Five-time NASCAR champ Jimmie Johnson’s wife Chandra Johnson gave birth to the couple’s second daughter on Friday, so it’s totally understandable that he chose to take the day off.
Johnson’s wife gave birth to the couple’s new daughter at 2:02AM Friday at a Charlotte, North Carolina hospital. The baby girl weighed in at 5 pounds, 10 ounces and was 19 inches long, reports The AP.
Chandra Johnson and the couple’s new baby are just fine, but Jimmie still chose to skip practice and qualifying at Richmond International Raceway so that he could be with his family. Regan Smith drove in his place.
Though he had talked with his team about missing the race in case anything went wrong with his daughter’s birth, the time of her arrival made it convenient for him to miss preparations.
“He really wanted to be here,” crew chief Chad Knaus said. “After talking it over with him last night. it made a lot more sense for him to take the day off, get some rest, spend some time with Chani. That way when he shows up here tomorrow night, he was actually fresh and ready to go instead of sleep deprived and wanting to be with his kid.”
Though the team was even ready to have Smith take over at the Chase opener at Chicago next week should anything go wrong, Knaus added that “It’s nice to know we don’t have to worry.”
Jimmie Johnson currently the Sprint Cup Series points leader ahead of the final race of the “regular season.”
Here’s a photo of Jimmie and Chandra Johnson’s new daughter, via Instagram:
[Image: Shutterstock ]
