And just in case he forgot, his wife was there to remind him that surfing a golf cart isn't the only way to celebrate a Nextel Cup championship
1. FLYING COLORS
The Race of Champions is the Olympics of auto racing: an all-star showdown of two-man teams representing nine countries and every genre of motorsports. To make things as fair as possible, the bracket of head-to-head knockout races is run with identically prepared sets of buggies, rally cars and sports cars. But whomever the driver, and whatever the vehicle, patriotism is palpable as cars snake through the course with national flags flying from their roofs. "That flag is like adrenaline," says Team USA's Jimmie Johnson. "We're in Europe, and we want to represent everything that flag stands for."
2. HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Before honoring Old Glory at the track, Johnson and his wife, Chandra, have some sightseeing planned. But on their first full day in Paris, the only sights they see are the ones visible from their window at the posh George V hotel. Yes, the lovebirds are celebrating their second anniversary, but their day indoors is also the result of jet lag chased by a night on the town. When they do venture out the next day, they quickly confirm that American racing heroes are hardly international stars. Passersby gawk in confusion as the Johnsons squeeze tight for a smooch atop a bridge, the ornate Pont Alexandre III, flanked by a photographer and a TV cameraman. Celebrities or wedding video? Just in case, people on the bridge pull digital cameras from their pockets and purses. One twentysomething stops, stares and glares before stomping off. "He doesn't know who we are," Jimmie says with a laugh. "Or maybe he's a Junior fan."
3. FOR THE BIRDS
While strolling along the Seine, Jimmie hops up on the wall that lines the river. The man loves the edge. And he loves showing off for Chandra. Using rolls of eight-millimeter film, the Johnsons are documenting their trip 24 black-and-white minutes at a time. They cross the street to Notre Dame, where Jimmie performs his best Charlie Daniels do-si-do to rustle pigeons into dramatic flight. No go. "You're ruining my Oscar!" Chandra screams from behind the camera. "They won't fly, dammit!" Jimmie yells back over the chortling birds. Inside the cathedral, the couple sit and reflect for a moment, while a group of schoolchildren take in a lecture. Jimmie is amused. He never dreamed his off-road ramblings in rural El Cajon, Calif., would one day land him in the City of Light. "Who goes to Notre Dame on a field trip?" he marvels. After a short tour, the Johnsons stroll to lunch and the birds fly by as if on cue. "There it goes, honey," Chandra says. "There goes my Oscar dream."
4. PEER REVIEWS
Dressed in street clothes the next day, Jimmie attends the drivers' meeting at Stade de France, a soccer stadium doubling as a race venue. As a member of the winning team in the 2002 Race of Champions, Johnson commands a level of respect. "He is a very good driver," says Finland's Marcus Grönholm. "He came in 2002 and was very quick in all the cars. It was quite impressive." Adds seven-time Le Mans champ Tom Kristensen: "He is brilliant, a great ambassador for NASCAR." While Johnson is admired among his peers, his brand of racing is not. Europeans have little respect for NASCAR—no righthand turns. "NASCAR is for the fans," says Kristensen, arguing that European racing is more technical, more about the drivers. Sébastien Bourdais, three-time defending Champ Car champion, disagrees: "NASCAR is the single toughest racing series in the world right now," he says. "There are 15 cars that can win the championship. It should get more respect in Europe than it does." Perhaps that would change if more Europeans were exposed to a Nextel Cup race. "I went to Daytona last year, and I could not believe the last few laps," says Scotland's Colin McRae, the third-winningest driver of all-time on the World Rally circuit. "Those guys were really attacking each other."
5. A LA CART
Less than a week before he was scheduled to leave for Paris, Johnson broke his wrist falling off the roof of a speeding golf cart. At the drivers' dinner on the eve of the event, JJ's injury is the drama du jour, and his self-deprecating delivery leaves every racer here in stitches. Jimmie is a free spirit, always has been, and he won't apologize for it. At the track the next day, a golf cart, of all things, waits for him as his personal on-site transportation. "I think I'll walk," he says. While the injury keeps him from racing, it doesn't stop him from lending support and advice to his would-be teammate, Motocross legend Travis Pastrana. Asked what he thinks about Pastrana as a driver, Johnson says simply, "Awesome." And Pastrana's best is yet to come.
6. IN THE PITS
Throughout the five-day trip, Johnson can't sit still. The restless racer serves as Pastrana's key scout and cheerleading captain, hustling from the team suite to Pit Road to offer feedback and attaboys. Although he hides it well, Jimmie is bummed he can't race. If he had his way, he'd drive one-handed. In fact, extreme measures have been taken to make sure he doesn't try. "We didn't even bring a helmet," says John Lewensten, VP of operations for Jimmie Johnson Racing. "He told me if we brought one he'd be in that car." JJ is itching all right: He shoves every accessible utensil down his cast—plastic knives, pencils, anything longer than his right index finger—in a desperate attempt to get some relief.
7. SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES
Team USA had replaced Johnson with Formula One driver Scott Speed, who then promptly injured his wrist in an F1 practice run. So now America's hopes are pinned on the narrow shoulders of Pastrana. The first single-man team in RoC history gives the world all it can handle before the Finnish pair of F1 rookie Heikki Kovalainen and former World Rally champ Marcus Grönholm beat Pastrana in the final heat of the final round. Pastrana's success stirs memories of 2002 for Johnson, when he, Jeff Gordon and MotoGP star Colin Edwards were the RoC's longest of long shots before smoking the competition in the Canary Islands. Event organizers were so disgusted that, after letting the second- and third-place teams speak at a postrace dinner, they abruptly cut short the proceedings. As Johnson recalls with a chuckle, "The guy gets up and says, 'We are embarrassed America won. Good night.' That was one of the coolest moments of my life."