A pretty impressive record given the fact that junior johnson in the 1950s was running 4 stills at the same time, where he had 25 people working for him. Aug 29, 2018 the future nascar hall of famer and team owner first discovered his talent behind the wheel while running moonshine as a teen. 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. He was one of the first africanamerican drivers in nascar, and the first africanamerican to win a race in the grand national series, nascar s highest level scott began his racing career in local circuits and attained his nascar license in around 1953, making him the first africanamerican.
There were the flock brothers, bob, fonty and tim, whiskey trippers all, before they became nascar pioneers. In 1966, even while still a driver, johnson fielded a ford galaxie for driver fred lorenzen. Johnsons ancestors had been making moonshine since the days of the. In october 2018, nascar joined forces with tennessees sugarlands shine to. Junior johnson, moonshine runner who went on to a nascar. He honed his driving skills running moonshine through the north carolina hills, a crime for which he received a federal conviction in 1956 and a. Johnson had a storied career in the sport which he won 50 races as a driver and 2 more as an owner. I started doing research on nascar, and obviously one of the important questions i wanted to look at was the whole role of moonshine. Legendary nascar drivers attend this festival to meet fans, and the organizers put together one of the largest collections of authentic moonshine hauling cars in the country.
In october 2018, nascar joined forces with tennessees sugarlands shine to sell. Nascars brendan gaughan takes a shine to new business venture nascar driver brendan gaughan of las vegas is now running moonshine legal moonshine out of a local distillery. From wilkes county, north carolina, the legendary junior johnson, fresh from prison, started winning at a prodigious rate, racking up 50 victories. He was also a member of the inaugural class of the nascar hall of fame in 2010. I read a story in a magazine a long while back about how running moonshine is how a lot of the early stock car drivers got started. Driving with the devil is the story of bootleggers whose empires grew during prohibition and continued to thrive well after repeal, and of drivers who thundered down. Dec 21, 2019 as a driver during parts of the 19531966 seasons, he won 50 cup series races in a career that was interrupted for almost a year while he did prison time for making and running moonshine. The sum of the laps run in the top 15 divided by total laps completed. Coronavirus brings distilleries, nascar full circle. Each hidden distillery needed to use runnersdrivers in understated or. One of the best on dirt tracks was lumberman curtis turner, a very popular nascar driver who cofounded charlotte motor speedway in 1960. The privatelyowned company was founded by bill france sr. The roof of the car was three to five inches closer to the ground than usual, and the windshield was.
Their cars looked normal from the outside, so as not to attract unwanted attention. Sugarlands distilling company has just become the official moonshine of nascar. Check out the history of making shine and how it lead to the early days of racing and hot rods. Junior johnson, notorious moonshiner and bootlegger and a. In a twist on nascar s roots in running moonshine during prohibition, two virginia distilleries, springfield distillery and bondurant brothers, are partnering with nascar driver colin garrett. They used illegal forms of moonshine distribution to avoid taxes and outright bans of the products. How a group of daring bootleggers created nascar gastro.
Most perhaps all of the drivers were involved in the moonshine trade. Junior johnson, nc moonshine runner who went on to a nascar. Moonshine was the fuel nascar raced on, while pretending it needed only gasoline. Moonshine runners and their role in the history of hot rods. Dec 21, 2019 johnson won 50 nascar races as a driver and 2 as an owner, and was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the nascar hall of fame in 2010. From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, junior wholly embodied the nascar spirit, nascar chairman jim france said in a statement. In the 1970s and 1980s, he became a nascar racing team owner. Nascar icon junior johnson, whose rich history as a driver, mechanic and team owner began as a moonshiner outrunning the law in the nc mountains, has died, nascar. Nascar rooted in prohibition bootlegging prohibition. Nascar announced the death of johnson, the winner of 50 races as a. Rapid roy hall center, shown at a stock car racing venue at dayton beach. Moonshining was part of my growing up, but it was also part of my. June 28, 1931 december 20, 2019, better known as junior johnson, was a nascar driver of the 1950s and 1960s.
Nascar has quite a dark history, with the sport rooted in southern american traditions like bootlegging moonshine and illegally running tobacco. From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, junior wholly embodied the nascar spirit, nascar chairman jim france said. It was at daytona, that junior is credited with discovering the technique of drafting. From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, junior wholly embodied the nascar spirit. The national association for stock car auto racing nascar is an american auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stockcar racing. After an 11 month incarceration, he returned to racing and running moonshine.
Nascar announced the death of johnson, the winner of 50 races as a driver and 2 as an owner. However, it wasnt always an art or a tradition for many, it was a way of life. Junior johnson, moonshine runner who went on to a nascar hall. With driver personalities as colorful as the logoplastered cars, everyone has a favorite wheelman. Dec 21, 2019 robert glenn junior johnson, the moonshine runner turned nascar driver described as the last american hero by author tom wolfe in a 1965 article for esquire, died friday. Lightening lloyd seay, was born in georgia on december 14, 1919, just more than a month before prohibition started. He was an inaugural nascar hall of famer, a nod to an extraordinary career as both a. Mar 20, 2007 before there was nascar national association of stock car auto racing, there were moonrunners. He honed his driving skills running moonshine through the north.
The moonshine drivers found a home racing in nascar. Wendell oliver scott august 29, 1921 december 23, 1990 was an american stock car racing driver. Bootlegging offered speed, adventure, and wads of cashif the drivers survived. From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, junior wholly embodied the nascar spirit, nascar. Turner began running moonshine on dirt roads throughout roanoke county, va. Were 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. He won 50 nascar races in his career before retiring in 1966. He won 50 races in nascars top division the most of any driver. Ca may be the birthplace of hot rodding, but there were others building fast cars for reasons besides racing all over the country. Moonshine runners and their role in the history of hot. Junior johnson was part of the inaugural class inducted into the nascar hall of fame. He went on to win 55 races including events in nascars convertible division. Johnson won 50 nascar races as a driver and 2 as an owner, and was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the nascar hall of fame in 2010.
Moonshine runners, history, and their cars tom wolfe dubbed junior johnson and the north carolina moonshine runnersthe last american heroes and we all know their connection to nascar. The sum of the driver s finishing positions divided by the number of finishes. Robert glenn junior johnson, the moonshine runner turned nascar driver described as the last american hero by author tom wolfe in a 1965 article for esquire, died friday. Even though those types of things seem like problems of the past, the show moonshiners illustrates that its still an issue in. Brendan gaughan to retire after fourrace slate in 2020. Rotgut and firewater are the founding fathers of our nations racing. In addition, they will be the primary sponsor of the 2019 nascar truck series race at talladega superspeedway. Legendary nascar drivers attend this festival to meet fans, and the organizers put together one of the largest collections of authentic moonshine. Dec 20, 2019 from his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, junior wholly embodied the nascar spirit. How are prohibition and nascar related to each other. Legendary nascar driver, subject of the last american. Even though those types of things seem like problems of the past, the show moonshiners illustrates that its still an issue in the south even though thats a scripted reality show. See more ideas about nascar, nascar racing and race cars. Many future nascar drivers cut their teeth bootlegging illegal moonshine in the 1940s, such as nascar hall of famer junior johnson, who won his learners permit by running corn mash hooch before his nascar debut in 1955.
Before there was nascar national association of stock car auto racing, there were moonrunners. Nascar hall of famer and last american hero junior johnson. From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life. The future nascar hall of famer and team owner first discovered his talent behind the wheel while running moonshine as a teen. Jan 10, 2006 moonshine runners, history, and their cars tom wolfe dubbed junior johnson and the north carolina moonshine runnersthe last american heroes and we all know their connection to nascar. He was a member of the inaugural class inducted into the nascar hall of fame in 2010. Dec 17, 2012 wendell scott, the africanamerican virginia moonshine runner turned nascar driver, once said that in his days in the trade, i heard lee petty had a liquor running car with two transmissions in. A guy with a souped up car with a 200gallon moonshine tank, driving his coupe at breakneck speeds through the twisty mountain roads to deliver the shine. June 28, 1931 december 20, 2019, better known as junior. Oct, 2018 sugarlands says the history of moonshine and nascar made this partnership the right choice. Dec 21, 2019 johnson had a storied career in the sport which he won 50 races as a driver and 2 more as an owner.
Junior johnson returned to his moonshine roots when he became. Dec 20, 2019 robert glenn junior johnson, a moonshine runner turned nascar driver described as the last american hero by author tom wolfe in a 1965 article for esquire, died friday. With roots in running moonshine and fastpaced action, nascar auto racing is one of americas favorite sporting events. Pierce of the university of north carolina and writer of the book real nascar, said. Many future nascar drivers cut their teeth bootlegging illegal moonshine in. Not a huge surprise since many of the early drivers, mechanics and team owners in nascar were moonshiners. Just imagine the amount of booze that had to be moved on a daily basis. The 1932 ford model 18 contained a v8 engine with 65 horsepower, an upgrade from the model as fourcylinder, and for those running moonshine a faster way to avoid the authorities. Junior johnson, a racing icon who ran moonshine before. Junior johnson, nascar legend known as the last american. Jul 02, 2017 the nascar legend takes great pride in the fact that he never lost a race to officers of the law. As a driver during parts of the 19531966 seasons, he won 50 cup series races in a career that was interrupted for almost a year while he did prison time for making and running moonshine.
Over the span of his 14 year nascar career, junior won 50 races, including the second annual daytona 500 in 1960. Put the pedal to the metal on this quiz, and well guess your favorite nascar driver. Hauling illegal liquor national geographic youtube. In a twist on nascars roots in running moonshine during prohibition, two virginia distilleries, springfield distillery and bondurant brothers, are partnering with nascar driver colin garrett. How a group of daring bootleggers created nascar gastro obscura. Out of this meeting, the national association for stock car auto racing nascar was formed. With few options beyond the farm or factory, the best chance of escape was running moonshine. In the early days of nascar, several of the drivers were moonshine runners. Coronavirus brings distilleries, nascar full circle racing. Jan 23, 2019 moonshine was the fuel nascar raced on, while pretending it needed only gasoline.
Junior johnson, a racing icon who ran moonshine before nascar. Nascars brendan gaughan takes a shine to new business. Usually at night, and usually with police or revenuers waiting for him. How moonshine bootlegging gave rise to nascar travel.