The Sixth Annual Jimmie Johnson Foundation Golf Tournament and Dinner Auction presented by Lowe’s raised more than $650,000, setting a new event record. Proceeds from the tournament will be distributed to schools in need through the Jimmie Johnson Foundation/Lowe’s Toolbox for Education Champions Grants program.

“This is an incredible event,” said Johnson, who grew up in El Cajon, Calif.  “I love coming back to southern California and being able to connect with our sponsors, partners and friends, while raising money to fund incredible school projects.”

Johnson and his wife Chandra hosted 120 golfers at The Grand Del Mar in San Diego for Wednesday’s golf tournament, including NASCAR drivers Brian Vickers and Juan Pablo Montoya, NHRA driver Ron Capps and seven-time Supercross champion Jeremy McGrath.  

A dinner and live auction were held Tuesday evening featuring students from Mission Bay High School and Marston Middle School.  In 2010, Mission Bay High School received a Champions Grant of nearly $40,000 to revamp their outdated computer lab and print shop.  The same year, Marston Middle School received a Champions Grant of nearly $50,000 to upgrade their 53-year-old woodshop. 

In a fitting tribute to the work of the Jimmie Johnson Foundation, the City of San Diego declared June 19, Jimmie Johnson Foundation Day. 

The tournament, which in six years has raised more than $3 million, focuses on the Champions Grants program, a partnership between the Jimmie Johnson Foundation and Lowe’s Toolbox for Education. The grants range from $25,000-$100,000 and are distributed to K-12 educational programs in Chandra and Jimmie Johnson’s hometowns in Oklahoma and California, and where they currently reside in North Carolina.