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 Junior
Johnson stepped out from behind a mule and into a stock car, and drove himself
to legendary status.
No other man epitomizes what the sport is all about as well as Junior does. Raised in the mountains of Wilkes County, North Carolina, Johnson grew up farming and running home-made whiskey. In the late 1940's, Junior's brother, L.P., made him an offer that was to catapult Johnson to stardom, and a place in the initial class of inductees into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame. L.P. offered to let Junior drive his car in a heat race at nearby North Wilkesboro speedway in the late 1940's, and Junior, who felt like it would be a lot more fun than plowing, dropped the reins to the mule he was using to plow his garden, and went with L.P. Even though it was a small heat race, Johnson finished second, and was hooked for life.
As a car owner, Johnson accomplished even more, producing more victories than any other Winston Cup owner in history. His cars won 139 Winston Cup races, 128 poles and six Winston Cup championships. His drivers read like a "Who's Who" in stock car racing history. Among those winning races in Junior's cars were Darel Dieringer, Curtis Turner, Lee Roy Yarborough, Charlie Glotzbach, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott and Jimmy Spencer. Today, Johnson is retired and living in his beloved Wilkes County, North Carolina. Junior Johnson, one of the two 1998 "Inactive Category" inductees into the Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame. Congratulations Junior as being selected as one of "The Fan's Favorites"!
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From his initial race, the 1953 Southern 500 at
Darlington, until he quit driving in 1966 at the tender age of 34, Johnson won
50 NASCAR Grand National (Winston Cup) races, among those the 1960 Daytona 500.
These 50 wins by themselves were enough to earn him the designation as one of
NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers, the best was yet to come.
