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Kodak Moment: Daytona 1999
by Steve Wingate and Marsha Johnson
Some of you may remember Kodak holding a design contest during the 1998 season. The point of the contest was for a contestant to design a car that showcased the new Kodak Advantix Photo System. This is the story of the woman who won that contest, Marsha Johnson. She has graciously shared her photos and stories with "The Car Guy of Benchfield." Thank you, Marsha.
Marsha with Bobby Hamilton and the car she designed.
Like so many other people who win incredible prizes in contests, 43 year-old Marsha Johnson thought entering the Kodak Design-a-Car contest was a long shot. Marsha, a graphic designer from Springfield, Missouri was in for the surprise and the experience of a lifetime. For her winning entry, Marsha and her family were sent to the 1999 Daytona 500, given to chance to drive 100 laps in a stock car, and most importantly, got to see the #4 Morgan McClure car with Bobby Hamilton at the wheel carry the paint scheme she designed in the "Super Bowl" of motor sports.
Not only did Marsha get a trip to the 500, she was also granted a four-day garage pass and the opportunity to watch the race from the pits. There she got the opportunity to meet dozens of NASCAR celebrities, including Ray Evernham and Richard Petty.She met the latter on the day of the photo shoot with Bobby Hamilton. The photo shoot was supposed to happen at 11 AM that morning, but the #4 crew was busy swapping engines in the car and the work could not be halted. Ray Cooper, PR rep assigned to escort Marsha needed to get in touch with Bobby to clarify schedules. The quickest way to find Bobby was simply to walk into the driver motor home campsite, which is normally off-limits even to holders of garage passes. And then there he was.... the King. "Let me tell you," said Marsha. "You couldn't hope to find a nicer guy anywhere. He was very gracious with his time, and signed my race program with his famous painstaking signature, and even took some time out to tell me about his experiences with paint scheme design contests."
The photo session with Bobby Hamilton finally happened about 3 PM that day. One of the pictures from that shoot is at the top of this page. During the shoot, one of the crew members asked Marsha if she would like to take some pictures of her in the car. Naturally, she scrambled in and found that the seat was way too big for her, and that she couldn't even come close to reaching the pedals. In the shot on the right, she is posing with Bobby's helmet which a crew member had jokingly cautioned her about: "Whatever you do, don't smell it."
When the big day came, Marsha had the privilege of watching the 500 from #4 pits. She was warned not to get to close to the coiled air hose when a caution came out, but otherwise was welcomed in the pits. One of the tire changers even let her try out his impact wrench.
As you may remember, that Daytona 500 was a disappointing one with the Morgan McClure team. Late in the race, the #4 mysteriously turned right and smacked the wall in the backstretch. Bobby had been complaining about a vibration in the car, and on every pit stop, the crew would make sure the fenders were pulled away from the tires. All of this happened during the long caution after the "big wreck" in the latter part of the race, which happened about 20 laps before Bobby's crash. It took several caution laps for the track crews to clean up the mess, and Bobby made a pit stop on each of those caution laps, changing a set of tires each time. Nothing seemed to cure the problem. Marsha had grown attached to "her car" and was sad to see it reduced to scrap, but she still left Daytona with an experience to remember and the honor of having designed an actual Winston Cup paint scheme.
The other part of Marsha's grand prize happened about five months later at Charlotte with Andy Hillenburg's Fast Track Driving School. Marsha was to pilot a stock car with the paint scheme she designed for 100 laps, but the session was cut short by rain. She didn't get real fast at Charlotte-- her times only averaged about 100 mph, but she had a great time with it. Fast Track issued her a "rain check" for the remainder of her 100 laps, which she used at Texas Motor Speedway. This time, she ran laps averaging between 135 and 140 mph.
"I have to say," says Marsha. "The pros make it look easy on TV, but it takes timing and coordination, combined with some actual strength to drive fast on a race track. I couldn't imagine adding 40 to 60 mph to my speed....."
So there you have it, the story of Marsha Johnson's incredible year in NASCAR. And the story doesn't end there... Marsha still does an occasional paint scheme and ad work for Andy Hillenburg's driving school. She had made the acquaintance of NASCAR illustrator Sam Bass, and has kept contacts in the racing world since her experience. I'm proud that she decided to share her story with me and with everyone that reads this.
2001 Car Guy of Benchfield