-Jimmie, you were a NASCAR driver for 20 years?
-Yeah, basically. -Yeah, and -- and retired.
-That's a funny word.
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
But I mean, what -- what happened,
and what's the difference between NASCAR and Indy?
-The car performance of the Indy car is probably
two to three times of what a NASCAR vehicle is.
So, it's hard to believe that,
just 'cause a NASCAR vehicle is so fast.
But these little sporty cars, with the shape of the car,
and the big tires on 'em, and the speed, they're just a rush.
And I truly thought that I was going to slow down.
And then I had a chance to drive one of these Indy cars,
and I thought, "Okay. Well I'll just try
a limited schedule in '21." And now I here --
you know, here I am in '22 with a full schedule.
-But I mean, so what does your wife say?
-Um, yeah, you know, that's been a -- been a --
[ Laughter ]
-She goes, "Wait, wait. You were just out.
Well, now you're in the crazier thing."
-"We're gonna slow down."
And then it's honestly been busier.
And then the car is a bit more dangerous and certainly faster.
Yeah. -How fast have you ever gone?
-The fastest would be in this car in qualifying last Sunday.
It was over 240 miles an hour entering turn 1.
-Geez. -The average speed for the lap,
for the pole -- and my teammate, Scott Dixon, won the pole --
the average speed for four laps was 234 miles an hour.
-What do you see when you're driving 204 --
[ Laughter ] Like, what -- what do you do?
Like, what -- -It's like "Star Wars"
when they hit the gas in the Millennium Falcon.
-Yeah. -That's -- That's it.
-How do you know when to turn or how to stay on anything?
I mean -- -It's -- It's a rush.
Yeah, there's a lot going on. -Yeah.
-It's -- It's so gnarly. Like, that's been --
You know, the kid in me, the racer in me,
loves that experience. And it's just been so cool.
-How about in your personal life, do --
are you the driver in the family, or...?
[ Laughter ] -Yeah. Yeah.
-Like, could I ask, if I'm going out with you,
can I ask that your wife drive us to this?
[ Laughter ] I don't want to go 220
to the mall, I mean --
-It would be a safer option for two reasons.
One, you know, there's less risk,
and, two, you wouldn't have any vomit in the car.
[ Audience groans ] I get motion sickness so bad.
-You do? -I do.
-Wait. What? -I do.
-But that -- How is that possible?
-It is. I don't -- I don't know.
-Do you get sick while you're racing?
-Not while I'm driving, but riding in a car, it's horrible.
-Wow. -Taxi cabs, those guys?
-Well, yeah, okay, I'll give it to you, yeah.
I'll give it to you, that's very -- yeah.
-I mean...
-But your whole family's involved.
I know that your dad is part of your crew.
-He is this year, yeah. -He's one of your --
-He's been with me forever, throughout racing,
got me started. But he's a crew member
on the race car for the Indianapolis 500.
-So he's supportive, as well. -Yeah.
Yeah, he's gonna be spotting for me -- the guys that --
I have two guys, one on each end of the speedway,
that tell me where other cars are around me,
kind of spot the dangerous parts.
-But how -- if you're going that fast,
how can you tell who's what, and where anyone is, and --
that fast?
Does your dad talk like an auctioneer?
[ Laughter ]
Like -- [ Mimicking auctioneer ]
-While looking through binoculars.
-Does -- yeah, I mean.
Binoculars, I feel like that's useless.
-But that's how they do it.
-But how could you even go that fast?
-I tried it once for my younger brother when he was racing,
and he was just yelling at me the whole time
because I was looking at the wrong car
and giving the wrong commands. [ Laughter ]
It's a -- It's a specialized form of work.
-Well, I know that you're not the --
he's not the only family member helping you out on the track.
Because you're recovering from a hand injury.
-Yes. -And your daughter was out there
to give you a pep talk. And we have a video.
This is very cute. Take a look at this.
-Have fun.
-Thanks, baby.
[ Laughter ] [ Audience "Awws" ]
-That's Lydia, my wife Chandra, and then our oldest, Genevieve,
was off on the side there.
But Lydia gave me some great advice.
-What were you thinking there when she was like,
"Yeah, no matter where you place, you just -- you tried."
-I was very happy to hear it, but in my mind,
I'm like, "I'm a pro athlete. I've gotta win.
I've gotta place." [ Laughter ]
-Like, "Honey, I'll talk to you after the race," yeah.
-"10 years from now, we'll talk about this."
-You decided to customize your helmet
that you're going to wear for your first Indy 500.
-Yes. -And you got to design it
with Blake Shelton. -I did.
-How did you get involved with that -- with that man.
-That man. -That animal.
-That animal. -That beast, Blake Shelton.
-Well, at this point in my career and life,
I just want to do fun things with friends.
And to have this opportunity to design a helmet together,
you know, was something that I couldn't pass up.
We're supporting the American Legion.
It's Memorial Day weekend.
Blake's family served, my grandfather served,
so we've created a helmet -- and really, you'll --
you'll appreciate this a lot.
Blake wanted to sew a mullet into the back of the helmet.
That was like the one thing that he really wanted in the design.
-Oh, my gosh, Blake. [ Laughter ]
Thank goodness you didn't -- not do that.
-Well -- -You thought about it?
-He'll be there Sunday, so we'll see what happens.
-He wanted to put a mullet in your helmet?
-He was like, "Man, that'd be so cool."
[ Laughter ] "We just put a mullet
in the back, and you put your helmet on."
-I'm -- what did you -- what did you end up going with?
-We -- Troy Lee Designs designed the helmet,
and we came up with a really cool, you know,
patriotic helmet that has some jets on the top
and our grandfathers --
our family members that are on the side.
-Yeah, I want to -- I want to bring -- show you the helmet.
You brought it with you tonight. -We do.
-But even more special, someone is going to bring out the helmet
and deliver this to us, so we can all take a look at it.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Lydia.
Lydia, are you there? [ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
You can come over here. How did you --
-Thank you, sweetie. -You are --
Lydia, you are so beautiful.
And that was a great video message
I saw you did with your dad there. Yeah.
-[ Chuckles ] -And I was talking
to you backstage, and I said, "If you'd like to come out
while your dad's -- you can look from the crowd."
And you go, "Why can't I be on the show?"
[ Laughter ]
And I go, "Well, of course we can make that happen."
And I just thought that was so cute and funny of you.
So, welcome to "The Tonight Show."
Does it feel good? [ Cheers and applause ]
Here it is. Oh, my God.
Look at this. Look at this, right here,
ladies and gentlemen. -Yes, my grandfather's here.
These are Blake's -- one is Blake's brother,
and the other is Blake's father.
Memorial Day weekend, honoring the men and women
that have paid the ultimate sacrifice.
[ Cheers and applause ] With this helmet.
-Best of luck this weekend. I'm so happy.
Come back whenever, you know. -Thank you so much.
-Lydia, it's an honor to have you here.
Thank you so much, Lydia. -Thank you.
-Jimmie Johnson, everybody! Coverage of the Indy 500
starts live at 11:00 a.m., this Sunday, right here on NBC.