When the smoke cleared at Homestead, Jimmie Johnson emerged as the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion for the third year in a row. (Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

It was a big mistake when his handlers tried to cover-up that Johnson had broken his left wrist while ‘surfing’ on a golf cart. The truth eventually came out and it was a lot funnier and much more endearing than the original statement of “someone turned sharply and I fell out.” Be honest and let the Cart Surfer come out in public! He’s fun! He’s human!

Forget the coiffed hair, this guy is tough. But few fans seem to recognize that toughness. One needs to see footage of Johnson climbing out of a Busch Series car at the end of the long front stretch at Watkins Glen after a horrifying impact with Styrofoam and steel barriers. Johnson had lost the brakes and careened helplessly at breakneck speed into the turn-one wall. He climbed from the mangled car and saluted the crowd with arms aloft and a huge smile that seemed to say, “Oh man, that was cool! I just stared death in the eye, and he blinked.”

I’m even more surprised that so few people know one of the greatest “tough guy” stories from any racecar driver.

In 1994, at the age of 19, Johnson was leading the Baja 1000 – one of the toughest races in the world. Except, rather than rolling into Victory Lane, Johnson flipped into a ravine. Not just any ravine, but a deep canyon, completely out of touch with civilization. The search to find the El Cajon teenager took more than 48 hours before he was finally rescued. While he was stranded during that agonizing two-day stretch, Johnson wisely chose to point his career towards NASCAR. (Imagine the commercials Lowe’s could concoct with that scenario! “If I’d only had my Kobalt tools to help me out of the canyon…”)

So, the next time someone tries to tell you the driver of the #48 isn’t determined or tough enough, ask if they’d like to sit at the bottom of a Mexican gulley for 48 hours with nothing but a steaming, crushed truck for companionship.

He’s rough. He’s tough. He’s fun, and he’s your champion. Again.

So, here’s a big ‘attaboy’ to Jimmie and the entire Hendrick organization. Eventually, your feat will be fully appreciated.

If you disagree, I encourage you to use the “comments” section below. Convince me.

The opinions reflected herein are solely those of the above commentator and are not necessarily those of SPEEDtv.com, FOX, NewsCorp, or Speed Channel

Jade Gurss is the owner of fingerprint, inc., a sports publicity company. He has written two New York Times Best Sellers, including what is believed to be the biggest-selling motorsports book in American publishing history (Driver #8 with Dale Earnhardt Jr.). His two decades of publicity and marketing experience involves nearly every category of motorsports, including nine innovative seasons as NASCAR publicist for the Budweiser brand and Earnhardt Jr. His blog can be seen at: http://fingerprint.typepad.com