Junior Johnson

Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner as well as an entrepreneur. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966. In the 1970s and 1980s, he became a NASCAR racing team owner, winning the NASCAR championship with Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip three times each; Johnson was the first owner to win multiple championships with multiple drivers. He is credited as the first to use the drafting technique in stock car racing. He was nicknamed "The Last American Hero," and his autobiography and movie based on his upbringing is of the same name. In May 2007, Johnson teamed with Piedmont Distillers of Madison, North Carolina, to introduce the company's second moonshine product, called "Midnight Moon Moonshine", a nod to the days of his early youth in the 1940s when he made a living as a moonshiner/moonrunner and bootlegger.

Junior Johnson
Johnson in 1985
Born	Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (1931-06-28)June 28, 1931 Ronda, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	December 20, 2019(2019-12-20) (aged 88) Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.
Achievements	1960 Daytona 500 winner 6× Winston Cup Series Owner's Champion with Cale Yarborough (1976, 1977, 1978) and Darrell Waltrip (1981, 1982, 1985)
Awards	International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1990) Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (1991) Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2010 - Inaugural Class) Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCAR Cup Series career
313 races run over 14 years
Best finish	6th (1955, 1961)
First race	1953 Southern 500 (Darlington)
Last race	1966 American 500 (Rockingham)
First win	1955 Hickory Motor Speedway
Last win	1965 Wilkes 400 (North Wilkesboro)
Wins Top tens Poles 50 148 46
NASCAR Convertible Division career
2 races run over 1 year
Best finish	64th (1959)
First race	1959 Catawba 250 (Hickory)
Last race	1959 Old Dominion 500 (Martinsville)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 2 0

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 bootlegger, spent nearly twenty of his sixty-three years in prison, as their house was frequently raided by revenue agents. Junior was arrested and spent one year in prison in Ohio in 1956-57 for having an illegal still, although he was never caught in his many years of transporting bootleg liquor at high speed.^[3]

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, Johnson had a two-lap lead in the World 600 at Charlotte before a spectator threw a bottle onto the track and caused a crash; Johnson suffered only minor injuries. Johnson also tried but failed to qualify for the 1963 Indianapolis 500.^[6]

Johnson 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

Main article: Junior Johnson & Associates

As a team owner, he worked with many NASCAR drivers, including Darel Dieringer, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Geoffrey Bodine, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer and Bill Elliott. In all, his drivers won 132 races, which is fifth to Petty Enterprises, Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway Racing on the all-time list. His drivers won six Winston Cup Championships — three with Yarborough (1976–1978) and Waltrip (1981–82, 1985).

Junior Johnson, Darrell Waltrip, Car No. 11, Nashville 420, July 16, 1983

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 Whelen All-American Series.^[7]

Awards

• He was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
• He was inducted in the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991.^[8]
• Johnson joined Michael Jordan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Richard Petty by having a stretch of highway named in his honor in 2004. His daughter Meredith sang the national anthem at the dedication of the highway. An 8.5-mile (13.7 km) stretch of U.S. Highway 421 from the Yadkin and Wilkes county line to the Windy Gap exit is named Junior Johnson Highway.^[9]
• 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 Tom Wolfe researched and wrote an article about Johnson, published in March 1965 in Esquire, and reprinted in Wolfe's The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine Flake Streamline Baby. This was eventually reprinted in The Best American Sports Writing of the Century, ed. David Halberstam (1999). The article, originally entitled "Great Balls of Fire", turned Johnson into a national celebrity and led to fame beyond the circle of NASCAR fans. In turn, the article was made into a 1973 movie based on Johnson's career as a driver and moonshiner, The Last American Hero (a.k.a. Hard Driver).^[19] Jeff Bridges starred as a fictionalized Johnson, and Johnson himself served as technical advisor for the film. The movie was critically acclaimed and featured the Jim Croce hit song "I Got A Name".

Follow Your Dreams Productions' President and CEO, Fred Griffith, has signed a rights deal for a true-life story movie about Junior Johnson (Sports Illustrated Vault, 2006).^{[citation needed]} Griffith, an American actor and producer from South Carolina, is currently adapting a screenplay based largely on the book, Junior Johnson, Brave In Life, written by Tom Higgins and Steve Waid (Big West Racing, 2006).^{[citation needed]} Veteran actor and producer Chris Mulkey is a writing producer for the film. According to Griffith, this film—unlike The Last American Hero, which was about a fictionalized version of Johnson named Junior "Jackson"—will remain true to the real life of Junior Johnson.(Morris 2006, p. C-1)^{[citation needed]} Johnson had a voice role in the animated film Cars 3, as Junior "Midnight" Moon, a reference to his Moonshine Company.

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

• List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States

References

1. 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. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
2. 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.
3. Menzer, Joe (2001). The Wildest Ride: A History of NASCAR. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 59. ISBN 9780743205078.
4. Aumann, Mark (October 2, 2012). "The art of the draft". NASCAR. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012.
5. "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
6. "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.
7. "Hall of Famer Johnson launches new racing team". Archived from the original on 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2011-01-04.
8. Junior Johnson Archived 2019-09-25 at the Wayback Machine at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
9. "Racing legend 'owns' the road". The Tribune (Elkin, NC). May 26, 2004.
10. "Junior Johnson's son to postpone racing career while attending Duke University". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02.
11. "Remembering Junior Johnson, "The Last American Hero"". 22 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
12. "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.
13. "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.
14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
15. "OTL: Turning for Home - ESPN". Archived from the original on 2021-03-05. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
16. "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.
17. "'Dream estate' up for sale". 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 2019-12-28. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
18. For Junior, A Presidential Pardon Was A Great Start To The 1986 Season
19. "Ed Hardin: Junior Johnson was a national treasure, but he was just one of us". 20 December 2019.
20. "NASCAR Legend Junior Johnson Back in the Moonshine Business". Lyke2Drink. 20 May 2007.
21. "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

Achievements
Preceded by Lee Petty	Daytona 500 Winner 1960	Succeeded by Marvin Panch