Johnson lends hand to kids in Texas soap box race

"Keep your head low and don't use the brake until you cross the finish line."

Words of advice from NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who recently helped a group of underserved children build All-American Soap Box Derby cars over the weekend while in town to race the Samsung 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway.

Nearly 50 people gathered inside a large white tent in Fort Worth's Gateway Park for a car-building workshop, hosted for aspiring drivers preparing to race in their first-ever Plano, Texas Soap Box Derby race in June.

Well, some wanted to be drivers.

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Aaron Nash, 9, wants to be a meteorologist.

Nevertheless, the young Plano boy listened intently to Johnson's advice and responded to directions on how to build an effective derby mobile.

Johnson knows his way around these gravity-powered roadsters as the NASCAR champ has been involved with the soap box derby program for three years now.

"He helped us a bunch, I felt like I was talking to a normal person," Nash said. "I'm going to follow the track, watch the road and make sure I don't crash."

Nash's father, Clint Nash, 39, considered the event to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work so closely with a NASCAR star like Johnson, but more than that, building the car was quality time spent with his son.

For Johnson, racing and building equipment has always been a family affair; an affair he learned to cherish at the age of 5 racing dirt bikes.

His family ran a local dirt bike track in Barona Oaks east of San Diego, Calif. His father helped build the track and drove the tractors, while his mother worked at the concession stand.

"Being on the road and waking up Sunday to race are some of my best memories growing up," Johnson said. "I loved how it brought everyone together for the weekend."

Johnson said he was happy to share his racing memories with the children in Texas as he moved from child to child, sometimes on bended knee placing an encouraging hand on their tiny shoulders.

"They were shy at first but warmed up by the end of the afternoon," he said. "This event gives these kids an opportunity they would otherwise not have and I'm happy to be a part of it."

The event was made possible through a partnership with the All-American Soap Box Derby and Johnson's sponsor Levi Strauss Signature.

"They've always found creative ways to use my time," Johnson added. "They're not just going to be a sticker on a car."

Chris Redman, 23, an engineering student in Arlington, Texas, who volunteered to help out at the event, hoped meeting the NASCAR champ might translate into a job.

"Meeting him was really cool. I used to race [soap box derby cars] as a kid and I'm a huge NASCAR fan. He's a real motivator and someone we could work for in the future."

Supported by NASCAR and established in 1933, the All-American Soap Box Derby is a youth racing initiative and childhood memory for dozens of NASAR drivers including championship team owner Richard Childress and even NASCAR president Mike Helton.

The cars compete in local races held year-round in more than 450 cities across the country with local champions earning berths into the world championship held in July, an event broadcast on national television.