The Wide World of Dirt

Johnson ran a car primarily for himself throughout his career, and as his driving days wound down, he decided to give other drivers a chance to drive for him.

Future Cup Series champion Bobby Isaac drove a race for Junior at Mayock in 1965 where he led the most laps and almost earned the former bootlegger his 14th win on the season, but he came up short, finishing 2nd.

The other driver to hop into Johnson’s famed #26 car that year was none other than fellow NASCAR legend Curtis Turner. Turner attempted a comeback after a four-year ban from the sport for trying to start a labor union, and Junior gave him a chance.

Turner’s comeback didn’t go as planned with Junior, suffering from overheating issues in both races before looking for another ride.

As Junior began scaling back his own schedule, more drivers entered the car in 1966.

Including Junior himself, a total of 7 drivers hopped behind the wheel for Junior for a total of 26 races, and the group wasn’t lacking in star power.

Johnson himself ran seven races that season before hanging up his fire suit, earning a top-5 at Rockingham to round out his career.

Bobby Isaac drove eight races for Junior in 1966, and after scoring a 2nd-place run at Augusta in his first race, he collected just two more top 10s in his last seven starts.

Two-time Indy 500 Champion AJ Foyt joined the fray for three races, but he finished no higher than 11th. Future Indy 500 champion Gordon Johncock hopped in the car for two races, finishing an impressive 4th at Charlotte in the fall.

Curtis Turner ran three races as well, his best run coming at Columbia. After leading the most laps that day, he finished a disappointing third.

Fred Lorenzen’s one-race deal driving an interesting (and illegal) car for Junior ended in disaster after he crashed out of the lead in Atlanta.

Darel Dieringer piloted a second car for Johnson at Charlotte and finished runner-up, so the two struck a deal to run more races the next year after another solid run at Rockingham.

Though the 1966 season came and went without a win, Johnson helped set a solid foundation for the future of his team.

Dieringer and Johnson experienced their fair share of success together in 1967, including Johnson’s first win as a car owner without being behind the wheel himself.

Dieringer took the pole at North Wilkesboro, and after the green flag flew, he never looked back. He led all 400 laps on his way to victory.

The rest of the season was a bit of mixed bag. Dieringer finished 18th or worse seven times during the season, so Johnson began looking around for another driver.

The reigning champion of the 12 Hours of Sebring, Lloyd Ruby, drove the car at Riverside, but a blown engine derailed his day.

Toward the end of the season, LeeRoy Yarbrough drove for Johnson, and after a great run at North Wilkesboro, Johnson hired Yarbrough to drive for him in 1968.

Yarbrough ended up driving Johnson’s car part-time for half of a decade, and LeeRoy brought Junior his first taste of success since he drove the car.

Johnson and Yarbrough started off rocky, failing to finish the first three races they entered, but a stellar Daytona 500 performance where LeeRoy led 62 laps and finished second solidified the partnership.

The two rolled off seven-straight top-5s after that. Though they had a brief hiccup at The Rock, a second-place run at the Firecracker 400 set them up for their first taste of victory.

The two unloaded their #98 car in Trenton and put the car on the pole. LeeRoy led all but 15 of the 300 laps on his way to the first win between himself and Johnson.

In spite of a blown engine at Bristol, the two returned to the winner’s circle at their next race in Atlanta after leading the most laps yet again.

The two finished the season with those 2 wins along with 13 top 5s in 20 starts. A great season, all things considered, but it was nothing more than a prelude for their 1969 season.

After a solid run at Riverside yielded the team a 6th-place result, Junior and LeeRoy headed to Daytona, and after a mediocre run in the qualifying race where they finished two laps down in 9th, the #98 car started the Daytona 500 in 19th-place on the grid.

Yarbrough carefully picked his way through the field, finding his way to the lead on lap 161. He lost the lead 16 laps later, but he kept his car close to leader Charlie Glotzbach.

Like a lion stealthily pursuing its prey, Yarbrough sat back until the white flag flew before rushing past Glotzbach with a daring maneuver to take the victory for himself and Johnson.

That was only the beginning of their success together.

The two went through a drought where they couldn’t find a way to win until showing up to Darlington. Bobby Allison dominated the day, but his car faded toward the end of the race, just in time for LeeRoy to storm to the lead.

The two fought each other tooth-and-nail over the final 15 laps, trading the lead three times over that time. The battle ended with Allison wrecked with four laps to go, allowing Yarbrough to take the victory from the best car.

Junior and LeeRoy continued their winning ways by snagging another crown jewel race in Charlotte, throttling the competition by leading 274 of 400 laps of the World 600.

Yarbrough found himself in Allison’s shoes at Michigan the next week. He led the most laps, but Cale Yarborough (no relation) found speed toward the end of the race.

Cale sprinted by LeeRoy with four laps to go, and in an attempt to reclaim the lead, LeeRoy crashed trying to while still finishing fourth.

The loss didn’t hold them down for long. Junior and LeeRoy returned to Daytona and took no prisoners, leading the most laps on their way to another crown jewel victory.

A small hiatus in the season broke up their winning streak, but the two returned to form in Atlanta by leading the most laps and winning. I hope you’re sensing a pattern.

Junior and LeeRoy rounded out their season by adding the last crown jewel of the season at the Southern 500 where they, again, led the most laps.

David Pearson passed Yarbrough with 11 laps to go before LeeRoy shot him back by him right before the rain washed out the race and earned LeeRoy a trip to victory lane.

Another win where Yarbrough obliterated the competition at Rockingham ended the season for the duo, leaving their final win total at seven. In the 28 races they entered, they garnered 20 top 10s and led 15% of the laps they raced.

For context, Kevin Harvick led 15.4% of the laps he completed in 2020. This is the kind of stranglehold that Junior and LeeRoy had on the competition in 1969.

Their momentum wouldn’t last though as Yarbrough shrunk his schedule down for 1970, which was due in part to a testing crash at Texas World Speedway before the spring race at Martinsville.

Yarbrough lay slumped in his car unconscious until he was pulled to safety from the wreckage, and after returning to South Carolina by plane, close friend Cale Yarborough said LeeRoy couldn’t remember the accident.

Inexplicably, LeeRoy continued to drive throughout the season, but something just felt off from before.

Of the 17 races that they ran, Yarbrough led the most laps in a race once in 1970.

That came in the fall race at Charlotte. Yarbrough was involved in a three-car battle for the win with Bobby Allison and Bobby Isaac in the final 25 laps.

Ultimately, Yarbrough stole the lead from Isaac with 12 laps to go and cruised into the sunset, his final victory in NASCAR competition.

LeeRoy and Junior still remained competitive enough throughout the season to get 11 top-10s in their 17 races together, but both of them knew the end was near with Johnson hiring other drivers to drive for him in 1970.

Bobby Allison’s younger brother Donnie drove for Johnson at North Wilkesboro and finished third while Fred Lorenzen’s one-race stint at Darlington ended after a crash.

Defending Cup champion David Pearson also took the reigns of Junior’s car, coming around to finish 4th at Martinsville in the fall.

Prior to the 1971 season, the NASCAR landscape quaked after Ford announced it would remove factory support from stock car racing, leaving many teams and drivers in limbo with not a lot of time to make other arrangements.

Ford’s departure struck Johnson and Yarbrough in particular, running only four races in 1971 due to lack of funding, and they faded into the background.

Their final race together was at Rockingham where LeeRoy led a handful of laps and remained in contention until crashing with six laps to go, finishing 6th.

Johnson sought out a sponsor for his car as NASCAR and his team suffered money issues, and lucky for the sport, Johnson spoke with tobacco giant RJ Reynolds, owner of Winston, to become the NASCAR Grand National Series’ title sponsor.

Sadly for Johnson, he ended up without a sponsor, leading to the legend closing his shop after his final race with LeeRoy at Rockingham.