For Johnson, Vegas offers celebration close to home (cont'd)

"It worked out so good for us," said Johnson, who in past years toured San Diego only in advance of races at California. "For myself, for our foundation announcement as well, it couldn't have worked out better for me. It's just a huge opportunity for me, a great opportunity to go back home. I don't know if it would work for [Wisconsin native] Matt Kenseth or maybe someone else. But for myself, it's been fun."

“

We all work our butts off all year long, and then we come to the banquet and it's just a damn Chinese fire drill. So I've enjoyed this a lot. I've spent a lot of time having fun with people.

”

-- JIMMIE JOHNSON

In some respects, this Champion's Week experience has been busier for Johnson than his past three -- it's actually spawned into a four-city extravaganza, beginning with a one-day media trip to New York the day after he clinched his title at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and including San Diego and Los Angeles before arriving in Las Vegas, where the awards ceremony will be held Friday night in a ballroom of the Wynn hotel. But despite its 24/7 nature, Las Vegas has offered the champion a slower pace than years past.

Johnson still has a schedule packed with activities, but the close proximity of all the events in Las Vegas has allowed him more free time than he enjoyed in New York. This week, it hasn't been uncommon to see Johnson, crew chief Chad Knaus, or any of the other top drivers playing blackjack in the wee hours at the Wynn. Wednesday night, the No. 48 group held a team party that stretched well into the night. With no morning shows to hit -- in New York, it was up-and-at-'em at about 6 a.m. every day -- everyone can stay up later and celebrate without self-imposed restrictor plates.

"We've certainly covered more ground and hit more cities. But it feels more productive in that respect," Johnson said. "At the same time, the schedule has been more relaxed in that we don't have all the morning shows we're chasing around town, and on top of that to commute to every media function is pretty easy. I've walked to pretty much everything instead of hopping in the car and driving 45 minutes in the car to go four blocks."

Compare that to New York, where "you rush into a building, turn around, rush right out, back into traffic. That kind of stuff drives me nuts," he added. "So I feel productive here. It's also allowed, with the later start times here, because we don't have the morning shows, for everybody to enjoy this. This is a celebration. We all should have fun and go to dinners and enjoy some drinks and hang out. We all work our butts off all year long, and then we come to the banquet and it's just a damn Chinese fire drill. So I've enjoyed this a lot. I've spent a lot of time having fun with people."

Being so close to home is an added bonus. The West is clearly Johnson country -- there are a lot of people out here who remember him as an up-and-comer, in the days before he started winning championships, who saw him as one of their own in a sport crowded with drivers from the South and Midwest. Anyone who doubts Johnson's popularity needed to be at the fan festival at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Wednesday, where the number of caps and jackets bearing the driver's neon yellow 48 was overwhelming.

"I liked him before he was winning races and before he was popular," said Las Vegas native Joe Longo, who came to the speedway clad in a football jersey with Johnson's last name and car number emblazoned on the back. "Now, I'm a superfan."

Clearly, this Champion's Week experience in Las Vegas is very much a work in progress -- you get the distinct feeling that NASCAR is crawling before it tries to walk, using this year's celebration as a baseline that will be built upon as long as the sport decides to keep the event in the desert. There are unquestionably some bumps that are going to have to be smoothed out. But for Johnson, given his history-making accomplishments, it's an ideal confluence of driver, place and time. And this year, at least, that alone seems reason enough to leave New York behind.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Video: All the action from Champion's Week