Julius David "Slick" Johnson III (February 23, 1948 – February 14, 1990) was an American

stock car racing Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

driver. A veteran of short track competition in the Carolinas, he competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series during the 1980s; his best finish in the series, second, came in a non-points consolation race at Daytona International Speedway. He was killed in a racing accident in an ARCA race at Daytona in 1990.

Career

A native of

Florence, South Carolina Florence is a city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. It lies at the intersection of Interstates 20 and 95 and is the eastern terminus of the former. It is the primary city within the Florence metropolit ...

, Johnson started his racing career on dirt tracks at age 16; his racing career was interrupted due to his spending time in the military, however he returned to competition in 1968 at

Cooper River Speedway Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

; Johnson also competed at other tracks in the Carolinas during the late 1960s and 1970s including

Sumter Speedway Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ...

. Moving up from local competition during the 1970s, Johnson made his first start in NASCAR Winston Cup Series competition in 1979 at

North Carolina Motor Speedway Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is also known as The Rock and previously hosted NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series, ...

in Rockingham, North Carolina, finishing 27th in his first race in the series. He would go on to compete in a total of 68 Winston Cup Series races between 1979 and 1987, posting a best finish of eighth on two occasions, both in 1980, at North Wilkesboro Speedway and at Rockingham. Johnson also finished second, to Tim Richmond, in a non-points

consolation race Consolation, consolement, and solace are terms referring to psychological comfort given to someone who has suffered severe, upsetting loss, such as the death of a loved one. It is typically provided by expressing shared regret for that loss and ...

for

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...

non-qualifiers at Daytona International Speedway in 1982. Johnson also competed in a single Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race in his career, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1983; he started 19th and finished 28th in the event.

Death

In 1988 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Johnson was injured in a severe crash during a practice session. Following his recovery, Johnson returned to racing in the ARCA Permatex Super Car Series season-opening 200-mile race at Daytona International Speedway in 1990. Starting last in the 40-car field, Johnson was involved in a crash on the race's 76th lap that left him with a

basal skull fracture A basilar skull fracture is a break of a bone in the base of the skull. Symptoms may include bruising behind the ears, bruising around the eyes, or blood behind the ear drum. A cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak occurs in about 20% of cases and m ...

and crushed chest; Johnson had been hit by three other cars during the course of the accident. Transported to

Halifax Medical Center Halifax Health is a system of hospitals and professional centers in Volusia and Flagler counties in the U.S. state of Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by ...

in critical condition, Johnson died three days later; he was the 23rd racing-related fatality at Daytona, and the first stock car driver to be killed since Joe Young in 1987. The accident in which Johnson was involved, in which paramedic Mike Staley was also injured one lap later, was featured in an episode of '' Rescue 911'' that aired on November 13, 1990 on CBS.

Motorsports career results

NASCAR

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Winston Cup Series

=Daytona 500

Late Model Sportsman Series

ARCA Permatex SuperCar Series

( key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Slick 1948 births 1990 deaths Sportspeople from Florence, South Carolina Racing drivers from South Carolina NASCAR drivers ARCA Menards Series drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Sports deaths in Florida Filmed deaths in motorsport