The "Jimmie Johnson Dynasty" has officially begun.
Johnson has put himself among the ranks of legendary sports heroes such as Tiger Woods, Pete Sampras and Lance Armstrong.
He can now compare himself to the former greats of his sport, Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and teammate Jeff Gordon -- none of whom have accomplished the incredible feat that he has.
He can also be held in the same high esteem as some of professional sports most legendary teams in history such as the New York Yankees and the Boston Celtics.
After clenching his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Title with a fifth-place finish on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the soon-to-be legendary Hendrick Motorsports driver finally gave credit where credit was due: to himself.
Appearing to have finally recognized the magnitude of what he had just accomplished, Johnson called the success of his team “unbelievable."
Johnson: "The truth of it is, to do something that's never been done in this sport ... To win four championships in eight years, what this team has done ... I don't know where to start.”
Johnson finished 141 points ahead of teammate and another heavy fan-favorite Mark Martin who referred to Johnson as "Superman" after Johnson sealed his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Title.
Don’t expect this to be Johnson’s last victory, however, as he and crew chief Chad Knaus just signed a contract extension that will allow the dynamic duo to work together through 2015 and are showing now signs of slowing down in the near future.
Johnson: "I'm a racer. That's what I do at all times—I race. And I know I have at least another 10 years in me of racing, so while I'm racing, I want to be successful."
Not knowing what the future will hold, for now at least, Johnson stands atop the NASCAR world as a one-man dynasty.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
Early Johnson Crash Allows Martin, Gordon to Narrow Gap in Sprint Cup Chase at Texas
Just three laps into what was likely to be another solid finish on the way to an unprecedented fourth consecutive championship for Jimmie Johnson, one nudge put an unexpected obstacle in the path of his Lowe’s team. Slight contact from the No. 77 car driven by Sam Hornish, Jr. caused Johnson’s No. 48 car to slam into the wall on the backstretch in the Dickies 500, sending shockwaves through Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday
The crash caused a frantic scene in the pit as over a dozen Hendrick Motorsports crew members worked vigorously to reassemble Johnson’s mangled car, barely after the race had begun. After over an hour of repairs to the No. 48 car, Johnson re-entered the race 129 laps behind and was able to salvage a 38th place finish, picking up critical points to keep a lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Heading into Sunday’s race, Johnson held a 184-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin, but now sits just 73 points ahead heading into Phoenix next week. Martin, who with 40 career wins but no Sprint Cup titles, is slowly making a case for himself as the best Cup driver never to win a Championship.
But with Johnson’s crash, a Martin Championship this year is not far-fetched.
Neither Martin nor teammate Jeff Gordon – who now sits just 112 points behind Johnson in Chase standings -- were able to capitalize on Johnson’s misfortune and come out on top this weekend, but both have certainly made the Chase more interesting.
In order to secure a fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Title, Johnson needs to average a fourth-place finish in the final two races of the season at Arizona and Homestead-Miami.
Meanwhile, Martin heads into Phoenix next week with a shot at his first ever Sprint Cup Title.
The crash caused a frantic scene in the pit as over a dozen Hendrick Motorsports crew members worked vigorously to reassemble Johnson’s mangled car, barely after the race had begun. After over an hour of repairs to the No. 48 car, Johnson re-entered the race 129 laps behind and was able to salvage a 38th place finish, picking up critical points to keep a lead in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.
Heading into Sunday’s race, Johnson held a 184-point lead over Hendrick Motorsports teammate Mark Martin, but now sits just 73 points ahead heading into Phoenix next week. Martin, who with 40 career wins but no Sprint Cup titles, is slowly making a case for himself as the best Cup driver never to win a Championship.
But with Johnson’s crash, a Martin Championship this year is not far-fetched.
Neither Martin nor teammate Jeff Gordon – who now sits just 112 points behind Johnson in Chase standings -- were able to capitalize on Johnson’s misfortune and come out on top this weekend, but both have certainly made the Chase more interesting.
In order to secure a fourth consecutive Sprint Cup Title, Johnson needs to average a fourth-place finish in the final two races of the season at Arizona and Homestead-Miami.
Meanwhile, Martin heads into Phoenix next week with a shot at his first ever Sprint Cup Title.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Press Pass to release Professional Bull Riding trading cards
In January 2010, Press Pass Inc. will introduce its first PBR trading card set – 8 Seconds. Action packed with 2,000 lb. bulls, courageous bullfighters and the toughest cowboys in the world, 8 Seconds will bring you closer to the action than ever before!
8 Seconds delivers extraordinary value with three authentic rider/bullfighter on-card autographs and three rider/bullfighter-worn memorabilia cards in every 24-pack hobby box. Press Pass brings you closer to the action than ever before with a stellar lineup of memorabilia including rider-worn gloves, shirts, jeans and cowboy hats! Also look for bullfighter-worn memorabilia!
The “Toughest Sport on Earth” is captured with a 100-card base set the corrals the exhilaration and suspense of the most exciting eight seconds in sports. From the rankest bulls to the heroic riders and courageous bullfighters, 8 Seconds captures it all with action-packed photography and fascinating content.
Stay tuned to http://www.PressPassInc.com for more information including exclusive previews!
8 Seconds delivers extraordinary value with three authentic rider/bullfighter on-card autographs and three rider/bullfighter-worn memorabilia cards in every 24-pack hobby box. Press Pass brings you closer to the action than ever before with a stellar lineup of memorabilia including rider-worn gloves, shirts, jeans and cowboy hats! Also look for bullfighter-worn memorabilia!
The “Toughest Sport on Earth” is captured with a 100-card base set the corrals the exhilaration and suspense of the most exciting eight seconds in sports. From the rankest bulls to the heroic riders and courageous bullfighters, 8 Seconds captures it all with action-packed photography and fascinating content.
Stay tuned to http://www.PressPassInc.com for more information including exclusive previews!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Good Times in Press Pass production land…
As the lone production guy here at Press Pass, I am frequently tasked with interesting and far out ideas by our product team. Memorabilia cards in general tend to command much of my time. Cards containing sheet metal swatches can be a real challenge. Case in point: check out these swatches from Kevin Harvick earlier this year.
These particular swatches are about ¼” thick! I kept these on my desk for a while as they make a good conversational item. As you can imagine, it would be tough to make cards with these. By the time you encapsulate them, the card ends up being much thicker than the rest of the batch. Obviously these have some significant bondo work. That’s the “X” factor with sheet metal. We typically obtain whatever the teams are willing to part with. Usually that means a tore up piece of a race car or a piece that has been used for a while. Nice fresh flat panels used for a race or two are a rarity especially in these economic times when even the race teams are being more frugal.
Another wrinkle thrown in recently is the Car of Tomorrow. Teams are now required to reinforce some areas of the car. The honeycomb structure in the picture is part of what some are using near the driver area. This is permanently affixed to the inside of the sheet metal, again making the swatch thicker than normal and tougher to punch acceptable swatches from.
The punching process is a slow one too. The punching press and dies are really intended for making very uniform pieces in a machine shop setting where thousandths of an inch are measured. The dies are made and calibrated for a specific thickness of metal. One can then imagine what happens when you begin punching sheet metal that is all over the board in terms of thickness.
You tend to get some strange looks when you walk into a machine shop with a truck full of race used sheet metal and say “Hey, can you punch all these into little squares? And oh by the way you have to keep everything separated religiously.” But that’s all part of making memorabilia cards with you, the collector in mind.
These particular swatches are about ¼” thick! I kept these on my desk for a while as they make a good conversational item. As you can imagine, it would be tough to make cards with these. By the time you encapsulate them, the card ends up being much thicker than the rest of the batch. Obviously these have some significant bondo work. That’s the “X” factor with sheet metal. We typically obtain whatever the teams are willing to part with. Usually that means a tore up piece of a race car or a piece that has been used for a while. Nice fresh flat panels used for a race or two are a rarity especially in these economic times when even the race teams are being more frugal.
Another wrinkle thrown in recently is the Car of Tomorrow. Teams are now required to reinforce some areas of the car. The honeycomb structure in the picture is part of what some are using near the driver area. This is permanently affixed to the inside of the sheet metal, again making the swatch thicker than normal and tougher to punch acceptable swatches from.
The punching process is a slow one too. The punching press and dies are really intended for making very uniform pieces in a machine shop setting where thousandths of an inch are measured. The dies are made and calibrated for a specific thickness of metal. One can then imagine what happens when you begin punching sheet metal that is all over the board in terms of thickness.
You tend to get some strange looks when you walk into a machine shop with a truck full of race used sheet metal and say “Hey, can you punch all these into little squares? And oh by the way you have to keep everything separated religiously.” But that’s all part of making memorabilia cards with you, the collector in mind.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Dreams do (sort of) come true...
It's 1976. My neighbor Dave is the coolest kid I know. He's 9, plays drums, has a cooler bike, and gets to go to the KISS concert while my parents tell me I am too young to go. My bond with KISS grows stronger as I begin to wear disguises around town to hide my shame. Someday I shall make it to a KISS concert.
Years go by and I still have yet to attend a KISS concert. I am more mature now and, like KISS, no longer rely on masks. It is 1999 and I actually get to meet Gene Simmons - sort of. It's really this guy named Joe who is part of Dressed to Kill - a KISS tribute band.
Well here it is 10 years later and I am back behind the mask! I still haven't made it to my first KISS concert, but I do get to design KISS trading cards!!! Thanks Press Pass!!
Years go by and I still have yet to attend a KISS concert. I am more mature now and, like KISS, no longer rely on masks. It is 1999 and I actually get to meet Gene Simmons - sort of. It's really this guy named Joe who is part of Dressed to Kill - a KISS tribute band.
Well here it is 10 years later and I am back behind the mask! I still haven't made it to my first KISS concert, but I do get to design KISS trading cards!!! Thanks Press Pass!!
Eric
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Sonic Boom and KISS Tour Edition!
So by now most everyone knows that Kiss’ new album “Sonic Boom” releases on October 6 and will be sold exclusively through Wal-Mart. What you may not know is that Press Pass has a companion product that will be sold alongside the CD/DVD…
Kiss “Tour Edition” is a 33-card set with lots of bonus goodies (three collectible boxes and posters!) culled from 35 years of Kiss tours. Full of vintage photography as well as set lists and insider info from the tours, this exclusive set is one retrospective every Kiss fan will want. Attractively priced at $10 it will be a nice compliment to “Sonic Boom.”
The Kiss boys announced their U.S. tour plans this week. All stops were voted on by loyal members of the Kiss Army. They will be near our office on October 17th and we’ll be in the house!
And can you believe that Gene Simmons just turned 60?! Wow….
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
The Top Three's
With me being in sales during my 7+ year tenure at Press Pass Inc, my position has required me to travel across the U.S. to meet with existing customers, search for new business and to attend various tradeshows. Like anything there are pluses and minuses to traveling. On the plus side, I have been lucky enough to experience many different cities, restaurants and sporting events. On the downside, I have spent time away from my wife and my kids.
Let’s concentrate on the positive side and with that, I thought it might be interesting to share some of my favorite things from the road. Since everybody usually loves lists, I have compiled various “Top Three” lists ranging from favorite places to random thoughts.
Top Three BBQ Joints
1.
2. Charles Vergos’ Rendevous-Memphis: best dry ribs, don’t go on Monday
3. Fiorella’s
Top Three Burger Places
- In-N-Out Burger-West Coast-nothing comes close
- Whataburger-South (but not in NC): please come to NC
- Five
Top Three Places I Want to Go
- San Francisco-airport doesn’t count: great food in the airport though
- Denver-see
- Milwaukee-just because
Top Three Underrated Places
- Anywhere in
Top Three (Four) Annoying Airline Passengers
- The passenger that sits behind you and tells a stranger his/her life story so loud that even your IPOD can’t block out the conversation.
- The passenger that snores (although sometimes that person is me).
- The passenger that insists his/her carry-on will fit in the overhead compartment.
- The passenger that chooses the Bloody Mary mix to drink, without the alcohol.
Top Three Random Airline Thoughts
- The only time I drink Ginger Ale is on a plane.
- The few times that I attempt to work the crossword puzzle in the complimentary airline magazine; it’s always completed by a previous passenger.
- I never sit in row 13.
I’m off again in September to exotic places such as
Kevin
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