That would not be P.J.’s final business venture. He also created a clothing company, featuring designer jeans, but was uncomfortable with those he was dealing with in the industry and, after $300,000 worth of denim was stolen, was convinced that a clothing line was not going to be his chosen path.
While attending an ESPN Espy award ceremony in which he was nominated for a victory celebration (he was beat out for the award by the LA Lakers), P.J. was introduced to Jamie Lynn Sams. Sams, a Florida native, was a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader (and also cheered for the Arizona Cardinals) who had appeared in some small acting roles on several TV shows, while simultaneously chasing a career as a country music singer.
According to P.J., he had met his “dream girl.”
The two were married and today have three kids. In addition to their son Cash (as in Johnny Cash), their oldest child, they have two daughters, Presley (as in Elvis) and Keely. Marco Andretti, who was a fellow rookie in the 2006 Indy 500 (and nabbed the Rookie of the Year honors), is godfather to all three children.
These days, P.J. is the founder of a tech company named Düzy, the world‘s first patented video transaction engine, which enables instant purchases of products from within videos. He states that he has “a passion for technology,” and that‘s the industry he has embraced.
Both brothers look back fondly on their time behind the wheel, especially their time in 410‘s. And both also admit that there‘s nothing that compares to the excitement of piloting a sprint car.
“There isn‘t!” P.J. said emphatically. “IndyCars weren‘t even close. And I‘ve jumped out of planes, I‘ve jumped off of cliffs … sprint car racing is exhilarating. It‘s exciting, it‘s fast, it‘s intense. And, God knows, I got pulled out of the top of the trees in Hagerstown, Md., one time. I mean, I‘ve landed on cars in the parking lot at Manzanita. I cleared plenty of fences in my day and, you know, it‘s wild.”
P.J. still remains friends with, and has frequent contact with, a great many of the friends he made throughout his years in racing, in particular during his time with the IndyCar Series.
“I had my reputation in the series, I think. I had a lot of fun and made a lot of really great friends, and have longstanding friendships with a lot of people. But I did that also with the World of Outlaws. I see all those guys now and it‘s fun, just go up and give them big hugs, ‘cause you spend so much time with these guys. And I love people. I love real, authentic friendships.”
While James is not as in touch with previous racing acquaintances, and is gets to a race track less regularly than his brother, he credits his time in racing as an invaluable background for his current business.
“I think I apply a lot of the stuff I learned through racing and the out-of-the-box thinking you need to have, the work ethic that it takes to be at, and compete at, the highest level. I think all those things play into decisions I make even currently,” James shared. “Even the cars that we‘re building now.”
In particular, both brothers share that they enjoyed the time they spent racing sprint cars.
“That was a great time in my life,” P.J. stated. “It reminds me of great times with my dad and my brother, and the crew guys we spent time with, and other people‘s crew guys, and other drivers and their families. I mean, it really felt like we were really close; everybody in the pits back in the day. We would go to dinner together, we would drink beers together, we would get into trouble together.
“We had a lot of fun back in the day. People today can‘t even imagine how much fun we had back then.”