One of the neat things about returning for the Indianapolis 500 all these years is catching up with gearhead friends, like transplanted Texan Kent Johnson.
A native of Fort Worth, Johnson is a public relations representative at Andretti Green Racing, working with reigning IRL IndyCar Series champion Tony Kanaan and teammate Dario Franchitti. Since Sunday afternoon, he has been part of the AGR entourage celebrating Dan Wheldon's victory in the 89th Indy 500.
"Not bad for a kid from Fort Worth's Southwest High School," Johnson said before heading back to the Speedway for Monday night's glitzy Victory Celebration.
I can remember a time when K.J. had to connive his way into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. During his tenure as associate sports information director at TCU, a post Johnson held from February 1989 to April 1998, he worked out a deal with WBAP Radio to travel to Indy each May and file daily reports.
"I wasn't doing it to get a job; WBAP was my access to a credential, and that got me in the door," Johnson said. "I was a little gomer here, and happy to play the part."
Johnson received a championship ring as a member of Kanaan's 2004 team. And he'll soon be fitted for an Indy 500 champion's ring as an extended member of Wheldon's AGR family.
Not bad, Kent, for a gearhead with a scam ... and a plan.