Fred Johnson (December 11, 1929 – January 7, 1991) was a
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Grand National Series The name NASCAR Grand National Series refers to former names of the following NASCAR series:
*National-level stock car series:
**NASCAR Cup Series (the top NASCAR series, known as NASCAR Grand National Series between 1950 and 1970, then the NASCAR ...
driver from
Hamptonville, North Carolina
Hamptonville is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community located in southwestern Yadkin County, North Carolina, United States. Hamptonville is named for Henry Hampton (1750–1832), a colonel in the American Revolution, Revol ...
. He was the brother of
NASCAR Hall of Fame
The NASCAR Hall of Fame, is a Hall of Fame and Museum located in Charlotte, North Carolina that honors NASCAR and its history. Inductees to the Hall of Fame are drivers who have shown expert skill at NASCAR driving, all-time great crew chiefs ...
inductee
Junior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson Jr. (June 28, 1931 – December 20, 2019), better known as Junior Johnson, was an American professional stock car racing driver, engineer, and team owner as well as an entrepreneur. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career befor ...
.
Biography
Johnson and brother Junior grew up as
bootleggers
A bootleg is the upper part (or shaft) of a boot.
Bootleg, bootlegging or bootlegger(s) may also refer to:
Common meanings
* Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages
* Moonshine, illicitly made an ...
before starting racing careers. In May 1949, Fred and
Bill France Sr.
William Henry Getty France (September 26, 1909 – June 7, 1992) was an American businessman and racing driver. He was also known as Bill France Sr. or Big Bill. He is best known for founding and managing NASCAR, a sanctioning body of US-based s ...
attended the opening of
Charlotte Speedway
Charlotte Speedway was the site of NASCAR's first Strictly Stock Series (now NASCAR Cup Series) race on June 19, 1949. The Daytona Beach Road Course held the first race sanctioned by NASCAR in 1948. The track was a few miles west of the NASCAR ...
, which hosted the
NASCAR Strictly Stock Series'
inaugural race later that year. Johnson finished in 25th place out of 33 racing vehicles while driving a 1947 Ford vehicle.
Johnson's NASCAR career spanned from 1949 to 1956. He achieved two top-ten finishes after completing 562 laps; earning $910 in the process ($ when adjusted for inflation). Johnson's average start is 20th place while his average finish is 24th place. At NASCAR's first-ever Cup Series race, Johnson
At the
1955 Southern 500
The 1955 Southern 500, the sixth running of the event, was a NASCAR Grand National Series event. The event was held on September 5, 1955, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. This race spanned 500 miles on a paved oval track. ...
, Johnson qualified in 22nd place and ended up finishing in 46th place out of the 69 drivers on the racing grid; collecting $260 in the process ($ when adjusted for inflation). Johnson's chosen vehicle was a 1955 Cadillac.
He and Junior were teammates at
B&L Motors, with Junior driving an
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile (formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors) was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it produc ...
outside of a brief car switch during the season.
The best finishes of Johnson's career occurred on road courses where he finished in 18th place on average. Intermediate tracks were considered to be his weakness; where he achieved a 46th-place finish on average.
Road America
Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...
was Johnson's favored racecourse; where he finished in 9th place at the series' only visit (as of 2020).
Darlington Raceway
Darlington Raceway is a egg-shaped oval track in Darlington, South Carolina. The track has hosted a variety of racing events since its inaugural season of racing in 1950; primarily races sanctioned by NASCAR. The venue has a capacity of 47,00 ...
was Johnson's least successful track where he achieved an average finishing position of 46th place.
NASCAR statistics on ''Fred Johnson''
at Driver Averages
After ending his career, Johnson worked as a farm manager for Junior Johnson & Associates
Junior Johnson & Associates (formerly Johnson Hodgdon Racing) was a NASCAR team that ran in the Winston Cup Series from 1953 to 1995. The team was run by former driver Junior Johnson and was best known for fielding cars for legendary talents such ...
.
References
External links
*
1929 births
1991 deaths
NASCAR drivers
People from Yadkin County, North Carolina
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