HAMPTON, Ga. -- The very hills that Jimmie Johnson traversed on his motorcycle as a young boy are now charred by the wildfires scorching Southern California.

Care-free memories of riding wide-open in the hills east of San Diego are now blemished and overshadowed by daily headlines of thousands of residents, in and around his hometown, displaced and homeless. Their homes have been reduced to ashes.

You can help, too

For more information regarding donation locations, visit the Red Cross or Lowe's online.

• www.redcross.org
• www.lowes.com

"It's really the worst reality that you would ever face out there living in Southern California," said Johnson, 32, who grew up in El Cajon and likely learned the family evacuation plan before his own street address. Knowing how to escape from rampant flames -- what to do and where to go -- was that important.

And helping those affected by the recent tragedy is equally important.

Johnson, along with his team owner Rick Hendrick and sponsor Lowe's, will donate all winnings from Sunday's Nextel Cup race at the Atlanta Motor Speedway to the American Red Cross relief effort. The purse money will benefit thousands of residents burdened by the fires.

The Red Cross is providing residents, firefighters and first responders with shelter, food, water, comfort kits as well as medical and mental health services. The California wildfires have burned almost half a million acres and forced the evacuation of more than a million residents.

"I can remember a couple of times as a kid growing up and being evacuated out of the area. The most recent big fire that went through there [El Cajon] took down the neighborhood where I grew up," said Johnson after Nextel Cup practice in Atlanta this weekend.

The driver has seen the devastation first-hand. And while the average elementary student was learning not to talk to strangers, Johnson was already learning fire prevention and fire safety training.

"That was a class that we'd have once or twice a year," he said. "It's something you grew up with and it's a reality you'd have to face."

When news of an emerging wildfire would break, knowing it was in the valley below his home, Johnson became panic stricken.

Living on top of a hill, he said, Johnson always feared he and his family would be trapped if the flames blazed toward his home. But his parents taught him if the fire was burning up one side of the hill then evacuate down the other side.

"It was just a lot of things we were faced with as a kid and scared us," he said. "There were a few fires that were close and my parents said, 'Alright let's get out of here. We're just going to leave ourselves before we get trapped up here.'"

Johnson isn't the only one feeling compelled to help.

Hendrick has employees in California who are indirectly affected by the tragedy as well.

"It doesn't look like any of our folks will lose their homes, so we're lucky," said Hendrick, who is the chairman of Hendrick Automotive Group, which operates 10 auto dealerships in California. "Not everyone is so fortunate. It's vital that we raise awareness, and having a guy like Jimmie leading the charge is a great shot in the arm. I'm proud of what he and Lowe's are doing, and our prayers continue to be with the people of Southern California."

In addition to matching the donations by Johnson and Hendrick Motorsports, Lowe's declared each of its 85 Lowe's stores in California as official Red Cross cash donation sites. Lowe's will match all of the donations it collects at the stores up to $50,000 to support Red Cross relief efforts for the California wildfires.

Also, Johnson's No. 48 Chevrolet will don a special 1-800-RED CROSS decal on its trunk for fans to call for information or donate to the Red Cross' wildfire relief efforts.

"With what's going on in Southern California, if we don't get involved and help as fellow Americans, we're going to have a large part of our society in dire straits," Johnson said. "Every cent is going to help; every cent is going to matter."

Interesting enough, over the summer, Johnson and wife Chandra spent time in the El Cajon area with the Jimmie Johnson Foundation hosting a celebrity golf tournament and charity event that raised more than $500,000 for construction of new Habitat for Humanity homes.

The donation was his way of making someone's life just a bit easier.

Johnson said he knows how tough the fire season can be, who it can impact in a community, and what the fires can do to a family.

"I know how many homes have been lost there," he said. "It was important to give back to some families that may have been involved with fire and whatever that was going on out there with the tragedies we've had."