Herman Austin Johnson (March 4, 1953 – December 10, 2016), was a driver in the

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

Indy Car IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis 5 ...

series, born in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire ( ; lit. "clear water") is a city in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the county seat, seat of Eau Claire County. It is the List of citie ...

. He raced in seven seasons (1979–1985), with 35 career starts. He drove in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly shortened to Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indian ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. He finished in the top ten eight times, with his best finish in 6th position in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In 1976, Johnson won the

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting Autocross, Rallycross, High Performance Driver Education, HPDE, Time trial, Time Trial, Road racing, Road Racing, Regularity rally, R ...

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

and was the 1977 USAC Mini-Indy Champion. Johnson had two serious pit fires in 1981 roughly a month apart from each other. Johnson's father suffered a fatal heart attack, just days before the 1982 Indianapolis 500. Also during this race,

Rick Mears Richard Ravon Mears (born December 3, 1951) is an American former race car driver. He is one of four men to win the Indianapolis 500 four times (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) and is the current record-holder for pole positions in the race with six (197 ...

bumped into the back of his car on a lap 183 pit stop. For his next race Johnson, who ran a business painting helmets, trimmed the back edge of his rear wing with the message "Rick...if you can read this, you're too close." Johnson suffered a serious crash in practice for the

1986 Indianapolis 500 The 70th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Saturday, May 31, 1986. After being Rainout (sports), rained out on May 25–26, the race was rescheduled for the following weekend. Bobby Rahal was the ...

. Johnson suffered injuries to his back and neck, and the crash effectively ended his Indy car driving career. After his recovery, Herm was known to occasionally compete in sports car and ice racing events. Johnson resided in Eau Claire, running a custom painting business, 'Just Herm Designs'. The shop has done work for several Indy 500 winners, IndyCar, and NHRA Champions, as well as amateur racers. The shop specializes in custom paint jobs for helmets, race cars, and motorcycles. Johnson also served as a performance driving instructor at

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Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

. On December 10, 2016, Johnson died from liver and renal failure.

Racing record

SCCA National Championship Runoffs

Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results

Complete CART Indy Car Series results

Indianapolis 500 results

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Herm 1953 births 2016 deaths Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Sportspeople from Eau Claire, Wisconsin Racing drivers from Wisconsin SCCA Formula Super Vee drivers Formula Super Vee Champions SCCA National Championship Runoffs winners Deaths from kidney failure