First Day of NASCAR - Jimmie Johnson
On the first day of NASCAR, the driver you will see
Is the Hendrick Forty-Eight of Jimmie!
Sorry…poetry isn’t my strong point!
So…did everyone get to see the Awards Ceremony last night, or were you in the same boat as me, without access to ESPN Classic? Argh, that was frustrating. Luckily, NASCAR.com put up tons of videos today, and so between them all, I was able to recreate like 90% of the event for myself. Hoping NASCAR will do a replay on a, uh, normal channel in the near future.
Let’s cut to the Chase…
…haha, couldn’t resist the humor.
JIMMIE JOHNSON
Rank: 1st
Poles: 4
Wins: 10
Top Fives: 20
Top Tens: 24
Winnings: $7,646,420
Watch Jimmie’s speech on NASCAR.com.
I really enjoyed the gist of Jimmie’s speech for the Awards Ceremony, but I have to say that as nice a guy as Mr. Johnson is, a public speaker he is not. From pausing awkwardly for applause that was decidedly late in starting to stumbling a bit over a few lines to a general overall feel of discomfort in his delivery, I really kind of felt bad for him. I realize that these are racers, not Toastmasters, but Jimmie, please consider using some of your $7M to hire a PR firm to get you fully prepped next time!
What I liked in his speech: Jimmie’s direct message to Chad Knaus. It’s clear to see that they are close friends, and it’s equally clear to see that Jimmie truly appreciates the hard work Chad performs as his crew chief.
What I didn’t like in his speech: Delivery. Jimmie actually did ok when he was talking directly to people that he was thanking, but in other parts (see above), he just seemed ill at ease. What was up with UGS? Geez, Jimmie, learn your sponsors! He did, however, play this off fairly well.
Stayed tuned as we roll through the Twelve Days of NASCAR!
Until then, drive fast and turn left!
Jimmie Johnson, NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, Awards Ceremony
December 4th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
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