Herm Johnson is not your garden variety racing helmet painter. He has litterally put his head inside his work. If you don't know him, Herm was a force to be reckoned within karts and open-wheel race cars...going all the way to the Indianapolis 500.

In his true grit years of the '70s, Herm raced under the Ozone Racing banner funded by his father Austin, the owner of one of Eau Claire Wisconsin's finest dining establishments.

Herm started painting helmets for himself and other close friends in 1973. He learned early lessons from House of Kolor master painter John Kozmoski, who designed paint for Herm's dazzling National Chamionship winning kart in 1974.

Great paint was one thing...but racing was a much higher calling.

A year later, the upstart Wisconsin karter scared the crap out of Formula Super Vee Champion Fred Phillips at the Sports Car Club of America Naitonal Championships at Road Atlanta by finishing second in a lap-by-lap gunfight for victory. In 1976, Herm won it all.

In 1977, Herm grabbed the Volkswagen Mini-Indy Championship, a stepping stone to "the Big Show...the Indy 500." Now, an unknown champion from an obscure midwestern town was on the warpath to racing glory.

Herm says the subsequent years were devoted to becoming "the next Andretti" at Indy 500. And so, Johnson teamed up with Eau Claire lumber tycoon John Menard.. Budgets were tight because Menard wasn't sure he wanted to be involved in the dangerous and expensive business of motor racing. Even so, the hook was set right then and there. While Menard's involvement grew, Herm continued to ply his painting talents on hand-me-down Champ Cars. While they didn't set the track on fire, they looked really hot.

Other Indy 500 drivers took notice. And soon, Herm was in the big-timeworld of helmet painting.

Menard made a serious commitment to the effort when he purchaed one of Dan Gurney's dart-shaped Eagles. Herm was now a contender. He has the singular distinction of being nerfed by Rick Mears in pit lane at the 1982 Indy 500. A week later, the hand-lettered trailing edge of the Eagle's rear wing said: "Rick...if you can read this, you are too close."

Menard upped the ante and Herm went faster in a 3M-sponsored Cosworth March. Unfortunately, the quest for Indy 500 fame ended against the Brickyard concrete in a practice crash that mangled Johnson's legs. He never drove an Indycar in competition after that moment.

Undaunted, Herm shifted gears to a Binks, an airbrush and a Mack dagger. He fueled demand with a reputation as a racer who "knows" what a great helmet should look like. Indy 500 winnersDanny Sullivan, Arie Luyendyk and Eddie Cheever were painted in Herm's state-of-the-art shop.

Herm describes his work as "clean, precise and corporate." When you work with guys like Rusty Wallace and Kenny Bernstein, exact color matching is critical." Wallace demanded the exact delineation between black and gold, while Bernstein would not accept anything but the correct color of "Budweiser red" on his helmet."

Herm also has a cunning sense of humor. The bald dentist brother of Escort endurance racing teammate Bill Pate got a flsh-colored helmet with a few wisps of hair on a balding "pate". Herm finished it off with a toothy Cheshire cat grin on the lower part of the full-face chin guard. And for the helmet of an amateur SCCA driver, which required vital stats such as name, date of birth blood type and allergies, Herm permanently lettered "Hard Work" as this driver's prime allergy.

Herm is passionate about helmet painting. "you've gotta put your mind anto what you are doing," Herm says and continues, "you've gotta love what you are doing. And when a big name customer really likes what you've done, the reward is worht the effort."

Herm has expanded his graphic services to custom cut decals and graphics on his Gerber machine. This high-tech digital tool allows Herm to create skin-tight vinyl artwork on even the most aerodynamic helmet surfaces. The Simpson Speedway Shark, a favorite of many open wheel racers, has concentric aero rings on the top of the helmet plus an airfoil and a chin spoiler to keep the helmet planted on the driver's head at extreme speeds exceeding 200 mph. Herm has developed special graphic treatments that seamlessly integrate these important devices into the overall helmet design.

Herm's helmet paint jobs aren't cheap for a number of reasons. First: he uses the best paint, mostly House of Kolor mixes and urethane clear coat finishing. Normally, he gets bare helmet shells from the Simpson, Bell and Shoei that are primed, sanded and ready for Herm's artistry. You can shoose the lightweight and expensive carbon fiber, or the cometitively priced but equally protective fiberglass shells. If you race on ovals that subject your head and neck to constant high g-loads, a few ounces in helmet weight can mean the difference between winning and losing in a long race.

The "Average Joe from Kokomo", as Herm says, can also send his helmet to Just Herm Designs too...but fully assembled helmets require a lot of tedious disassembly and masking. The results will still be stunning, but it might cost a few more bucks for the effort. Expect to spend $350-450 for a Just Herm design.

Herm understands performance, both on and off the track. He has painted motorcycles for Roger Penske and Martina Navratalova. But one of Herm's newest labors of love has been for the guitars of his dear friend and Chicago blues legend Luther Allison. Luther died in 1997 and his son Bernard has asked Herm to restore his dad's favorite axes to their prime-time glory.

Obviously, all these high-speed helmets could rekindle Johnson's need for speed. It has to a minor degree. Herm races in just one International Ice Racing event on Lake Altoona in Eau Claire, Wisconsin every year. For the uninitiated, IIRA racers compete with specially studded racing tires on road racing courses plowed out on frozen northern lakes.

Bottom line, Herm Johnson is a racer to the core. A racer that pours his passion for the sport into every helmet he paints. "My love of racing motivates me," he says and continues, "the fact that I can't participate at the level I did in the '80's continues to drive my creativity into making my drivers look good."

"I love to say I painted his helmet when...Herm claims" And those "when's" include recent victories by Arie Luyendyk and Eddy Cheever at the Indy 500. Now, Herm is at the top of his game. In fact, he admits: "I get my racing fix seeing my helmets win the Indy 500."

Herm's shop is very busy. He likes to ship a helmet a day. Given the demand for his art adn the time it takes to create it, a phone call could result in a talk with the Just Herm answering machine.

Don't worry, Herm will get back to you right after shooting the clear coat.