Jackson Lee: Tradin’ paint with seven-time…

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Hello everyone! I ticked off another box in my racing journey this past weekend. Growing up racing and watching the greats, you spend a lot of time imagining what it would be like to compete against them. I’ve been able to race against Dario Franchitti and James Hinchcliffe this season and now I can add another superstar to the list.

You imagine battling for wins, racing wheel to wheel, and maybe even sharing a podium someday. What you do not picture is getting taken out by one of them, especially one of the legends. But, if you race long enough at the top levels, it’s coming and that is exactly what happened Friday during the inaugural Navy 250 at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego, California – I was punted by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion Jimmie Johnson while running seventh!

We arrived at Naval Base Coronado on Thursday, and it was immediately clear this would not be a typical race weekend. I have raced at plenty of unique venues, but competing on an active military base was a first. Everywhere you looked there were massive naval ships, fighter jets, helicopters, and military equipment. It felt like a racetrack had been built in the middle of an air show, and it made for one of the most incredible backdrops I have ever experienced.

The track itself was just as unique. It was rough, bumpy, unforgiving, and long at 3.4 miles with concrete patches throughout and grip levels that changed from corner to corner. It was one of the most challenging circuits I have raced on, which also made it one of the most fun. One mistake left little room for recovery, and it caught many out, so you had to stay fully committed and fully focused, knowing the track could bite at any moment.

Practice went reasonably well. We were not where we wanted to be with outright pace, but I felt we had more speed than timing showed. For the first time in a while, we had two practice sessions before qualifying instead of the usual one, which made us pretty optimistic that we’d find more pace. Unfortunately, the second session was heavily shortened because of crashes and unexpected water flowing on the circuit. We ended up sitting in pit lane for a long time while officials worked to dry the track, and we didn’t get on track for the 2nd practice. That limited our ability to get a full read on the truck, but I still felt reasonably confident.

Qualifying was okay, but not great. Teams were required to start the race on their qualifying tires, so our plan was to run only one lap to preserve them for the start. I had a strong lap going, but I missed a shift, which cost valuable time and left us starting mid-pack. As much as I wanted to go back out and improve it, we had to prioritize the tires for the race.

From there, our strategy shifted quickly. With the expectation of heavy attrition on a challenging track, we made the decision to drop to the back of the pack on lap one to avoid early chaos. It was a “survive and advance” approach, and it turned out to be exactly the right call. We stayed out of trouble and gradually worked our way forward, including passing former Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400 winner Jamie McMurray. As the race progressed, the truck came to life and I found my rhythm. We had a penalty for the crew going over the wall too early in our first stop, which sent me back to the back. But, I was able to drive forward again and by early in stage three, I had climbed into a legitimate seventh place and was racing wheel to wheel with some big names and championship contenders.

That is when I got shoved off by one of the biggest names in racing, Jimmie Johnson, who was making an appearance in a Truck series race close to where he grew up. It was not intentional or dirty. After reviewing the video, it looks like an aggressive move may have put him slightly out of control and he slid across into my right side. It killed my momentum and I lost quite a few spots, dropping outside the top 20.

I was starting to recover and had my sights set on a top 10 to 15 finish when a typical NASCAR incident unfolded right in front of me with four laps remaining. I did my best to avoid the wreck, but I was collected and bodywork on my truck bent into my wheel. That left me unable to turn, so I had to be towed back to the paddock. My crew worked incredibly fast to get me back out, and I rejoined on the final lap, but three laps down, ultimately finishing 27th.

I will admit I was a bit heartbroken. We showed real speed and had a legitimate top 10 in us. Unfortunately, it just was not in the cards this time. We will regroup and get another shot in the next NASCAR Truck race in a few weeks at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut when I will be back with Team Reaume for the final road course of the season.

A big thank you to California Closets, Browning Chapman, IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, End Lung Cancer Now and Invst. Without these incredible partners, I would not be here doing this. If you have ever wanted to support my journey, one way is by supporting them.

I would truly appreciate it if you would consider California Closets for your storage and organization needs, Browning Chapman for specialty contracting and concrete work, or donating to IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center or End Lung Cancer Now to help advance cancer research. Let us connect you!

Stay Fast!
Jackson