Junior Johnson
Junior Johnson | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rockingham) | |||||||
First win | 1955 Hickory Motor Speedway | ||||||
Last win | 1965 Wilkes 400 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
| |||||||
Hickory) | |||||||
Last race | 1959 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville) | ||||||
|
Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American professional
Early life and race career
Johnson was born in Ronda, North Carolina, the fourth of seven children of Lora Belle (Money) and Robert Glenn Johnson, Sr.[1][2] His family is of Ulster Scots descent, and settled in the foothills of North Carolina in the eighteenth century. The Johnson family was involved in the whiskey business before he was born. His maternal great-grandfather served as the second-highest-ranking Confederate general in North Carolina.
His father, a lifelong
In 1955, Johnson began his career as a NASCAR driver. In his first full season, he won five races and finished sixth in the 1955 NASCAR Grand National points standings.
In 1958, Johnson won six races.
In 1959, Johnson won five more NASCAR Grand National races (including a win from the pole position at the 1959 Hickory 250); by this time he was regarded as one of the best short-track racers in the sport.
His first win at a "superspeedway" came at the Daytona 500 in 1960. Johnson and his crew chief, Ray Fox, were practicing for the race, trying to figure out how to increase their speed, which was 22 miles per hour (35 km/h) slower than that of the top cars in the race. During a test run, a faster car passed Johnson. He noticed that, when he moved behind that car, his own car's speed increased because of the faster car's slipstream. Johnson was then able to stay close behind the other car until the final lap of the test run, when he used the "slipstream" effect to slingshot past it. By using this technique, Johnson went on to win the 1960 Daytona 500, despite that his car was slower than others in the field. Johnson's technique was quickly adopted by other drivers, and his practice of "drafting" has become a common tactic in NASCAR races.[4][5]
In 1963, he had a two-lap lead in the
He retired as a driver in 1966. In his career, Johnson claimed 50 victories, 11 at major speedway races. He retired as the winningest driver never to have a championship.[citation needed]
Johnson was a master of dirt track racing. "The two best drivers I've ever competed against on dirt are Junior Johnson and Dick Hutcherson," said two-time NASCAR champion Ned Jarrett.
Career as a NASCAR owner
As a team owner, he worked with many NASCAR drivers, including
In 2011, Johnson announced that he would restart a race team with son Robert as the driver. Junior Johnson Racing will be located in Hamptonville, North Carolina. Robert, the 2010 UARA Rookie of the Year, planned to run a 28–30 race schedule in 2011, which includes the entire K&N East Series schedule and some races in the UARA and
Awards
- He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Driversin 1998.
- He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991.[8]
- Johnson joined
- He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, 2010.[10]
- He was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
Family
Johnson was briefly married in 1949 to Mary Gray.[11][12] His marriage to childhood sweetheart Flossie Clark (1929–2020) ended in divorce in 1992; they were legally married in 1975,[13] although they had been together since the early 1950s. (Racing Legends have them as married in 1958).[14] His marriage to Lisa Day (b.1965)[15] in 1992 resulted in two children: daughter Meredith Suzanne (b.1995) and son Robert Glenn Johnson III (b.1993), both of whom attended Duke University.[10][16] Johnson built a new home for his family in 1997, ultimately selling in 2012 because of poor health.[17] He resided in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the time of his death in 2019. Until Flossie's death on April 9, 2020, she still resided in the family home, built by Junior in 1964 (next to Johnson's old Ingle Hollow race shop), which she kept as part of the divorce settlement.
Presidential pardon
On December 26, 1986, President Ronald Reagan granted Johnson a presidential pardon for his 1956 moonshining conviction. In response to the pardon, which restored his right to vote, Johnson said, "I could not have imagined anything better."[18]
Film
In the mid-1960s, writer
Follow Your Dreams Productions' President and CEO,
Midnight Moon
In May 2007, Johnson teamed with Piedmont Distillers to introduce the company's second moonshine product, called Midnight Moon. Johnson became part-owner of Piedmont Distillers, the only legal distiller in North Carolina at the time. Piedmont Distillers is located in Madison, N.C., in the town’s former train station built in 1915.[20] The moonshine is made in small batches in a copper still, authentic to the Johnson family tradition of making moonshine.[21]
Death
Johnson died at a hospice care facility in Charlotte on December 20, 2019, at age 88. He had Alzheimer's disease at the time.[2]
Motorsports career results
NASCAR
(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Grand National Series
NASCAR Grand National Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | No. | Make | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | NGNC | Pts |
1953 | Junior Johnson & Associates | 75 | Olds | PBS | DAB
|
HAR | NWS
|
CLT | RCH
|
CCS | LAN | CLB | HCY
|
MAR | PMS | RSP | LOU | FFS | LAN | TCS | WIL | MCF | PIF | MOR | ATL | RVS | LCF | DAV | HBO | AWS
|
PAS | HCY
|
DAR 38 |
CCS | LAN | BLF
|
WIL | NWS
|
MAR | ATL | NA | - | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
1954 | George Miller | 23 | Hudson | PBS | DAB
|
JSP | ATL | OSP | OAK | NWS
|
HBO | CCS | LAN | WIL | MAR | SHA | RSP | CLT | GAR | CLB | LND | HCY 5 |
MCF | WGS | PIF | AWS
|
SFS
|
GRS | MOR | OAK | CLT | SAN | COR | DAR | CCS | CLT | 55th | 465 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Whiteman | 7 | Cadillac | LAN 15 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | MAS 51 |
MAR 33 |
NWS
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1955 | 7 | TCS 17 |
6th | 4810 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
B & L Motors | 55 | Olds | PBS 14 |
JSP 5 |
DAB 35 |
OSP 14 |
CLB 7 |
HBO 12 |
NWS 18 |
MGY
|
LAN 3 |
CLT 20 |
HCY 1* |
ASF | TUS | MAR 3* |
RCH 5 |
NCF 1* |
FOR 22 |
LIN 1* |
MCF 12 |
FON 1* |
AIR | CLT 5 |
PIF 19 |
CLB 14 |
AWS 15 |
MOR 4 |
ALS 1* |
CLT 8 |
FOR 19 |
MAS 7 |
RSP 7 |
DAR 36 |
MGY 10 |
LAN 26 |
RSP 25 |
CLB 7 |
MAR | LVP | NWS 26 |
HBO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Henry Ford | 303 | Chrysler | NYF 18 |
SAN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Petty Enterprises | 44 | Chevy | GPS 2 |
MAS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1956 | A. L. Bumgarner | 55 | Pontiac | HCY
|
CLT | WSS | PBS | ASF | DAB 40 |
PBS | WIL 24 |
NWS 28 |
LAN 24 |
RCH
|
CLB 25 |
CON | GPS | HCY 24 |
HBO | MAR | LIN | CLT 14 |
MCF | POR | AWS 20 |
RSP | PIF | CSF
|
CHI | CCF | MGY
|
OKL
|
37th | 1372 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jim Stephens | 286 | Pontiac | ATL 17 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carl Kiekhaefer | 502 | Dodge | CLT 2 |
POR | EUR | NYF
|
MER | MAS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DePaolo Engineering | 296 | Ford | ROA 26 |
OBS | SAN | NOR | PIF | MYB | POR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Smokey Yunick | 32 | Chevy | DAR 15 |
CSH | CLT | LAN | POR | CLB | HBO | NWP | CLT | CCF | MAR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DePaolo Engineering | 2 | Ford | HCY 15 |
WIL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1957 | A. L. Bumgarner | 55 | Pontiac | WSS | CON | TIC | DAB
|
CON | WIL | HBO | AWS
|
NWS | LAN | CLT | PIF | GBF | POR | CCF | RCH
|
MAR | POR | EUR | LIN | LCS | ASP | NWP | CLB | CPS | PIF | JAC | RSP | CLT | MAS | POR | HCY | NOR | LCS | GLN
|
KPC
|
LIN | OBS | MYB | DAR | NYF
|
AWS
|
CSF
|
SCF | LAN | CLB | CCF | CLT | MAR | NBR | CON | NWS 20 |
GBF | 154th | - | |||||||||
1958
|
Paul Spaulding | 11 | Ford | FAY | DAB
|
CON | FAY | WIL | HBO | FAY | CLB 30 |
PIF 3 |
ATL 20 |
CLT | MAR 30 |
ODS 8 |
OBS 7 |
GPS 3 |
GBF 3 |
STR | NWS 1* |
BGS | TRN 2 |
RSD
|
CLB 1 |
NBS 1 |
REF 1* |
LIN 31 |
HCY 2 |
AWS 12 |
RSP 54 |
BRR 4 |
CLB | NSV
|
AWS
|
BGS | MBS 7 |
DAR 11 |
CLT 19 |
BIR | CSF
|
GAF | RCH 14 |
HBO 15* |
SAS | MAR 36 |
NWS 1 |
ATL 1 |
8th | 6380 | |||||||||||||||||
Dick Beaty | 34 | Ford | MCC 6 |
SLS
|
TOR | BUF
|
MCF | BEL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1959 | Paul Spaulding | 11 | Ford | FAY 5 |
DAY 17 |
DAY 14 |
HBO 19 |
CON 4 |
ATL | WIL 1 |
BGS | CLB | NWS 22 |
REF 1 |
HCY 1 |
MAR 3 |
TRN 11 |
CLT 18 |
NSV 2 |
ASP | PIF 3 |
GPS 1 |
ATL 21 |
CLB 16 |
WIL 1 |
RCH 20 |
BGS 4 |
AWS 3 |
DAY | HEI | CLT 35 |
MBS | HBO 22 |
MAR
|
AWS 9 |
NWS 5 |
CON 17 |
11th | 4864 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Ford | CLT 25 |
NSV
|
AWS | BGS | GPS | CLB | DAR | HCY 4 |
RCH
|
CSF
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1960 | Paul Spaulding | 11 | Dodge | CLT 28 |
CLB 19 |
7th | 9932 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Masoni | 27 | Chevy | DAY 5 |
DAY
|
DAY 1* |
NWS 5* |
PHO | CLB 8 |
MAR 8 |
HCY 23 |
WIL 10 |
DAR 24 |
PIF | HBO 9 |
RCH 14 |
HMS
|
CLT 59 |
BGS | DAY 15 |
HEI | MAB | MBS 4 |
ATL 43 |
BIR | NSV | AWS 30 |
PIF 3 |
CLB 24 |
SBO 1* |
BGS 3 |
DAR 47 |
HCY 1 |
CSF
|
GSP 3 |
HBO 13 |
MAR 3 |
NWS 2 |
RCH 2 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wood Brothers Racing | 21 | Ford | CLT 4 |
AWS 15 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bob Welborn | 14 | Chevy | BGS 15 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
W. T. Coppedge | 50 | Chevy | GPS 12 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John Masoni | 27 | Pontiac | CLT 5 |
ATL 24 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1961 | Rex Lovette | CLT 18 |
JSP 22 |
DAY 10 |
DAY
|
DAY 47 |
PIF 10* |
AWS 11 |
HMS
|
ATL 27 |
GPS 16 |
HBO 4* |
BGS 8 |
MAR 6 |
NWS 22 |
CLB | HCY 1* |
RCH
|
MAR 1* |
DAR | CLT | CLT 9 |
PIF 19 |
BIR | GPS 25 |
BGS 3 |
NOR | HAS 5 |
STR 1 |
DAY 17 |
ATL 31 |
CLB 4 |
MBS 22 |
BRI 22* |
NSV 19 |
BGS 19 |
AWS 1* |
RCH 1* |
SBO 1* |
DAR 14 |
HCY 20 |
RCH 2 |
CSF
|
ATL 2 |
MAR 3* |
NWS 4* |
CLT 9 |
BRI 24* |
GPS 1 |
HBO 12 |
6th | 17178 | |||||||||||||||
John Masoni | 3 | CLT 2 |
RSD | ASP | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1962
|
Rex Lovette | 27 | CON 24 |
AWS 26 |
DAY 5 |
DAY
|
DAY 34 |
CON | RCH 3 |
CLB | NWS 3 |
GPS
|
MBS | MAR 22 |
BGS 15 |
BRI 30 |
RCH | HCY 14 |
CON | NWS 4 |
20th | 11140 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Buck Baker Racing | 86 | Chrysler | AWS 21 |
SVH | HBO | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nichels Engineering
|
39 | Pontiac | DAR 31 |
PIF | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owens Racing
|
6 | Pontiac | CLT 38 |
ATL 9 |
BGS | AUG
|
RCH | SBO | DAY 2 |
CLB | ASH
|
GPS
|
AUG
|
SVH | MBS | BRI 29* |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fox Racing | 3 | Pontiac | CHT 17 |
NSV | HUN | AWS
|
STR | BGS
|
PIF | VAL | DAR 2 |
HCY 21 |
RCH
|
DTS | AUG
|
MAR 17 |
CLT 1* |
ATL 36 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1963 | Chevy | BIR | GGS | THS | RSD
|
DAY 1 |
DAY
|
DAY 42 |
PIF 17 |
AWS 3 |
HBO 1* |
ATL 42 |
HCY 1* |
BRI 3 |
AUG
|
RCH 5* |
GPS
|
SBO
|
BGS | MAR 33 |
NWS 27 |
CLB
|
THS | DAR 25 |
ODS
|
RCH | CLT 2* |
BIR 2 |
ATL 1* |
DAY 17* |
MBS | SVH | DTS 10 |
BGS 17* |
ASH 15 |
OBS | BRR
|
BRI 22 |
GPS | NSV | CLB 17 |
AWS 15 |
PIF | BGS 1* |
ONA 20 |
DAR 20 |
HCY 1* |
RCH 25 |
MAR 21 |
DTS | NWS 28 |
THS | CLT 1* |
SBO 15* |
HBO 13 |
12th | 17720 | ||||||||||
Bill Stroppe | 26 | Mercury | RSD 5 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1964
|
Fox Racing | 3 | Chevy | CON 19 |
AUG 21 |
JSP | SVH | RSD
|
14th | 17066 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dodge | DAY 1 |
DAY
|
DAY 9 |
RCH 4 |
BRI 15 |
GPS
|
BGS 13 |
ATL 4 |
AWS 2 |
HBO 9 |
PIF | CLB
|
NWS 4 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Matthews Racing | 00 | Ford | MAR 3 |
SVH | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
27 | DAR 3 |
LGY | CLT 34 |
GPS
|
ASH
|
ATL 27 |
CON | NSV | CHT | BIR | VAL | PIF | DAY 24 |
ODS | OBS | BRR
|
ISP | GLN | LIN
|
BRI 18 |
NSV | MBS
|
AWS 3* |
DTS | ONA 2 |
CLB 14* |
BGS 1* |
STR 1* |
DAR 23 |
HCY 22 |
RCH 8* |
ODS
|
HBO
|
MAR 3 |
SVH | NWS 13* |
CLT 34 |
HAR | AUG | JAC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Holman-Moody | 28 | Ford | HCY 17 |
SBO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1965 | Junior Johnson & Associates | 27 | Ford | RSD 2 |
DAY
|
DAY 1* |
12th | 18486 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
26 | DAY 28 |
PIF 11 |
ASW 12 |
RCH 1* |
HBO 2* |
ATL 27 |
GPS | NWS 1 |
MAR 22 |
CLB
|
BRI 1* |
DAR 1* |
LGY 16 |
BGS 1* |
HCY 1 |
CLT 24 |
CCF | ASH 1* |
HAR | NSV | BIR | ATL 4* |
GPS
|
MBS | VAL | DAY 26 |
ODS 1* |
OBS 1 |
ISP 14 |
GLN 15 |
BRI 23 |
NSV 8 |
CCF | AWS 18 |
SMR
|
PIF | AUG
|
CLB 17 |
DTS | BLV | BGS 1* |
DAR 44 |
HCY 4* |
LIN
|
ODS
|
RCH 3 |
MAR 1* |
NWS 1* |
CLT 32 |
HBO 15 |
CAR 32 |
DTS | |||||||||||||||
1966 | AUG | RSD
|
DAY
|
DAY
|
DAY | CAR
|
BRI | ATL
|
HCY | CLB | GPS
|
BGS | NWS
|
MAR
|
DAR
|
LGY | MGR | MON | RCH
|
CLT
|
DTS | ASH | PIF | SMR | AWS
|
BLV | GPS
|
DAY | ODS
|
BRR
|
OXF | FON | ISP | BRI
|
SMR | NSV | ATL
|
CLB | AWS 19* |
BLV
|
BGS | DAR | HCY 11 |
RCH 15 |
HBO 20 |
MAR 14 |
NWS 28 |
CLT
|
49th | 3750 | |||||||||||||||||
47 | CAR 5 |
Daytona 500
Year | Team | Manufacturer | Start | Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|
1959 | Paul Spaulding | Ford | 33 | 14 |
1960 | John Masoni | Chevrolet | 9 | 1 |
1961 | Rex Lovette | Pontiac | 43 | 47 |
1962 | Pontiac | 9 | 34 | |
1963 | Fox Racing | Chevrolet | 3 | 42 |
1964 | Dodge | 3 | 9 | |
1965 | Junior Johnson & Associates | Ford | 2 | 28 |
See also
References
- ^ Correspondent, Lee Montgomery Special (20 December 2019). "NASCAR legend Junior Johnson dies at 88". Winston-Salem Journal. Archived from the original on 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
- ^ a b Goldstein, Richard (December 20, 2019). "Junior Johnson, Good-Old-Boy Auto Racing Star, Is Dead at 88". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
- ISBN 9780743205078.
- ^ Aumann, Mark (October 2, 2012). "The art of the draft". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012.
- ^ "Raymond Lee Fox, Sr". Archived from the original on January 17, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), legendsofnascar.com; Retrieved February 20, 2008 - ^ "Double dippers: Those who have competed in NASCAR and the Indy 500". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 2021-03-08. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
- ^ "Hall of Famer Johnson launches new racing team". Archived from the original on 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
- ^ Junior Johnson Archived 2019-09-25 at the Wayback Machine at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
- ^ "Racing legend 'owns' the road". The Tribune (Elkin, NC). May 26, 2004.
- ^ a b "Junior Johnson's son to postpone racing career while attending Duke University". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02.
- ^ "Remembering Junior Johnson, "The Last American Hero"". 22 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
- ^ "Moonshining Carries Lifelong Debt\ Junior Johnson Keeps Paying Long After Stills Dry up". 17 October 1993. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
- ^ "The Johnsons' Legal Feud Ends on Friendly Terms Flossie Gets Family Home and Poultry Farm". 29 September 1993. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "OTL: Turning for Home - ESPN". Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
- ^ "Track no longer home Junior Johnson: Life for 66-year-old auto racing legend now centers on his wife and two young children". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Archived from the original on 2018-11-28. Retrieved 2018-11-28.
- ^ "'Dream estate' up for sale". 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
- ^ For Junior, A Presidential Pardon Was A Great Start To The 1986 Season
- ^ "Ed Hardin: Junior Johnson was a national treasure, but he was just one of us". 20 December 2019.
- ^ "NASCAR Legend Junior Johnson Back in the Moonshine Business". Lyke2Drink. 20 May 2007.
- ^ "Midnight Moon Moonshine Inspired by Junior Johnson | Jr Johnson Legacy". Archived from the original on 2014-03-07. Retrieved 2014-03-08.
External links
- Official website for Junior Johnson
- Oral History Interview with Junior Johnson at Oral Histories of the American South
- Junior Johnson driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- Junior Johnson owner statistics at Racing-Reference
- CanadianDriver.com Article on Junior Johnson
- Junior Johnson Biography