Looking Back at Junior Johnson

Forever immortalized by Tom Wolfe’s short story “The Last American Hero is Junior Johnson. Yes!” published in his book The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine Flake Streamline Baby, Junior Johnson, 1931–2019, was the prototypical NASCAR hero. We’re all aware NASCAR started as a place for the illegal liquor (moonshine) runners in the Southeast to compete against each other on racetracks instead of windy, dirt mountain roads. Junior began as a legit ’shine runner until “Big Bill” France convinced him to drive his 1940 Fords and other liquor cars at his events.

Junior was instantly one of the initial stars of the series, winning 50 NASCAR races in the 1950s and 1960s, and going on to run his own team with drivers including Darel Dieringer, LeeRoy Yarbrough, Cale Yarbrough, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnet, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, and Bill Elliott, all of whom are household names today. Junior was a gentle giant that you didn’t want to mess with on the track or off, and was