Veteran NHRA competitor Tommy Johnson Jr. doesn’t have any children of his own.

The driver of the Don Schumacher Make-A-Wish nitro Dodge Charger Funny Car, however, thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent with his nephew Gage Childers recently.

Johnson took Gage on the road with him for the NHRA national events at Chicago (June 26-29) and Norwalk, Ohio (July 3-6).

Veteran NHRA competitor Tommy Johnson Jr. doesn’t have any children of his own.

The driver of the Don Schumacher Make-A-Wish nitro Dodge Charger Funny Car, however, thoroughly enjoyed the time he spent with his nephew Gage Childers recently.

Johnson took Gage on the road with him for the NHRA national events at Chicago (June 26-29) and Norwalk, Ohio (July 3-6).

“It was really cool,” said Johnson about taking Gage to those two races with him. “I don’t have any kids so it was my first experience (taking a child on the road) and he’s just a great kid. We had a blast together.”

This past Thanksgiving, Johnson was told by his sister, Wendy Childers, that Gage, a third grader, was struggling a little bit in the classroom. Gage lives with his family in Mooresville, N.C. Mike Childers, Wendy’s husband, is a fabricator for Penske Racing. The couple also has a 4-year-old boy, Zane.

Johnson motivated Gage to improve in school by saying he could come to the Charlotte, N.C. race (April 11-13) and hang out with him in the DSR pits. Gage proceeded to bring his grades up and he went to Charlotte.

After that, Johnson took things one step further and informed Gage that if he kept his grades up by year’s end he would take him on the road with him to Chicago and Norwalk. Gage received As and Bs and was given a medal for making the honor roll, so the journey was set for Chicago and Norwalk.

“Actually, at the end of the two weeks I didn’t really want to send him home and he didn’t want to go home, either” Johnson said. “He took it pretty hard and I might have taken it harder.”

Johnson was quick to point out he didn’t just let Gage hang out in the pits.

“I taught him how to pack parachutes and gave him the job of taking care of my helmet, and a lot of other things,” Johnson said. “By the time the two weeks were over, he knew his way around the pits pretty good. He didn’t mind getting dirty every day. Actually, the dirtier he got, the more he liked it.”

Gage is quite familiar with NHRA racing as he started racing a Junior Dragster as soon as he turned 8-years-old.

The NHRA national circuit returns to action Friday through Sunday at the Mile-High Nationals at Denver and Johnson Jr. is expecting Gage to come see him at the races again at the U.S. Nationals (Aug. 27-Sept. 1) at Indianapolis and he also will be at Charlotte Sept. 12-14.

“He’s counting down the days to when he can come to the races again,” Johnson said.

Johnson is fourth in the season points – just one point behind his DSR teammate Ron Capps for third place.

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