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June 12, 2003
5:49 PM EDT (2149 GMT)
One of NASCAR's most promising young superstars is teaming with one of cable television's most recognizable cartoon characters for a special paint scheme promotion at the upcoming Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Nickelodeon's phenomenally popular SpongeBob SquarePants and his undersea friends from Bikini Bottom -- Patrick Star, Gary and Sandy Cheeks -- are the inspiration for a new line of Nick Kid's Signature Colors brand paints available only at Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse.
To help launch the new product line, Jimmie Johnson -- driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports/Lowe's Winston Cup entry -- will race a specially designed SpongeBob SquarePants Chevrolet Monte Carlo under the lights on July 5 at Daytona.
"Since it seems to rain every time we race in Daytona, Team Lowe's Racing decided it would make perfect sense to have a sponge on our race car," said Johnson when he heard SpongeBob is going to be his co-pilot.
"This way, SpongeBob can help dry the track so we can finish the race. Hopefully this time we'll be in the lead."
This will be Johnson's second special paint job of the season. The California driver swept The Winston and the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte last month piloting a car adorned with a Power of Pride color scheme.
Both the SpongeBob SquarePants and Power of Pride cars have been masterfully replicated in die-cast by Action Performance. Each is currently on sale at the NASCAR.com Store.
"I'm very lucky to have a sponsor like Lowe's with the creative minds to bring in programs like the Power of Pride and now the SpongeBob SquarePants promotion," said Johnson. "It amazes me that these two programs -- if you compare the two -- are so different, yet both are equally recognizable.
"It's really a tribute to Lowe's -- the influence they have and the people they are involved with—that it doesn't matter where or what the program is, it covers a very broad spectrum."
Those who have followed Johnson's young but stellar career know that he and his sponsor are meticulous in choosing their special promotions, viewing each potential program with a most discerning eye. In fact, the Lowe's team typically runs only two or three special paint jobs per year.
"Lowe's has spent a lot of time and money to create an image and presence of the race car that we normally run," Johnson explained. "Our value is in our primary-colored race car that we see all the time. We don't want to devalue that by throwing multiple paint schemes out there just for the sake of having a special paint scheme. So every special program we do has to make sense.
"Obviously, the Power of Pride promotion made sense in that it was designed to help the armed services. The SpongeBob program made sense from a business standpoint as a way of promoting the new Signature line of paint that's coming out. SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most popular cartoons on TV, and we think this program will be a huge success."
Each year, it seems one young talent adds his name to the list of front runners in the collectibles market. And if you haven't noticed, Jimmie Johnson is about the hottest thing to hit Winston Cup racing since the four-barrel carburetor. The recent performance of his merchandise on both the primary and secondary markets indicate that Johnson might well be the "next big thing" in NASCAR collectibles.
"It's really great to know that there are people who enjoy our collectibles," said Johnson. "Growing up, I collected the cars of the greats—Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, those guys. To be able to produce collectibles like those guys and have people wanting to collect them is something I'm very proud of."
One of the first signs a driver is gaining collectibility is when memorabilia from early in his career becomes more sought-after. Johnson passes that test with flying colors, as items from his brief stint in NASCAR's Busch Series are now much in demand.
"I saw a Jimmie Johnson Excedrin (Busch Series) crew shirt sell for $850 on the internet right after he won a couple of Cup races," noted Wayne Keith, a collectibles aficionado who specializes in race-used uniforms, helmets, and sheet metal. "Collectors started scrambling for his items the minute he started winning."
Die-cast replicas of his 2000-2001 Alltel and Excedrin-sponsored Busch series cars are also showing increased activity on the secondary market.
Indeed, the same "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" philosophy that drew automakers to NASCAR more than 40 years ago applies equally well to the collectibles industry.
"I definitely think popularity among collectors is driven by on-track performance more than anything else, and I have to give my team a lot of credit for that," said the refreshingly modest Johnson.
"There are a lot of really nice guys out there who drive race cars, but a driver's success on the race track dictates the sales of licensed merchandise and collectibles. I don't think our collectibles program would be nearly as strong if we were running 30th. My Hendrick Motorsports team gives me a car that can run up front every weekend, and that helps us step up all the other programs that are put in place, including souvenirs and collectibles."
In addition to the Lowe's Power of Pride and SpongeBob SquarePants die-casts, the NASCAR.com Store stocks replicas of the standard paint scheme Lowe's Monte Carlo in a variety of brands and scales. Our one stop collectibles source also carries a broad selection of other Jimmie Johnson collectibles, apparel, souvenirs, and novelty items.
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