Racing into IMAX


LOS ANGELES — Hollywood had little interest in NASCAR stars such as Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip back in the day. But the new NASCAR kids have cover-boy looks that work perfectly in "NASCAR 3D: The IMAX Experience," which starts March 12 at the Navy Pier IMAX. RedEye caught up with 28-year-old NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson to talk about the film.

So how did you like your first acting job?

Well, since I didn't have to remember a line or do anything like that, it wasn't too bad. But from the commercials and stuff we do with all of our corporate sponsors, there's been some acting that I had to do, but this one driving around in a car, sliding around on a dirt road with Ryan Newman, it was a lot of fun.

How did you get involved in this film?

We'd seen the IMAX cameras in the garages throughout the season, so we knew it was going on. But they approached me midway through the season and asked me if I'd like to be in the opening shot. Before that, I'd told them that anything I could do, please consider me. I was lucky enough to have them consider me. It was a really great experience overall.

There are a lot of family dynasties in your sport. Are you from a racing family too?

Yeah, my dad didn't really race that much but he's probably one the biggest racing fans walking around. I grew up in Southern California, and my grandparents owned a motorcycle shop. My dad ran the service department and volunteered his time at the local motorcycle track building the track because he was a heavy equipment operator. So my dad would build the track, my mom would run the snack bar and myself and my little brother would ride on the weekends.

Why didn't you end up racing bikes instead of cars?

I did. I really felt like that's what I wanted to do growing up. One of my lifelong friends is Rick Johnson, who had an incredible career on motorcycles and I've always wanted to be him. That was my dream. But when I was a teenager my dad was now working on an off-road team, and with him being in the garage and knowing people he was able to talk a car owner into giving me a shot and let me drive a car. That led to a race, and it started snowballing from there.

Can you talk about the fear factor with racing and how you overcome that?

I'm just fooling you! (laughs) I guess when you start off at a young age and maybe after the first time you fall and you realize you're OK. I think that sort of changes the programming in your mind, and you stop worrying about it. But I'd be lying to you if I told you that I don't get scared and that fear's not a part of it. It is and you need to respect it because if you make a wrong move and take that for granted you could hurt or injure yourself or somebody around you.


Edited by the Sports staff of RedEye.