He may have stepped into the Nextel Cup arena in a position never before experienced by a series rookie but even though Jimmie Johnson has always driven the best equipment in NASCAR's premier series, he will still make an unlikely future choice for the NASCAR Hall of Fame in years to come.

The pressure and spotlight has been on Johnson ever since he graduated to the Cup Series on a part-time basis in 2001 but although he had Jeff Gordon's championship winning equipment on hand for his first full-time season in 2002, 23-time race winner Johnson has virtually always lived up to the extremely high expectations that have followed him.

But while he currently has the NASCAR world at his feet and was fortunate to enter the Cup arena with arguably the best team and best equipment, it didn't come easy for Johnson during his formative years.

With the support of his family, Johnson started on 50cc motorcycles at the age of five. His father, Gary, worked for a tyre company and his mother, Cathy, drove a school bus. With Jimmie and younger brothers Jarit and Jessie in tow, the family spent most of their weekends camping and doing what they loved - racing.

During these weekends, it wasn't unusual to see Gary preparing the tracks for the kids to race and Cathy running the concession stand.

Johnson was successful on motorcycles at an early age. By the time he was eight, he won the 60cc class championship despite blowing out his knee with several races remaining in the season.

From motorcycles, Johnson graduated to the Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group Stadium Racing Series where he won more awards. A 1993 meeting arranged by his mentor, supercross champion Rick Johnson (no relation), proved fortuitous.

While racing at the Los Angeles Coliseum, Rick Johnson introduced his young protégé to the Executive Director of GM Racing, Herb Fishel. The protégé lived up to his billing, impressing Fishel with his driving ability and business acumen.

Fishel kept his eye on Johnson that year. He later walked into an off-road racing team meeting and threw a picture of Johnson on the table informing the team that Johnson was the man they needed to drive their car. Johnson seized the opportunity, spending the next few years driving buggies and trucks in off-road stadium and desert races. Johnson also improved his ability to connect with fans and potential sponsors by reporting for ESPN in the Short Course Off-Road Drivers Association Series.