Jimmie Johnson kicked off the third day of the NASCAR Champions Week in NeYork by ringing New York Stock Exchange's Opening Bell. Johnson was joined by team owner Rick Hendrick, crew chief Chad Knaus, NASCAR President Mike Helton and Chairman and CEO of Lowe's Robert Niblock.

Following the visit to Wall Street, Johnson headed to the Hard Rock Café in Times Square where he flipped the switch to start the Tissot Countdown Clock on the marquee. The clock will count down to the kick off Thursday's NASCAR Tailgate City driven by Ford. The Tailgate City will feature a "block party" atmosphere with various NASCAR driver and celebrity appearances, in addition to live music, food, drinks, contests and prizes.

Johnson then went on to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel for the March of Dimes Luncheon where he was honored as the 2008 Sportsman of the Year.

"It (winning three straight championships) is starting to sink in some," Johnson admitted Wednesday. "I probably won"t realize just how special this run"s been until I retire one day. I can tell you that we're already looking ahead to next season, and doing all we can to win another championship. I can remember I was up in our transporter at Texas late in the season and Chad (Knaus) was already studying some computer data regarding next year's Daytona 500 car."

This team has more than deserved the honor of being saluted this week in New York City. The 2008 season saw the No. 48 team rebound from early season struggles to score their third consecutive title thanks to seven wins, fifteen top-5s and twenty-two top-10s.Thursday kicks off the Aflac Fan Fest at the Hard Rock Café and the NASCAR Tailgate City "block party" in Times Square. While the drivers and members of the media will be busy with the annual NASCAR NMPA Myers Brothers Media Luncheon. Friday is the big show with the Sprint Cup Awards Banquet starting at 9pm ET from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The awards banquet can be seen on ESPN Classic at 9pm ET, Friday, December 5th.