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Sprint Cup
CUP: NHoF Inductions - Junior Johnson
Junior Johnson, ‘The Last American Hero,’ is grateful for induction into hall...
Junior Johnson gets inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame's first five-member class. (Photo: Getty Images)
The man once tabbed “The Last American Hero” by author Thomas Wolfe, remains a living, breathing embodiment of Americana.
And now, Robert Glenn Johnson Jr., 78, is a bona-fide member of NASCAR’s Hall of Fame.
On Sunday, Johnson, one of stock-car racing’s most successful drivers and team owners, was inducted into the hall, along with William H.G. France, son Bill France Jr., and seven-time champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
The son of a moonshiner, Johnson once did a nine-month stretch in federal prison after he was nabbed while tending his father’s still in the hills of Wilkes County, N.C. It’s worth noting that Johnson was caught on foot – the man known simply as Junior was never bested in a race with the law while behind the wheel. And it was his ability to drive a souped-up car better than almost anyone that eventually led to success on the race track.
By the time he stepped away from the sport in 1995, Johnson’s record included 50 wins as a driver, 132 as a team owner and six Cup championships as an owner.
“When I was first starting to drive, I’d run a race or two [and] I’d get back into my whiskey business, making money I needed to run another race or two,” Johnson, laughing, said of his decision not to compete in NASCAR’s top series full time.
Even France Sr., founder of NASCAR, was unable to convince the extremely talented Johnson that he should focus his efforts on chasing the series title.
“One time I was down at Atlanta … at the Holiday Inn,” Johnson said. “I hadn't raced in three or four races. Big Bill came down and sat at the table. I sat down and ordered my breakfast. He came over and sat down and said, ‘Junior, I want to talk to you. I want you to run all the races, and you're committed to run all the races.’”
Maybe in France’s eyes, but clearly not in Johnson’s.
“I sat there and thought a minute,” Johnson recalled. “I looked down at my plate. I had bacon and eggs on my plate. I said, ‘No Bill, I ain't committed to racing. For instance, I'll tell you how it works. Look at my plate when I'm telling you. I said the hen that laid that egg was involved. The hog that that bacon come from was committed.”
From then on, Johnson said, every time he’d run into the elder France, “He would ask, ‘Are you committed or are you involved?’”
Johnson guided driver Cale Yarborough to a spot in the record book, with the pair teaming up to win three consecutive championships (1976-78). Darrell Waltrip won Cup titles in 1981, ’82 and ’85 while driving for the legendary team owner.
“Junior was not a follower, he was a leader,” Waltrip said. “He’s been a great friend of mine. … My six years of driving for Junior define my career.”
There was no pretense in Johnson. It was how he lived his life and how he ran his racing business. In dealing with his drivers, Waltrip said, the art of negotiations was extremely simple.
Expecting a tense battle of contract talks when he and his lawyer first met with Johnson, Waltrip said instead that, “In five minutes, he and his attorney wrote them out on a piece of paper, slipped them over [and] said, ‘There's your deal.’ … No negotiation, no anything.
“Junior says, ‘I'll pay you this much money, you'll drive my car, we'll win races.’ It was just that simple.”
When Waltrip’s attorney asked, “What are you going to do for DW if he wins the championship,” Waltrip said, “Junior never batted an eye. Had on a little pair of half glasses. He looked over the top of them [and said], ‘I'll tell you what I'm going to do to him if he don't.’”
“Junior Johnson is a humble man. I don't think I ever heard him brag on himself. Just always telling other people what they should do and how they should do it. If they did it his way, they'd be successful like him.”
Johnson’s induction into the hall might not have occurred until Sunday, but according to his son, Robert, “he’s always been a hall of fame dad in my heart.”
Johnson said his family –“is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.
“Being inducted into this hall of fame – it could never, never do anything I appreciate anymore. With that I'll just thank you.”
NASCAR Hall Of Fame Biography Specials on SPEED
SceneDaily.com • Brian Vickers to miss rest of season as he continues treatment for blood clots.
And now, Robert Glenn Johnson Jr., 78, is a bona-fide member of NASCAR’s Hall of Fame.
On Sunday, Johnson, one of stock-car racing’s most successful drivers and team owners, was inducted into the hall, along with William H.G. France, son Bill France Jr., and seven-time champions Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.
The son of a moonshiner, Johnson once did a nine-month stretch in federal prison after he was nabbed while tending his father’s still in the hills of Wilkes County, N.C. It’s worth noting that Johnson was caught on foot – the man known simply as Junior was never bested in a race with the law while behind the wheel. And it was his ability to drive a souped-up car better than almost anyone that eventually led to success on the race track.
By the time he stepped away from the sport in 1995, Johnson’s record included 50 wins as a driver, 132 as a team owner and six Cup championships as an owner.
“When I was first starting to drive, I’d run a race or two [and] I’d get back into my whiskey business, making money I needed to run another race or two,” Johnson, laughing, said of his decision not to compete in NASCAR’s top series full time.
Even France Sr., founder of NASCAR, was unable to convince the extremely talented Johnson that he should focus his efforts on chasing the series title.
“One time I was down at Atlanta … at the Holiday Inn,” Johnson said. “I hadn't raced in three or four races. Big Bill came down and sat at the table. I sat down and ordered my breakfast. He came over and sat down and said, ‘Junior, I want to talk to you. I want you to run all the races, and you're committed to run all the races.’”
Maybe in France’s eyes, but clearly not in Johnson’s.
“I sat there and thought a minute,” Johnson recalled. “I looked down at my plate. I had bacon and eggs on my plate. I said, ‘No Bill, I ain't committed to racing. For instance, I'll tell you how it works. Look at my plate when I'm telling you. I said the hen that laid that egg was involved. The hog that that bacon come from was committed.”
From then on, Johnson said, every time he’d run into the elder France, “He would ask, ‘Are you committed or are you involved?’”
Johnson guided driver Cale Yarborough to a spot in the record book, with the pair teaming up to win three consecutive championships (1976-78). Darrell Waltrip won Cup titles in 1981, ’82 and ’85 while driving for the legendary team owner.
“Junior was not a follower, he was a leader,” Waltrip said. “He’s been a great friend of mine. … My six years of driving for Junior define my career.”
There was no pretense in Johnson. It was how he lived his life and how he ran his racing business. In dealing with his drivers, Waltrip said, the art of negotiations was extremely simple.
Expecting a tense battle of contract talks when he and his lawyer first met with Johnson, Waltrip said instead that, “In five minutes, he and his attorney wrote them out on a piece of paper, slipped them over [and] said, ‘There's your deal.’ … No negotiation, no anything.
“Junior says, ‘I'll pay you this much money, you'll drive my car, we'll win races.’ It was just that simple.”
When Waltrip’s attorney asked, “What are you going to do for DW if he wins the championship,” Waltrip said, “Junior never batted an eye. Had on a little pair of half glasses. He looked over the top of them [and said], ‘I'll tell you what I'm going to do to him if he don't.’”
“Junior Johnson is a humble man. I don't think I ever heard him brag on himself. Just always telling other people what they should do and how they should do it. If they did it his way, they'd be successful like him.”
Johnson’s induction into the hall might not have occurred until Sunday, but according to his son, Robert, “he’s always been a hall of fame dad in my heart.”
Johnson said his family –“is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.
“Being inducted into this hall of fame – it could never, never do anything I appreciate anymore. With that I'll just thank you.”
NASCAR Hall Of Fame Biography Specials on SPEED
SceneDaily.com • Brian Vickers to miss rest of season as he continues treatment for blood clots.
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