Jimmie Johnson Foundation Golf Tournament raises $650,000 for grants

SAN DIEGO – The Jimmie Johnson Foundation Golf Tournament and Dinner Auction has raised over $500,000 each year since its inception in 2007 and this year is no different. The foundation announced today that the fifth-annual event raised $650,000, an event record. Proceeds will go toward funding the 2011 Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe's Toolbox for Education Champions Grants.
 
"This is an amazing event and I'm reminded each year how proud I am to be a part of it," said Johnson. "This is the fifth time we've done this and we raised more money this year than we ever have. I'm so thankful to everyone that supports us and to the sponsors like Lowe's that believe in the educational grants we are able to work on. Chani and I look forward to continuing to help do great things."
 
Johnson, NASCAR's five-time reigning Sprint Cup Series champion, hosted more than 130 golfers at The Grand Del Mar in San Diego for Wednesday's golf tournament, including NASCAR drivers Brian Vickers and Juan Pablo Montoya and former NFL player Jason Sehorn.
 
A dinner and live auction were held the previous evening with students from the Grossmont High School choir and drama performing. Grossmont High School was a recipient of a 2010 Champions Grant, which was used to purchase equipment for its performing arts center.
 
The tournament, which in five years has raised more than $2.5 million, now focuses on the Champions Grants program, a partnership between the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Lowe's Toolbox for Education. The grants range from $25,000-$100,000 and are distributed to K-12 educational programs in Chandra and Jimmie Johnson's hometowns in California and Oklahoma, and where they currently reside in North Carolina.
 
Applications for grants in are being accepted through Sept. 15, 2011. For more information, visit www.jimmiejohnsonfoundation.org.