Surely, Jimmie Johnson shared a video of a dancing Earl Barban on Wednesday with good intentions and with permission from his Hendrick Motorsports spotter. But a simple "I'm back" would have sufficed.
Johnson, who was cleared Wednesday to return to racing after testing positive for COVID-19 and missing last week's Brickyard 400, confirmed his status for Sunday's race at Kentucky Speedway and, obviously unknowingly, embarrassed his spotter in the process.
Johnson said Barban's support video, which appeared to be filmed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend, was "too good not to share." We'll have to agree to disagree.
It’s been an emotional journey and I’m so happy to be back. Thank you for all the support. This video was one of my favorites and is too good not to share, courtesy of @bigearl48. See you soon @kyspeedway. pic.twitter.com/zFSJiPN2V0
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) July 8, 2020
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It's unclear whose voice recorded the cringe-worthy rap, but the culprit of the lyrics seems to be Barban himself because of the line, "I'll do good for (Justin) Allgaier," who ran the Indy race in Johnson's place but crashed out early and finished 37th. Below are the lyrics.
"To our brother Jimmie, sure miss you at Indy.
"We wish our boy was here, but since you're not, enjoy a beer.
"I'll do good for Allgaier, but if I say I like it, I would be a liar.
"Kick this WuFlu in the ase, so you can get back here and race."
Oof. At least Barban ended the video on a positive note with a message of care to Johnson and his family as they navigated a difficult scenario.
Johnson is able to return to racing this weekend because he has tested negative for COVID-19 twice this week, once on Monday and once on Tuesday. NASCAR requires two negative tests at least 24 hours apart before a person in the sport who tests positive can return.
“My family is so grateful for the incredible love and support we’ve received over the last several days,” Johnson said in a team release. “I especially want to thank Justin Allgaier for stepping in for me at Indy and being a true pro. I’m excited about getting back to business with my team this weekend.”
Johnson, who was the first NASCAR driver to test positive for COVID-19 since the sport's return to racing in May, never experienced any symptoms of the virus.