Johnny Goes Racing

Johnny Goes Racing Emily Collins

For my favorite race car driver

This is Johnny. Johnny has loved cars ever since he was little. He got his first car by the age of 3! Well, a toy car that is.

As a kid, Johnny hopped a ride for cruise nights up and down the local strip. He was bitten by the car bug!

As a teen, Johnny would sit in the back of class hiding his Road & Track magazine in his notebook and doodling sketches of cars.

Johnny’s interest in racing grew as he found excuses to go to the racetracks and take pictures. He would sneak into the pits to talk to the race car drivers.

Along the way, he married his first love, Mimi, or second if you count the cars.

Their first big adventure together brought them to the Grand Prix of Italy in Monza. There he got to see the Formula 1 racing he had only seen on TV! It was awesome!

His souvenir from the race was a poster of his favorite driver, Jackie Stewart, racing his famous blue and white Tyrrell. Wherever Johnny was, the poster was too.

Johnny and Mimi’s journey took them across the world and to many states. They even had three kids along the way!

He was working and raising a family, but he never lost his love of cars. He tried to avoid driving a station wagon, but three kids and a wife didn’t exactly fit in a sports car, but he still tried!

He found a way to go to racing school with his oldest daughter, made his middle daughter’s car into a racecar, and his son became his pit crew. Mimi stood by as his biggest fan.

Johnny was becoming a racecar driver like the ones he had admired for so long!

His race team grew and he had some new little copilots to join him. Six grandkids to take for rides, watch racing with him, and share his love of cars.



At this point he had bought and sold too many cars to count.



There was always one car he dreamt about, but never imagined would be his to drive, the blue and white Tyrrell from the poster he had been looking at all these years.

It hung in his den, his office, the garage, always within his sight. By fate, now within his sight was the opportunity to buy the car of his dreams. Johnny kept the poster through moves across the world and through the states.

The poster had inspired him for much of his life, but now, the car would carry on to take him on adventures and races around the world.

He raced… he won…but more importantly, he always had a smile to take home at the end of the day.

One driver, 100 tracks, 412 events, 21 countries, 34 years and counting.



It was always meant to be. Dreams do come true.