They would load up the motorbikes, fill a 55-gallon drum with gasoline, and head out to the desert. That's how it all began for Jimmie Johnson -- with family, a stark Southern California landscape, and the buzzing of tiny engines. They'd camp for a week, and the two Johnson boys would ride from sunup to sundown, jumping the dunes and gradually draining that big drum until it was dry.

"We weren't all that advanced at that age, but we loved it," Johnson said. "It was freedom. It was great."

When Johnson moved to North Carolina, a driver who would become known for his unflappability became a fan of another cool customer.

Although Johnson is very much a self-made racer, someone who learned to do television work and put together a business plan to help attract sponsors early in his career, the old-school influences are clearly there. His was a non-traditional path to NASCAR, one with divergent treks into areas like motocross and off-road racing, and because of that his heroes come from a melting pot of divergent disciplines. Around the Johnson household in El Cajon, Calif., the drivers most often mentioned weren't names like Petty and Earnhardt, but fellow Californians like 1963 Indianapolis 500 winner Parnelli Jones and four-time Indy champ Rick Mears.

It was very easy for a young Johnson to identify with Mears, who had raced motorcycles and off-road vehicles, lived in Southern California, and was among the most famous and recognizable drivers of the 1980s. Johnson's career might have followed a similar path, too, had a pair of events not occurred -- he injured his knee racing motocross, which hastened his move into cars, and in 1993 at the Los Angeles Coliseum he was introduced to Herb Fishel, then the executive director of General Motors Racing, and the man who would be instrumental in steering the future champion toward NASCAR.

Johnson's grandfather was an A.J. Foyt fan, and loved to regale his grandson with stories about the fiery Texan. But the most important influence on the young Johnson was another former motorcycle racer with the same last name -- Rick Johnson, a six-time American Motorcycle Association champion who became Jimmie's first mentor. Jimmie received sponsorship from Rick Johnson, but also learned more practical things like how to leave a voice mail and how to dress when meeting a prospective sponsor. Jimmie's knee injury also allowed him to attend high school like a regular student, to play water polo, and to develop the social skills so many young racers lack.

But NASCAR was always out there, if not a possibility at first then definitely a curiosity. A young Johnson grew to love Cale Yarborough so much, that the first time he saw a Hardee's -- the fast-food chain once sponsored the three-time champion's car -- Jimmie ran inside, thinking it was the race shop. He liked Bobby and Davey Allison, thinking how neat it was for a father and son to compete against one another. When he moved to North Carolina to pursue a stock-car career, a driver who would become known for his unflappability became a fan of another cool customer.

"Bobby Labonte," Johnson said. "Once I moved back here, Bobby was on fire. He just went about his business and was winning races, and I thought that was very cool."

Although Johnson said he never went out of his way to try and mimic another driver, clearly there are those who have influenced him. The reigning NASCAR champion admires Ned Jarrett for his temperament and his demeanor, and a poise that has made him a beloved ambassador of the sport long after his driving days are done. "That's stuff I feel like I have in me," Johnson said, as anyone who saw him before the cameras following his crash in the Coca-Cola 600 can probably attest.

Pepsi Refresh

• Gordon mirrors Mears
• Johnson's various influences
• Junior's old-school ways

Jeff, Jimmie and Dale are asking fans to participate in the Pepsi Refresh Project to help better America's communities. Each of the drivers has outlined an idea for a charitable project about which they are passionate -- and fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite idea. The driver's idea with the most votes will receive a $100,000 grant from the Pepsi Refresh Project in support of the cause.

• Cast your vote
• Pepsi Refresh Projects

And then there's Jeff Gordon. From the very beginning, Gordon was a hero of Johnson's, his posters up on the wall right next to those of Rick Johnson and Rick Mears. Later, when Johnson began pursuing his own professional career, Gordon became an inspiration. Here was another driver with a non-traditional background, a young guy who came from the West Coast, who had kicked down the door in what had been a Southern sport. Johnson saw that, and thought: "Wow, I have a chance," he said.

"He was a young guy, he didn't come up racing stock cars, and now he's racing stock cars and kicking butt," Johnson remembered. "I thought, 'I want to be like that guy.' "

And soon he was on his way, driving in the American Speed Association for Stan and Randy Herzog, his first real step toward a NASCAR career. But he may not have made it without the help of another ASA driver, Gary St. Amant, an Ohio native who has five career starts in the Truck Series. The two would share a hotel room during test sessions, and Johnson would keep St. Amant awake with questions. What is loose? What is tight? What is wedge? What does a track bar do?

"I knew nothing about this stuff," Johnson said, laughing at the memory. "And I remember we were in Jennerstown, Pa., for a test, and he was like, 'Jimmie, you're just going to have to go to bed and we'll figure this out tomorrow. I'm tired.' Gary was there for me in a lot of ways."