HMS legend Jimmie Johnson recognised at Sports Legends Dinner aimed at charitable cause

Jimmie Johnson was one of the dignitaries invited to the 39th annual Sports Legend Dinner at New York Hilton Midtown on Monday, September 30, 2024. The Legacy Motor Club owner and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion felt proud to be able to support the Miami Project and the Buoniconti Fund, which aims at curing various neurological disorders.

The Buoniconti Fund was founded by NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti, following the untimely demise of his son due to a spinal cord injury during a college football game in 1985. Since its inception, the Buoniconti Fund has been raising money to treat spinal cord injuries and diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, MS, ALS, and Stroke.

Johnson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and reflected on his experience from the event saying:

"I’m honored to be recognized at The @BuonicontiFund’s 39th Annual Great #SportsLegendsDinner. More importantly, millions were raised to fund research for spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, MS, ALS, and Stroke."

"A big thanks to Darrell Gwynn for introducing me to this incredible cause. Proud to support The #BuonicontiFund and The Miami Project’s mission to find a cure," Jimmie Johnson further added.

Hours before the event, Johnson appeared on the TODAY channel and reiterated his thoughts on the Miami Project, saying :

"The Miami Project itself is something that’s very important to me. In sports, there are so many spinal injuries, and to have such a focus group trying to help athletes, really, honestly anyone with this type of injury, find care, find ways to advance, to get back to life and live as they should, it’s been really amazing to be a part of it and to be there tonight." (2:13)

Johnson was joined by several sports persons like former baseball players Scott Erickson and Roger Clemens, WNBA legend Tamika Catchings, former Hockey star Henrik Lundqvist, tennis player Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh Jennings, and horse racing legend John R. Velazquez.

American Salad Company joins Jimmie Johnson in supporting the Jimmie Johnson Foundation

Chopt Creative Salad Co., a salad company based in New York City, has partnered with Jimmie Johnson to create a new salad that they call the "Jimmie Johnson Kale Caesar Salad". The salad is available at all Chot Salad outlets. However. that is not all.

15% of the revenue from the dish's sales will be donated to the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, a North Carolina-based non-profit organization founded by Johnson and his wife, Chandra Janway, in 2006. NASCAR Non Stop dropped an update regarding the same on their official Instagram page:

"Hey race fans! @choptsalad has partnered with 7X NASCAR Champion Jimmie Johnson (@jimmiejohnson) to create the limited time "Jimmie Johnson Kale Caesar Salad!" 15% of sales are donated to the Jimmie Johnson Foundation. Available at all Chopt" locations! #choptpartner"

To this day, the Jimmie Johnson Foundation has awarded 6,817,146 grants and aided in 167 school projects. In 2022, Johnson announced that K-12 public and charter schools will receive annual grants worth over $450,000. An estimated 11,000 students benefitted from the donation (as per jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org).