SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 23, 2025--
Carvana, an industry pioneer for buying and selling used cars online, is proud to support seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and Legacy Motor Club co-owner Jimmie Johnson as he takes on a new kind of ride: piloting the historic Atlas Van Lines “Blue Blaster” hydroplane in a special exhibition at Seattle’s Seafair Festival on Aug. 1.
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Johnson’s upcoming exhibition is more than four decades in the making. In 1979, 4-year-old Jimmie was celebrating his birthday at the hydroplane races in San Diego with his dad when his favorite boat, the Blue Blaster, broke down near the shore. The boat’s driver, hydroplane racing legend Bill Muncey, welcomed fans toward the vessel, and Johnson’s father carried him into the water to sit on its deck. A photo from that day, rediscovered years later, captured the moment without anyone realizing its future significance. Now, 46 years later, Johnson will return to that same boat, but this time in the driver’s seat.
With coaching from 11-time APBA Gold Cup champion Chip Hanauer and support from the Muncey family, Johnson will pilot the fully restored hydroplane across Lake Washington in a one-time exhibition that honors the boat’s legacy and a personal memory for Johnson. At nearly 30 feet long and 5,600 pounds, the Blue Blaster remains one of the most iconic boats in hydroplane racing history.
“We’re excited to support this one-of-a-kind exhibition that fulfills a boyhood dream for Jimmie and shares the joy, excitement, and nostalgia of seeing the Blue Blaster hydroplane in action with the Seattle community,” said Carvana Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer Ryan Keeton. “Our partnership has always been about taking on new challenges and showing up for a community of passionate fans, and this exhibition reflects the kind of spirit Carvana is excited to be part of.”
Carvana, which has proudly served Seattle car buyers and sellers since 2021, will be on site at Seafair to connect with fans and the broader community. Attendees who sign up for Carvana’s free Value Tracker tool will receive a branded seat cushion. The Carvana Value Tracker allows customers to monitor their car’s value over time, helping them make informed decisions about when to sell or trade in.
For behind-the-scenes content and highlights from the day, follow Carvana Racing on Instagram and X.
About Carvana
Carvana’s mission is to change the way people buy and sell cars. Since launching in 2013, Carvana has revolutionized automotive retail and delighted millions of customers with an offering that is fun, fast, and fair. With Carvana, customers can find a car, get financing, trade in, and complete a purchase entirely online with the convenience of delivery or local pickup as soon as the same day. Carvana’s unique offering is powered by its passionate team, differentiated national infrastructure, and purpose-built technology.
For more information, please visit www.carvana.com.
About LEGACY MOTOR CLUB
LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (LEGACY MC) is a premier auto racing organization co-owned by seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and 2024 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, Jimmie Johnson. Drawing from a rich tradition of success, LEGACY MC is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of motorsport and setting new standards of excellence. The CLUB competes under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner in the NASCAR Cup Series with the No. 43 Toyota Camry XSE piloted by Erik Jones and the No. 42 Toyota Camry XSE driven by John Hunter Nemechek. Johnson also races on a limited basis in the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE. With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Richard Petty, "The King", serving as CLUB Ambassador, LEGACY MC blends timeless racing traditions with a new forward-thinking vision. As an inclusive community for motorsport enthusiasts, LEGACY MC honors both its storied past and the promising future of its members, always striving for victory and championship glory at the pinnacle of NASCAR competition.
To keep up-to-date with the latest news, information, and exclusive content, follow LEGACY MOTOR CLUB™ on Facebook, X, Instagram and at www.LEGACYMOTORCLUB.com.
Four-year-old Jimmie Johnson sits aboard the Blue Blaster with Bill Muncey after the boat broke down during a 1979 hydroplane race in San Diego.
NUUK, Greenland (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump has turned the Arctic island of Greenland into a geopolitical hotspot with his demands to own it and suggestions that the U.S. could take it by force.
The island is a semiautonomous region of Denmark, and Denmark's foreign minister said Wednesday after a meeting at the White House that a “ fundamental disagreement ” remains with Trump over the island.
The crisis is dominating the lives of Greenlanders and "people are not sleeping, children are afraid, and it just fills everything these days. And we can’t really understand it,” Naaja Nathanielsen, a Greenlandic minister said at a meeting with lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament this week.
Here's a look at what Greenlanders have been saying:
Trump has dismissed Denmark’s defenses in Greenland, suggesting it’s “two dog sleds.”
By saying that, Trump is “undermining us as a people,” Mari Laursen told AP.
Laursen said she used to work on a fishing trawler but is now studying law. She approached AP to say she thought previous examples of cooperation between Greenlanders and Americans are “often overlooked when Trump talks about dog sleds.”
She said during World War II, Greenlandic hunters on their dog sleds worked in conjunction with the U.S. military to detect Nazi German forces on the island.
“The Arctic climate and environment is so different from maybe what they (Americans) are used to with the warships and helicopters and tanks. A dog sled is more efficient. It can go where no warship and helicopter can go,” Laursen said.
Trump has repeatedly claimed Russian and Chinese ships are swarming the seas around Greenland. Plenty of Greenlanders who spoke to AP dismissed that claim.
“I think he (Trump) should mind his own business,” said Lars Vintner, a heating engineer.
“What's he going to do with Greenland? He speaks of Russians and Chinese and everything in Greenlandic waters or in our country. We are only 57,000 people. The only Chinese I see is when I go to the fast food market. And every summer we go sailing and we go hunting and I never saw Russian or Chinese ships here in Greenland,” he said.
Down at Nuuk's small harbor, Gerth Josefsen spoke to AP as he attached small fish as bait to his lines. He said, “I don't see them (the ships)” and said he had only seen “a Russian fishing boat ten years ago.”
Maya Martinsen, 21, a shop worker, told AP she doesn't believe Trump wants Greenland to enhance America's security.
“I know it’s not national security. I think it’s for the oils and minerals that we have that are untouched,” she said, suggesting the Americans are treating her home like a “business trade.”
She said she thought it was good that American, Greenlandic and Danish officials met in the White House Wednesday and said she believes that “the Danish and Greenlandic people are mostly on the same side,” despite some Greenlanders wanting independence.
“It is nerve-wrecking, that the Americans aren’t changing their mind,” she said, adding that she welcomed the news that Denmark and its allies would be sending troops to Greenland because “it’s important that the people we work closest with, that they send support.”
Tuuta Mikaelsen, a 22-year-old student, told AP that she hopes the U.S. got the message from Danish and Greenlandic officials to “back off.”
She said she didn't want to join the United States because in Greenland “there are laws and stuff, and health insurance .. .we can go to the doctors and nurses ... we don’t have to pay anything,” she said adding "I don’t want the U.S. to take that away from us.”
In Greenland's parliament, Juno Berthelsen, MP for the Naleraq opposition party that campaigns for independence in the Greenlandic parliament told AP that he has done multiple media interviews every day for the last two weeks.
When asked by AP what he would say to Trump and Vice President JD Vance if he had the chance, Berthelsen said:
“I would tell them, of course, that — as we’ve seen — a lot of Republicans as well as Democrats are not in favor of having such an aggressive rhetoric and talk about military intervention, invasion. So we would tell them to move beyond that and continue this diplomatic dialogue and making sure that the Greenlandic people are the ones who are at the very center of this conversation.”
“It is our country,” he said. “Greenland belongs to the Greenlandic people.”
Kwiyeon Ha and Evgeniy Maloletka contributed to this report.
FILE - A woman pushes a stroller with her children in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka, File)
Military vessel HDMS Knud Rasmussen of the Royal Danish Navy patrols near Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Juno Berthelsen, MP for the Naleraq opposition party that campaigns for independence in the Greenlandic parliament poses for photo at his office in Nuuk, Greenland, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
Fisherman Gerth Josefsen prepares fishing lines at the harbour of Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
A woman walks on a street past a Greenlandic national flag in Nuuk, Greenland, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
