Hi everyone. My name is John Johansen, aka. jedjohans79, number 79, or Jed on the Christian Racing Team. (Really, you can call me anything you want, just don’t call me late for supper.) I am 48 years old, married to a wonderful wife, Kathy, and have two wonderful children at home, Jessie and Tony. We live in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the middle of some pretty good racing country – some of the best outside of North Carolina. Our church home is Blackhawk Baptist, which is one of the larger churches in Fort Wayne and yet is a very warm and friendly fellowship. It’s founder is Dr. David Jeremiah, who started the well known radio ministry ‘Turning Point’ while in Fort Wayne. Both my wife and I are involved in the church choir and worship team ministry. Our church’s biggest outreach effort of every year is a ministry called the Living Christmas Tree, where a bunch of us get in a large fake tree and pretend to be ornaments. Actually, we present a new drama each year to the community with a message of why we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. We are already working hard at the preparation for this year’s ‘tree’.
Going back a few years, I became a believer in Christ when I was 19 years old. I must confess that though my walk with Him has had many ups and downs, Jesus has always been faithful, always been there when I needed Him, and pulled me out of the miry clay more than once. The greatest times I have had as a Christian were two short term missions trips, one to Mexico City, Mexico and the other to Cairo, Egypt. I had the privilege of serving beside doctors and nurses ministering to people who lived in the garbage dumps near these cities, bringing them the message and hope of Christ.
My interest in racing began only a few years ago, although I did follow local racing some as a teenager. A few friends from church asked me to go to a 410 winged sprint race at a half-mile track in Ohio. We all got a pit pass and watched the races from inside turn one, about 15 feet from the track. When they first cranked it up I about jumped out of my skin. Needless to say, I got hooked. This same bunch of guys took me to my first NASCAR event at Michigan. My favorite driver is Dave Blaney. His hometown is about 40 miles from where I grew up and his brother, Dale, won the first sprint car race I watched. I started racing the Papyrus game, NASCAR 1999, in early 2000. My first online experience was NASCAR 3 later that year. I raced in another league for about 9 months but had a conflict with my work schedule. Racing with the Christian Racing Team is a privilege and has been the best online racing I have experienced. I really enjoy and appreciate the great fellowship we all have. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share.
God bless and keep all of you, my Christian Racing friends.
Jed