Junior Johnson, learned to handle a car while outrunning federal officers haulin’ moonshine on North Carolina backroads. He then took that skill to win 50 NASCAR races and put a stamp on the sport that will remain forever.
Junior died Dec. 20 while in hospice care in Charlotte, according to a NASCAR spokesperson. He was 88, and information on the cause was not immediately known.
Junior was 14 when he started hauling liquor for his father’s moon shine operation. All those fancy moves Burt Reynolds pulled off in “Smokey and the Bandit”.. Those were invented by Junior Johnson during his outlaw days runnin’ from federal agents on the dirt backroads throughout the Carolinas.
Junior ran his first NASCAR race in 1953. He was known as a driver who either brought home the championship .. or a steering wheel, ’cause there wasn’t gonna be anything left of his car.. He would literally drive the wheels off a car.
It was Junior who is responsible for discovering “the draft” at Daytona. “The Draft” is an aerodynamic phenomenon in which two cars become faster when a trail car tucks behind a lead car.
Junior ran in 353 NASCAR races. He won 50. Then he got out from behind the wheel and became an owner. He had 2 of the more colorful drivers in NASCAR history in Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. Both each won 3 championships for Junior .
With only an 8th grade education, Junior Johnson was known for his knack of “creating” engineering feats to give his cars an edge. He was also a very successful businessman, and he and Darrell Waltrip collaborated on many of these successful ventures.
Junior Johnson didn’t just race in NASCAR. Junior was NASCAR.
