Table of Biography
Junior Johnson was a NASCAR driver from the 1950s to the 1960s. Junior Johnson was the winner of the fifty NASCAR races that he had before his retirement took place in the year 1966.
Early Life
The full name of the athlete is Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. Junior Johnson was born on 28th June 1931, in Ronda, North Carolina, the United States. The driver was the 4th of 7 kids of his parents, mother, Lora Belle (Money), and father, Robert Glenn Johnson, Sr. Also, Johnson was of Ulster-Scots ethnicity. Moreover, before Junior was born, his family was managing the whiskey business. Johnson’s maternal great-grandfather was the 2nd highest-ranking Confederate general In North Carolina.
Johnson’s father, Robert Glenn Johnson Sr. served as a bootlegger his whole life. So, he was in jail for almost 20 of his 63 years. Also, their house was often raided by revenue agents. Moreover, Johnson’s family had to go through the largest alcohol raid in United States history. Revenue agents even found four hundred gallons of moonshine in his house. From the year 1956 to 1957, Junior Johnson was also arrested and sentenced to a year in jail in Ohio even though he was never found doing any illegal things in the various years of transporting bootleg liquor at high speed.
Caption: Junior Johnson when he was young (Source: Forbes)
Junior Johnson – Death
The famous NASCAR driver passed away on 20th December 2019, in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States when he was just eighty-eight years old. It was due to Alzheimer’s disease which he had at the same time. Johnson was living in Charlotte, North Carolina till his last day on the earth in the year 2019. Other than this there is no more information about Junior Johnson’s death.
Career and Professional Life
Junior started his career as a NASCAR driver in the year 1955. In Johnson’s 1st whole season, he was the winner of the 5 races and completed 6th in the NASCAR Grand National points standings in the year 1955. Then, Johnson got the victory in 6 races in the year 1958. Similarly, he became the winner of another 5 NASCAR Grand National races (adding a victory from the pole position at the Hickory 250 in the year 1959. Moreover, Johnson was considered one of the best short-track racers in the sport by this time.
In the year 1960, Johnson’s 1st victory at a “superspeedway” came at the Daytona 500. He and his crew chief Ray Fox were in practice for the race, trying to find a way to increase their speed, which was twenty-two miles per hour (35 km/h) slower than the other top cars in the same race. At the time of a test run, a faster car left Johnson. Johnson found out that when he went behind the faster car his speed was increasing because of the faster car’s slipstream. Then, Johnson was able to stay near but behind the faster car however, in the last lap of the test run, he used the “slipstream” effect to slingshot past the other car.
Some more about his career
With the help of the same technique, the driver went on to become the winner of the Daytona 500 in 1960, despite the fact his car was slower than others at that time. His way was then immediately followed by other drivers, and his practice of “drafting” has become a common technique in NASCAR races. In the year 1963, Johnson had a 2-lap lead in the World 600 at Charlotte before an observer threw a bottle onto the track which led to a crash. Because of this, Junior had only small injuries. He even attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 in the year 1963 but unfortunately, he failed.
In the year 1966, Junior retired as a driver. After his retirement, Johnson was the owner of the NASCAR. Then, President Ronald Reagan permitted the presidential pardon of Johnson for his 1956 moonshining sentence. Furthermore, the writer Tom Wolfe wrote an article about Johnson in the mid-1960s which was then out in March 1965 in Esquire. Johnson has even done the voice acting in the animated movie Cars 3, as Junior “Midnight” Moon. It was a reference to his Moonshine Company.
Caption: Junior Johnson repairing his car (Source: Forbes)
Junior Johnson – Net Worth 2024
The NASCAR driver was earning good fortune until he passed away. Junior has a net worth of between $1 to $3 million. The exact information about Junior Johnson’s salary, net worth, and assets is not available as he was keeping a low profile and was keeping his things private. However, it is for sure that the driver was living a good and luxurious life till his last breath.
Junior Johnson – Relationship Status
In the year 1949, Johnson was married to Mary Gray. Then, he got married to his childhood sweetheart Flossie Clark in the year 1929 and they got divorced in 1992; they were legally married in 1975, although they had been together since the early 1950s. His marital relationship with Lisa Day in 1992 blessed them with 2 kids, a daughter Meredith Suzanne who was born in 1995, and a son Robert Glenn Johnson III who was born in 1993. In the year 1997, Johnson built a new home for his family. However, he had to sell in the year 2012 because of his illness and poor health.
Caption: Junior Johnson with his wife, Lisa (Source: Canoe)
Body Measurement
Talking about the NASCAR driver’s body measurement, he had a good height of 155 cm or else 1.50 m or 5 feet 4 inches. Junior Johnson also had a body weight of 57 kg or 125 lbs. Similarly, his chest size was 43 inches, his waist size was 31 inches, and his biceps size was 14 inches. Junior also had a pair of brown eyes with black short hair. Being a driver, Johnson also had a strong muscular body that could control the car. So, Johnson used to exercise every day and also had a good diet.
Social Media
Coming to the social media part, the NASCAR driver is not active on any of the social media platforms. The driver neither has an Instagram account nor a Twitter account. Johnson even does not have a Facebook page. The driver was very far from the social media platforms and was always keeping a low profile. Moreover, Junior has kept most of his things private.