Obama Honors NASCAR Champ Jimmie Johnson

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everyone. Please have a seat. Welcome to the White House. Just before I begin, there are a couple of acknowledgements I want to make. First of all, we've got some Wounded Warriors from Walter Reed and National Naval Medical Center, and I want everybody to give them a big round of applause. We are grateful to them. (Applause.) They're big NASCAR fans. I also want to thank a good friend and a terrific governor, Brad Henry from Oklahoma is here. Stand up, Brad. (Applause.) You know, it is not every day that we have a championship stock car parked out on the South Lawn. (Laughter.) Fortunately, we got Jimmie to agree not to do any burnouts or tear up my backyard. I also suggested to Jimmie that, in exchange for free parking, he should let me take the 48 out for a few laps. (Laughter.) He said that was fine -- but Secret Service didn't think it was fine. (Laughter.) But that's okay, because I'm just glad Jimmie could be here so we can honor him for winning his third consecutive Sprint Cup Championship. Give him a big round of applause. (Applause.) Jimmie got his start racing in motocross events at the age of five and has been racking up trophies and titles for nearly three decades now. But like me, I think his greatest achievement is probably just how far he married up. I had a chance to meet his wife, Chandra, and I'm so glad that she could be here today, as well. Congratulations for your family's success. We want to keep -- everyone who keeps the 48 up front -- we want to congratulate all of them: owner Rick Hendrick, the crew chief -- (applause.) Rick deserves a round of applause. Crew chief Chad Knaus -- did I say that right? And all the folks at Hendrick Motorsports, because we all know NASCAR, winning isn't just about who's behind the wheel during the race, it's also about who's got your back in the pit and everyone back at the shop who preps these cars week after week. With these folks at his side, Jimmie is hoping for a fourth series ...