1. Junior Johnson won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966.
21 Facts About Junior Johnson
1. 2.
Junior Johnson is credited as the first to use the drafting technique in stock car racing.
3.
Junior Johnson was nicknamed "The Last American Hero," and his autobiography and movie based on his upbringing is of the same name.
4.
Junior Johnson was born in Ronda, North Carolina, the fourth of seven children of Lora Belle and Robert Glenn Junior Johnson, Sr.
5.
Junior Johnson's family is of Ulster Scots descent, and settled in the foothills of North Carolina in the eighteenth century.
6.
The Junior Johnson family was involved in the whiskey business before he was born.
7.
In 1955, Junior Johnson began his career as a NASCAR driver.
8.
In 1959, Junior Johnson won five more NASCAR Grand National races ; by this time he was regarded as one of the best short-track racers in the sport.
9.
Junior Johnson noticed that, when he moved behind that car, his own car's speed increased because of the faster car's slipstream.
10.
Junior 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.
11.
Junior Johnson's technique was quickly adopted by other drivers, and his practice of "drafting" has become a common tactic in NASCAR races.
12.
In 1963, Junior 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; Junior Johnson suffered only minor injuries.
13.
Junior Johnson tried but failed to qualify for the 1963 Indianapolis 500.
14.
Junior Johnson retired as the winningest driver never to have a championship.
15.
In 2011, Junior Johnson announced that he would restart a race team with son Robert as the driver.
16.
Junior Johnson Racing will be located in Hamptonville, North Carolina.
17.
Junior Johnson built a new home for his family in 1997, ultimately selling in 2012 because of poor health.
18.
Junior Johnson resided in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the time of his death in 2019.
19.
In May 2007, Junior Johnson teamed with Piedmont Distillers to introduce the company's second moonshine product, called Midnight Moon.
20.
Junior Johnson became part-owner of Piedmont Distillers, the only legal distiller in North Carolina at the time.
21.
Junior Johnson died at a hospice care facility in Charlotte on December 20,2019, at age 88.