NASCAR: How Jimmie Johnson is finally dealing with a longtime issue

IndyCar driver and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson recently announced a new partnership with Alcon and discussed some of the allergy issues with which he has been faced throughout his career.

Seven NASCAR Cup Series championships, 83 Cup Series wins, and a career switch to a completely different form of motorsport in IndyCar at the age of 45 don’t come easily for anybody — not even Jimmie Johnson.

So Johnson recently announced a new partnership with Alcon, specifically with their Pataday Once Daily Relief Extra Strength allergy eye drops.

The El Cajon, California native has always had allergies, and race season falls squarely during allergy season. Itchy eyes are about the last thing he needs as a distraction.

Not before he discovered this product had he treated his eye allergies right at the source, so this new partnership has been a game changer for him.

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On Monday afternoon, we had the chance to speak to the NASCAR-turned-IndyCar driver about this partnership, and he opened up about some of the experiences he has had with his allergies, including while driving at over 200 miles per hour.

“[The partnership] was brought to us through our great agency, Octagon,” Johnson told Beyond the Flag. “The great folks there know my likes and dislikes in the world, including my dislike of seasonal allergies and all the issues I’ve been having throughout my career. And the relationship was able to start.”

Johnson only wishes he would have found out about the product sooner.

“I’m a little perturbed with my physician who didn’t steer me in the direction of Pataday through all the different times I was in her office complaining about seasonal allergies!” he joked. “But needless to say, I’m very happy with the relationship. I’m a proud user and a proud endorser of the Pataday Once Daily Relief Extra Strength product.”

Given Johnson’s active lifestyle, allergic reactions are one of the worst things that could happen at the wrong time.

“Triathlon, marathons…I live a very active lifestyle,” he said. “I have two young daughters who are very active and we’re quite busy with their adventures and largely with their love of horses — another allergen there in the making for my issues that I deal with.

“Obviously the personal side is one piece of it, but the professional side and the job of driving race cars at 200+ miles per hour, it’s been a tricky balance for me over the years to deal with my allergy symptoms. And I’ve never had anything to address the itchy allergy eye symptoms that I’ve had.

“Now with this relationship with Alcon and the Pataday product, it’s been a game changer for me. I’ve looped it into my daily routine, and I have the confidence starting each day knowing that my eyes are going to be there for me, and I can carry on like I need to.”

Johnson discussed the fact that he has dealt with allergic reactions while driving over the course of his stock car career.

“I’ve had sneezing fits in the car,” he stated. “I’ve had issues where my eyes just burn and wanted to take my hands off the wheel and itch them. It’s not the best environment in the car; there’s a lot of dust and debris moving around.”

He went into specifics about why being in a race car, even with a helmet on and sitting behind a windshield or an aeroscreen, doesn’t separate him from the outside environment and can actually trigger such reactions.

“Then on top of that, to keep the driver cool, we have an air hose that takes the outside air, runs it through a fan and pressurizes the helmet,” he explained. “So even if you’re in a NASCAR vehicle with a windshield, or even the IndyCar now has an aeroscreen, you would think you have some isolation from the outside elements, but you really don’t, because the driver cooling is really the air moving across the top of the head, and that’s just pressurizing the outside elements right into your helmet and making life worse in there.”

After competing at Barber Motorsports Park and on the streets of St. Petersburg last month, Johnson is set to make his third career IndyCar start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday, May 15 in the GMR Grand Prix. NBC is set to broadcast this race live beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET.