CONCORD, N.C. – Friday morning, Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne and many others in the racing community took on a 69-mile bike ride in honor of fellow racer, Nicky Hayden, who passed away this week.
Hayden, known as “The Kentucky Kid,” was a professional motorcycle racer who won the 2006 MotoGP World Championship.
The bike ride, organized by Johnson, consisted of 69 miles as a reference to Hayden’s racing number to honor the racer and promote bicycle safety awareness.
“Jimmie Johnson and like 75 other riders are on a four hour, 69-mile bike ride today,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained during a live Periscope video Friday morning. “They are doing it in honor of Nicky Hayden, he was number 69. We’re going to have the 69 decal on our car again this weekend. Pretty awesome of Jimmie to put that together. Hopefully his family hears about that.”