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 The Last American Hero 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/moon runner and bootlegger.

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. 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.

Johnson's 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.

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.

Johnson's 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 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 his car being slower than others on the field. Johnson's technique was quickly adopted by other drivers, and his practice of "drafting" has become a common tactic in NASCAR races.

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.

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.

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 Darel Dieringer, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Cale Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Geoff 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.

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. 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 stretch of U.S. Highway 421 from the Yadkin and Wilkes county line to the Windy Gap exit is named Junior Johnson Highway. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, 2010. He was named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)

Family Johnson was briefly married in 1949 to Mary Gray. His marriage to childhood sweetheart Flossie Clark (1929–2020) ended in divorce in 1992; they were legally married in 1975, although they had been together since the early 1950s. (Racing Legends have them as married in 1958). His marriage to Lisa Day (b.1965) 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. Johnson built a new home for his family in 1997, ultimately selling in 2012 because of poor health. 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."

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). 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). 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). 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) Johnson had a voice role in the animated film Cars 3, as Junior "Midnight" Moon, a reference to his Moonshine Company.

Outside of film, Bruce Springsteen mentioned Junior Johnson in his song, "Cadillac Ranch," from the River album in 1980: "James Dean in that Mercury '49, Junior Johnson runnin' through the woods of Caroline, even Burt Reynolds in that black Trans-Am, all gonna meet down at the Cadillac Ranch."

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. The moonshine is made in small batches in a copper still, authentic to the Johnson family tradition of making moonshine.

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.

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 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 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 MCF WGS PIF AWS SFS GRS MOR OAK CLT SAN COR DAR CCS CLT 55th 465 Paul Whiteman 7 Cadillac LAN 17 MAS51 MAR NWS 1955 7 TCS 6th 4810 B & L Motors 55 Olds PBS JSP DAB OSP CLB HBO NWS MGY LAN CLT HCY ASF TUS MAR RCH NCF FOR LIN MCF FON AIR CLT PIF CLB AWS MOR ALS CLT FOR MAS RSP DAR MGY LAN RSP CLB MAR LVP NWS HBO Henry Ford 303 Chrysler NYF SAN Petty Enterprises 44 Chevy GPS MAS 1956 A. L. Bumgarner 55 Pontiac HCY CLT WSS PBS ASF DAB PBS WIL NWS LAN RCH CLB CON GPS HCY HBO MAR LIN CLT MCF POR AWS RSP PIF CSF CHI CCF MGY OKL 37th 1372 Jim Stephens 286 Pontiac ATL Carl Kiekhaefer 502 Dodge CLT POR EUR NYF MER MAS DePaolo Engineering 296 Ford ROA OBS SAN NOR PIF MYB POR Smokey Yunick 32 Chevy DAR CSH CLT LAN POR CLB HBO NWP CLT CCF MAR DePaolo Engineering 2 Ford HCY 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 GBF 154th - 1958 Paul Spaulding 11 Ford FAY DAB CON FAY WIL HBO FAY CLB PIF ATL CLT MAR ODS OBS GPS GBF STR NWS BGS TRN RSD CLB NBS REF LIN HCY AWS RSP54 BRR CLB NSV AWS BGS MBS DAR CLT BIR CSF GAF RCH HBO15* SAS MAR NWS ATL 8th 6380 Dick Beaty 34 Ford MCC SLS TOR BUF MCF BEL 1959 Paul Spaulding 11 Ford FAY DAY DAY HBO CON ATL WIL BGS CLB NWS REF HCY MAR TRN CLT NSV ASP PIF GPS ATL CLB WIL RCH BGS AWS DAY HEI CLT MBS HBO MAR AWS NWS CON 11th 4864 Wood Brothers Racing 21 Ford CLT NSV AWS BGS GPS CLB DAR HCY RCH CSF 1960 Paul Spaulding 11 Dodge CLT CLB 7th 9932 John Masoni 27 Chevy DAY DAY DAY NWS5* PHO CLB MAR HCY WIL DAR PIF HBO RCH HMS CLT59 BGS DAY HEI MAB MBS ATL43 BIR NSV AWS PIF CLB SBO BGS DAR47 HCY CSF GSP HBO MAR NWS RCH Wood Brothers Racing 21 Ford CLT AWS Bob Welborn 14 Chevy BGS W. T. Coppedge 50 Chevy GPS John Masoni 27 Pontiac CLT ATL 1961 Rex Lovette CLT JSP DAY DAY DAY47 PIF10* AWS HMS ATL GPS HBO BGS MAR NWS CLB HCY RCH MAR DAR CLT CLT PIF BIR GPS BGS NOR HAS STR DAY ATL CLB MBS BRI22* NSV BGS AWS RCH SBO DAR HCY RCH CSF ATL MAR NWS CLT BRI24* GPS HBO 6th 17178 John Masoni 3 CLT RSD ASP 1962 Rex Lovette 27 CON AWS DAY DAY DAY CON RCH CLB NWS GPS MBS MAR BGS BRI RCH HCY CON NWS 20th 11140 Buck Baker Racing 86 Chrysler AWS SVH HBO Nichels Engineering 39 Pontiac DAR PIF Owens Racing 6 Pontiac CLT ATL BGS AUG RCH SBO DAY CLB ASH GPS AUG SVH MBS BRI29* Fox Racing 3 Pontiac CHT NSV HUN AWS STR BGS PIF VAL DAR HCY RCH DTS AUG MAR CLT ATL 1963 Chevy BIR GGS THS RSD DAY DAY DAY PIF AWS HBO ATL HCY BRI AUG RCH5* GPS SBO BGS MAR NWS CLB THS DAR ODS RCH CLT BIR ATL DAY17* MBS SVH DTS BGS17* ASH OBS BRR BRI GPS NSV CLB AWS PIF BGS ONA DAR HCY RCH MAR DTS NWS THS CLT SBO15* HBO 12th 17720 Bill Stroppe 26 Mercury RSD 1964 Fox Racing 3 Chevy CON AUG JSP SVH RSD 14th 17066 Dodge DAY DAY DAY RCH BRI GPS BGS ATL AWS HBO PIF CLB NWS Matthews Racing 00 Ford MAR SVH 27 DAR LGY CLT GPS ASH ATL CON NSV CHT BIR VAL PIF DAY ODS OBS BRR ISP GLN LIN BRI NSV MBS AWS DTS ONA CLB14* BGS STR DAR HCY RCH8* ODS HBO MAR SVH NWS13* CLT HAR AUG JAC Holman-Moody 28 Ford HCY SBO 1965 Junior Johnson & Associates 27 Ford RSD DAY DAY 12th 18486 26 DAY PIF ASW RCH HBO ATL GPS NWS MAR CLB BRI DAR LGY BGS HCY CLT CCF ASH HAR NSV BIR ATL GPS MBS VAL DAY ODS OBS ISP GLN BRI NSV CCF AWS SMR PIF AUG CLB DTS BLV BGS DAR44 HCY LIN ODS RCH MAR NWS CLT HBO CAR 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 AWS19* BLV BGS DAR HCY RCH HBO MAR NWS CLT 49th 3750 47 CAR

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