Fans vote Johnson winner of Pepsi Refresh project

LOUDON, N.H. -- Jimmie Johnson's charitable project was the voters' choice for a $100,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project. The grant, announced Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, will provide financial relief to pediatric bone marrow transplant patients and their families as part of a Be The Match Foundation initiative.

Pepsi Refresh

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"I'm thrilled that $100,000 will be going to Be The Match Foundation," Johnson said. "This Pepsi Refresh grant will help kids and their families with the overwhelming costs that come with a bone marrow transplant. I'd like to thank everyone who voted -- the support that all of us have seen has been incredible."

After more than 500,000 votes were cast online, Johnson's project prevailed over ideas proposed by Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Gordon received $25,000 for the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital in Concord, N.C., to support victims of physical and sexual abuse. Earnhardt received $25,000 toward the building of a computer lab at Shepherd Elementary School near his home in Mooresville, N.C.

Asked whether he was surprised to beat Earnhardt in a contest that involved fan votes, Johnson laughed.

"Yeah, that's the impressive underlying note in all this," he said. "I'm shocked, excited, and thrilled and can't thank my fans enough. I've been preaching that I have a strong fan base for a long time, and I'm glad to see the evidence."