A press conference changed the direction of Jimmie Johnson’s life.
In early 2018, Johnson was in Daytona making the rounds for NASCAR’s annual preseason media event. NASCAR’s January press conferences tend to be pretty straightforward deals — the media asks a few questions about how excited the driver is about the upcoming season; the driver replies that yes, they’re very excited about the upcoming season. Everyone knows the steps to the dance.
But at this particular scrum, Johnson happened to cross paths with Formula 1 legend Fernando Alonso, who was in town doing press for the upcoming Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona race.