If NASCAR fans are wondering why they don’t see the drivers out and about as much as they used to, they can blame me. My name is John Vignona, and I’m the motor coach driver for 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson.
I started working in NASCAR nearly 20 years ago. I moved to North Carolina from my hometown of Lake Ronkonkoma, N.Y., and started driving show cars for Cotter Communications, a NASCAR public relations firm. My first job was driving the Maxwell House Racing Simulator. It was basically a show car with a video game installed in the windshield. I parked it in front of grocery stores, at shopping malls, and other race-week promotional events. Fans would “drive” the car through the video game and compete for high scores and prizes.
In the early 1990s, NASCAR drivers, car owners and crew chiefs started to bring motor coaches to the track. It was easier than going to a hotel every night. It also gave the drivers and their families more privacy and a place to call “home” on race weekends.
My first motor coach driving job was for Jerry Nadeau, the young driver from Connecticut. Unfortunately, Jerry was injured in an accident at Richmond in May 2003. That sidelined his driving career, but today, I’m happy to say, he is working in NASCAR as a driver consultant. 
I liked driving motor coaches, and after Jerry’s accident, Kenny Schrader and his wife, Ann, asked me if I was available to drive their motor coach. They are two of the nicest people in racing. And Kenny is one of the busiest. In addition to his NASCAR driving duties, he races almost every night of the week at short tracks across the country. In fact, he owns a few of them.
In July 2004, I was lucky enough to land a job driving for up-and-coming NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson. It has been a great experience. Jimmie and his wife, Chandra, are great to work for, and it was exciting being part of the Lowe’s team as Jimmie worked toward his first NASCAR Nextel Cup championship.
And some of the benefits of the job have been great, like getting Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and NASCAR Nextel Champion rings in 2006. I also had my picture taken with Jimmie and Chandra, kissing the bricks at Indianapolis.
So, what is my life like? I’m on the road about 40 weeks a year. I usually show up at the race track on Wednesday and get the motor coach ready for Jimmie and Chandra. I clean the bus, stock the refrigerator with their favorite foods, and make sure Jimmie’s uniforms are clean. I pull a Chevy Silverado pickup truck behind the bus and haul a golf cart in the truck bed. I use the pickup truck to run errands and take Jimmie to personal appearances outside the track. I use the golf cart to drive him from his motor coach to the driver’s meeting and other at-track appearances.
While it sounds like a glamorous life, it has its down sides, too — mostly the cross-country trips. Following the Daytona 500, I have to drive to California Speedway outside Los Angeles. And at the end of the season, I drive from Phoenix to Homestead-Miami. For these cross-country trips, I use a second driver.
And there isn’t much of an off-season. In addition to my regular driving duties, I’m responsible for all maintenance on the bus. And this past winter I oversaw the construction of a new bus at the Newell factory in Oklahoma. All of this means that I don’t spend much time at my house in North Carolina, but I think I have a pretty good life.