Jimmie Johnson to Wear the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope at Michigan

Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson will wear the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope, which features five charities working to improve K-12 public education, this weekend during the Pure Michigan 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn where a special paint scheme featuring the Jimmie Johnson Foundation (JJF) will be featured on his No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. As a show of support to Johnson’s efforts to raise funds for programs that support K-12 public education, a number of his NASCAR Cup Series competitors will display JJF-branded decals on the visors of their helmets.

“It is an honor to highlight charities making a huge impact on K-12 public education across the country on my Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope,” Johnson said. “Chandra (wife) and I are proud to be able to support such incredible non-profits and schools through the Foundation programs. We’d like to thank Lowe’s for allowing us to run the Foundation paint scheme for the twelfth time, Blue Bunny for sponsoring the Helmet of Hope program again this year, and all of the drivers participating in the visor campaign to raise awareness and funds for K-12 public education. We are so grateful.”

The Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program allows fans and consumers across the country to nominate and vote on not-for-profit (501c3) organizations that support K-12 public education. Each of the recipients was also awarded a $25,000 grant and a Blue Bunny Ice Cream party.

The 5 recipient charities are:

●  Art Feeds in Fayetteville, Arkansas

●  Edu-Futuro in Arlington, Virginia

●  Mary J. Treglia Community House in Sioux City, Iowa

●  School on Wheels of Massachusetts in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts

●  The Kids’ Reading Room in Houston

“We are extremely proud to once again support the incredible work and commitment displayed by each of the organizations to assist K-12 public education,” Wells said. “The passion around the mission of each of these organizations is evident through the rallying of their supporters to vote and ultimately secure additional needed funding. It never ceases to amaze me at how creative and driven all of the organizations are to securing the votes needed.”

New to the weekend dedicated to highlighting the JJF is the visor campaign. A number of competitors will sport a specially designed JJF strip on the visors of their respective helmets. At the conclusion of Sunday’s 400-mile race at Michigan, participating drivers will sign the visors. The signed visors will be available in an online auction to raise funds to support K-12 public education. Participating drivers include:

A.J. Allmendinger        Aric Almirola

Clint Bowyer               Chris Buescher

Kyle Busch                  Dale Earnhardt Jr.       

Chase Elliott                Kasey Kahne

Matt Kenseth               Danica Patrick

Daniel Suarez              Ricky Stenhouse Jr.   

Drivers Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano and Jamie McMurray will donate visors for the auction.

In addition to the Blue Bunny Helmet of Hope program, the Foundation operates the Champions Grant program, which provides cash grants to schools in the Johnson’s hometowns and where they currently live; Team Up For Technology, a $48,000 technology makeover open to schools nationwide; and the Jimmie Johnson Foundation Fit Fest, a family friendly, event in Charlotte, N.C. that features running, mountain biking, obstacle racing, music, food and more.  Each of these programs will be featured on the special JJF paint scheme.  To date, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation has contributed more than $9.6 million to schools and non-profits across the country.

Jimmie Johnson Foundation PR