Junior Johnson

Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr.  (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was a NASCAR driver of the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he became a NASCAR racing team owner; he sponsored such NASCAR champions as Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip. He now produces a line of fried pork skins and country ham. He was credited as the first to use the drafting technique in stock car racing.

He was nicknamed "The Last American Hero" and his autobiography is of the same name. In May 2007, Johnson teamed with Piedmont Distillers of Madison, North Carolina, to introduce the company's second moonshine product, called "Midnight Moon Moonshine".

Johnson died at a hospice care facility in Charlotte, North Carolina on December 20, 2019, at age 88. He had Alzheimer's disease at the time of his death.

References

Other websites
Official website for Junior Johnson
Oral History Interview with Junior Johnson at Oral Histories of the American South
CanadianDriver.com Article on Junior Johnson 
Junior Johnson Biography

Category:1931 births
Category:2019 deaths
Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease
Category:NASCAR drivers
Category:Sportspeople from North Carolina