GOOOOO Jimmie!

Yesterday I wrote about my dad's name being on Jimmie Johnson's race car at the Prelude to the Dream charity race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. Jimmie led all 30 laps, including the one that won him the race.

Several Children's Hospitals were the beneficiaries of the race, which I think is cool, with the whole honoring dad's thing:

• Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis
• Cincinnati Children's
• Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, N.C.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Jimmie didn't have / take time to practice before the race, hadn't been on dirt in a while, and wound up with a bruised and battered car, but he finished strong. Isn't that a lot like fatherhood? You don't get a practice run at being a dad, you hit experiences you have no idea how to handle, and you're going to get hurt by, and probably hurt, those you love the most. But in the end, you accomplish something great.

Good job Jimmie. Good job dads. You've made at least 480 of your sons and daughters proud.

Below are some pictures from the race. You can't read the names on the car, but they are there.

It's been 4+ years since I've seen my dad, other than pictures on Facebook. During that time God has taught me much about how He wants to father me, and it's caused me to grow up quite a bit, I must admit... both as a son, and as a man, father, and husband.

I saw this thing where Jimmie Johnson and Lowes Racing were going to honor dads on the car they run at Tonight's "Prelude to the Dream" dirt track race. My first thought when I saw it was, "wow, I wish I wanted to do something like that." But the more I thought about it, I saw that I still could. So I did. And while I'm not going to pay the $20-some bucks to watch the race, I did at least grab some pics from the site's page. I grabbed a few screen shots and have them below, as well as this PDF version.

Here's the text from Lowe's site about the list of fathers that made it to the car's paint job:

Watch for Jimmie and our specially designed dirt late model car at the Prelude to the Dream event from Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio on Wednesday, June 9.

In honor of dads everywhere leading up to Father’s Day, Jimmie Johnson and Lowe’s gave our fans on Facebook and Twitter the opportunity to show 480 fathers how much they are appreciated.  The announcement of the special dads car was made on the Lowe’s Facebook page, and fans had the opportunity to email their Dad’s name to Lowe’s.  The first 480 verified names were selected and are featured on the car. The live, commercial-free broadcast of the Prelude to a Dream event will begin at 7 p.m. EDT (4 p.m. PDT) with an immediate replay. 

I wish / hope they provide a high res image of the actual car; I think that would be a lot better than this graphic. I'm sure that would have to wait until it's revealed at the race tonight, so we'll see. Anyways... Thanks for being my dad, dad... I have no regrets. If a dad's greatest accomplishment is to introduce their sons to their True Father, you have done well. Thanks.