WILKESBORO, N.C. — Junior Johnson, widely regarded as “The Last American Hero” and an inaugural inductee into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010, has died at the age of 88.
Johnson’s career encompassed both the earliest days of NASCAR, as the sport grew from moonshining into a Southern phenomenon, as well as its modern era. He was both a renowned driver and car owner.
Johnson has been in declining health and had entered hospice care earlier in the week. The news was confirmed by NASCAR officials and the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Friday evening.
“Junior Johnson truly was the ‘Last American Hero,’” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France. “From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, Junior wholly embodied the NASCAR spirit. He was an inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer, a nod to an extraordinary career as both a driver and team owner. Between his on-track accomplishments and his introduction of Winston to the sport, few have contributed to the success of NASCAR as Junior has.
“The entire NASCAR family is saddened by the loss of a true giant of our sport, and we offer our deepest condolences to Junior’s family and friends during this difficult time.”
Born Robert Glenn Johnson on June 28, 1931, the fourth of seven children of Lora Belle Money and Robert Glenn Johnson Sr. became known as “Junior” in his youth as he grew up in Ronda, N.C.
Johnson’s early days were spent in the shadows of North Wilkesboro Speedway, and as he became older he was involved in both of the family’s businesses — farming and the distribution of untaxed liquor.
The latter of those was what shaped his driving style, an all-out assault that struck fear into his competitors and led to 50 victories in the formative days of what is now the NASCAR Cup Series.
His win total still stands today as the most of any driver without a Cup Series championship, and Johnson later added 132 victories and six Cup Series titles as a car owner.
Among Johnson’s wins were the second annual Daytona 500 in 1960, as well as a pair of fall race victories at Charlotte Motor Speedway earned back-to-back in 1962 and ’63. He later won the Daytona 500 twice as a car owner, with LeeRoy Yarbrough in 1969 and Cale Yarborough in 1977.
Adding to Johnson’s legend was the belief that he was never caught while moonshining on the road, but he was convicted in 1956 after authorities staked out the family still.
Johnson was pardoned 30 years later, on Dec. 26, 1986, by President Ronald Reagan.
“No maybe about it. Best Christmas gift I ever got,” Johnson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2007 of his 1986 pardoning.
Johnson won in eight straight seasons into the 1960s, but never ran a full season and as such, only finished a best of sixth in the final point standings. He did so twice, in 1955 and 1961.
Johnson retired from driving at the tender age of 35, transitioning into team ownership and fielding teams for the likes of Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine and Bill Elliott.
“Racing has been good to me,” Johnson told the Associated Press in November of 1965 as he trimmed down his driving career. “I want to make it clear that I am not quitting because I am too old to drive or am afraid of high-speed racing. I have accomplished about everything I had hoped to as a driver. Now I want to relax and enjoy life, but still be connected with the sport in a supervisory capacity.”
He did just that en route to winning three straight Cup Series championships with Yarborough from 1976 to ’78, the first such streak in the sport’s history, then added three more titles with Waltrip in 1981, ’82 and ’85 when Yarborough elected to cut back to a part-time schedule at NASCAR’s top level.
Johnson’s final victory at NASCAR’s Cup Series echelon was the 1994 Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, with Bill Elliott beating Dale Earnhardt that September afternoon.
Just more than a year later, Johnson sold his operation to Brett Bodine.
Among Johnson’s off-track contributions included aiding in the brokering of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company’s long-running title sponsorship of the NASCAR Cup Series, as well as items to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, including an operational moonshine still for the Hall’s Heritage Speedway section after his enshrinement as an inductee in 2010.
Johnson was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
In addition to his NASCAR Hall of Fame honors, Johnson was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame back in 1990 before being called for induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America the following year.
Johnson was also recognized with the North Carolina Achievement in Motorsports Award presented by the North Carolina Motorsports Ass’n in 2011.