 17, 1975, the son of Catherine Ellen "Cathy" (née Dunnill) and Gary Ernest Johnson. He attended Granite Hills High School, while he raced motorcycles during the weekends. He was a varsity water polo player, diver and swimmer and graduated in 1993. The number 48 is retired from all sports teams uniforms at his school and Johnson was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame. He has two younger brothers, Jarit and Jessie. Johnson lives in Charlotte, North Carolina like many other NASCAR drivers. He is married to the former Chandra Janway, the two having known each other since 2002. In January 2010, Johnson signed a mini-series deal with HBO for a NASCAR based reality show 24/7 Jimmie Johnson: Race to Daytona. Cameras followed him from January 2010 to the 2010 Daytona 500. On January 4, 2010, the Associated Press reported that the Johnsons were expecting their first child. On July 7, 2010, Chandra gave birth to their daughter, Genevieve Marie.
Read more about this topic: Jimmie Johnson
Famous quotes containing the words early, personal and/or life:
“When lilacs last in the dooryard bloomed
And the great star early drooped in the western sky in the night,
I mourned, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.”
—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)
“Justice is conscience, not a personal conscience but the conscience of the whole of humanity. Those who clearly recognize the voice of their own conscience usually recognize also the voice of justice.”
—Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918)
“Today, the degradation of the inner life is symbolized by the fact that the only place sacred from interruption is the private toilet.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)