NASCAR Hall of Famer and 'Last American Hero' Junior Johnson dies at 88
Junior Johnson, a bootlegger turned NASCAR Hall of Famer immortalized as the "Last American Hero," has died, NASCAR announced. He was 88. NASCAR said Johnson had been in declining health and had entered hospice care this week. "Junior Johnson truly was the 'Last American Hero,' " NASCAR chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. "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."
A member of the inaugural Hall of Fame class inducted in 2010, Johnson won 50 races as a driver and 132 races and six championships as a car owner in NASCAR's Cup Series. The on-track success alone makes Johnson a NASCAR icon, but it's Johnson's life story taken as a whole that made him a legend of the sport. Growing up in then-rural Wilkes County, North Carolina, Johnson not only ran moonshine, but worked at his father's still. Found working there by federal agents, Johnson served 11 months of a two-year federal sentence after his 1956 conviction for manufacturing non-tax-paid whiskey. Johnson received a full and unconditional pardon from President Ronald Reagan that was signed in 1985.
Johnson earned his first five Cup Series wins in 1955, but because of the conviction, he ran just 13 races the following year and only one in '57 before he resumed his career in earnest. Despite never running the full schedule, Johnson won 45 races from 1958 to 1965. As an owner, Johnson won three consecutive championships with driver Cale Yarborough from 1976 to 1978 and three more championships with Darrell Waltrip in 1981, '82 and '85. Johnson got out of the ownership ranks following the 1995 season. His eventual Hall of Fame induction nearly left him speechless.