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 as Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Neil Bonnett, Terry Labonte, Bill Elliott, Geoffrey Bodine, and Sterling Marlin.

Junior Johnson & Associates

Owner(s)	Junior Johnson Warner Hodgdon (1982–85)
Base	Ronda, North Carolina, United States
Series	NASCAR Winston Cup Series
Race drivers	Bobby Isaac Darel Dieringer A. J. Foyt Fred Lorenzen LeeRoy Yarbrough Cale Yarborough Bobby Allison Darrell Waltrip Neil Bonnett Terry Labonte Geoff Bodine Bill Elliott Elton Sawyer Jimmy Spencer Earl Ross
Sponsors	Holly Farms Pepsi Budweiser McDonald's Maxwell House Coffee
Manufacturer	Chevrolet, Ford
Opened	1965
Closed	1996
Career
Drivers' Championships	6 (1976, 1977, 1978. 1981, 1982, 1985)
Race victories	132

History

Johnson's team started out in 1953 with him driving a No. 75 Oldsmobile at the Southern 500. The team was inactive for nearly a decade, but returned in the 1960s. Johnson scored 13 wins in 1965, and A. J. Foyt, Bobby Issac, Gordon Johncock, and Curtis Turner drove for Johnson the following year with no wins. Darel Dieringer scored 6 poles and one win at North Wilkesboro Speedway. LeeRoy Yarbrough joined Johnson in 1968, starting slowly but winning at Atlanta and Trenton. 1969 would be far more successful, as Yarbrough not only won that year's Daytona 500, but winning the Rebel 400 and the World 600, becoming the first driver to win NASCAR's "Triple Crown". Yarbrough added 4 more wins to his season total. With the manufacturer withdrawal in 1970, Johnson scaled back operations, fielding the No. 98 for one race drives for Donnie Allison at North Wilkesboro, Fred Lorenzen at Darlington, and David Pearson at Martinsville. Yarbrough returned later that year, winning at Charlotte. Yarbrough and Johnson entered only 4 events the following year, and remained inactive for two years.

Number 11 car driven by Cale Yarborough in 1976

In 1974, Johnson's team was revived when Canadian rookie Earl Ross left Allan Brooke's operation. He was later joined by Cale Yarborough. Ross would win at Martinsville and claim ROTY honors, while Yarborough scored 4 wins. Ross left Johnson's team after 1974, with Yarborough staying on. Tyson Foods replaced Carling as primary sponsor in 1975, and Yarborough would score three consecutive championships with Johnson from 1976 to 1978. Cale nearly won the 1979 Daytona 500, but was involved in a confrontation between himself and the Allison brothers on the final lap. After 1980, Cale wanted to cut back on his schedule to spend time with his family so he and Junior parted ways after that year. Cale recommended Darrell Waltrip, who came over from DiGard Motorsports with Mountain Dew, along with crew chief Tim Brewer. Johnson and Waltrip grabbed 12 victories and the 1981 championship. After Brewer moved on to other ventures, jackman Jeff Hammond stepped up to crew chief, grabbing 12 more wins and holding off Bobby Allison for the 1982 Championship. Additionally, Johnson sold 50% of his business to California investor Warner W. Hodgdon in 1982, forming Johnson Hodgdon Racing until 1985.[1].

Darrell Waltrip's No. 11 in 1983

For 1983, the team changed sponsors to Pepsi. Waltrip did not start off the season well, having a hard crash at the Daytona 500. Waltrip and Allison once again dueled for the Winston Cup championship. Waltrip got up to 2nd in points by Michigan, and despite grabbing wins at Bristol and North Wilkesboro late in the season, was unable to catch Allison and DiGard for the championship.

Terry Labonte driving the No. 11 in 1989

In order to win the championship in 1984, Johnson gained new sponsorship Anheuser-Busch through its Budweiser brand, and once again expanded to 2 cars. The No. 11 driven by Waltrip and the No. 12 driven by Neil Bonnett and crew chiefed by Doug Richert. The duo were a dominant force, scoring 16 wins between 1984 and 1986, with Darrell winning the 1985 championship. However, Bonnett left after 1986 for RahMoc Enterprises while Waltrip, concerned about his own lifestyle, asked Johnson for a raise and was fired the same year, departing for Hendrick Motorsports along with Hammond. Johnson would downsize to only the 11 for 1987, running with Terry Labonte. Though Brewer returned to the team as crew chief, Labonte scored only 4 wins between 1987 and 1989. Labonte departed for the Precision Products Racing team for the 1990 season[2] after planning to run his own independent team.[3]

In 1990, Junior Johnson, owner of one of the top NASCAR teams, approached Alan Kulwicki at the beginning of the 1990 season to try to get him to replace Terry Labonte in the No. 11 Budweiser Ford. Kulwicki declined, stating that he was more interested in running his own team.[4]

Before the 1991 season, Zerex ended their sponsorship of Kulwicki's team. Junior Johnson came calling again. Kulwicki turned down Johnson's $1 million offer thinking that he had secured a sponsorship deal with Maxwell House Coffee. Johnson then went to Maxwell House himself and obtained the sponsorship for his new car, which Sterling Marlin was hired to drive instead.[4]

For 1990, Geoffrey Bodine joined Johnson from Hendrick Motorsports for 1990 and 1991. Bodine finished 3rd in points in 1990 with 3 wins. In 1991, Johnson revived his second car, the No. 22 with Sterling Marlin behind the wheel with Maxwell House sponsoring. However, Bodine finished a dismal 14th in points while Marlin finished seventh with no victories. Bodine departed Johnson's team for Bud Moore Engineering and was replaced by 1988 champion Bill Elliott for 1992. Elliott and Johnson won 5 races that year, but lost the championship by 10 points to Alan Kulwicki. Marlin left Johnson's team for Stavola Brothers Racing after the 1992 season. Elliott stayed on with the No. 11 team, while the No. 22 became the No. 27 and hired Hut Stricklin with sponsorship from McDonald's. Elliott and Stricklin were both winless in 1993.

Bill Elliott in 1994

Jimmy Spencer driving the No. 27 at Michigan in 1994

Despite the dismal 1993 season, Elliott returned for 1994, and Johnson replaced Stricklin with Jimmy Spencer. Spencer would grab 2 wins that year, including a 1-2 with Elliott at the Pepsi 400, while road racer Tommy Kendall and Jeff Green drove one race each. Elliott would return to victory lane that year at Darlington, but left Johnson at season's end to form his own team. Johnson hired Geoff's brother Brett Bodine to drive the No. 11 in 1995 with Lowe's. Loy Allen drove the #27 with sponsorship from Hooters which he bought with him from Tri-Star Motorsport’s Elton Sawyer drove the 27 with Hooters for 20 races for Rookie of the Year honors, while Jimmy Horton and Greg Sacks drove the car for one race each. The organization struggled, managing only 2 top-10s with Bodine.

Johnson eventually sold off both cars for 1996, the No. 11 sticking with Brett Bodine to form Brett Bodine Racing, and the No. 27 team with Sawyer would be bought out by attorney David Blair to form David Blair Motorsports.

Team Statistics (Modern Era)

Car No. 11 results

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	Owners	Pts
1972	Bobby Allison	12	Chevy	RSD 2*	DAY 16	RCH 2*	ONT 2	CAR 27*	ATL 1*	BRI 1*	DAR 7	NWS 2	MAR 2	TAL 45	CLT 2*	DOV 1*	MCH 2	RSD 6	TWS 2	DAY 3	BRI 1*	TRN 1	ATL 1	TAL 3	MCH 2	NSV 1*	DAR 1*	RCH 2	DOV 20	MAR 2*	NWS 2*	CLT 1*	CAR 1*	TWS 4	2nd	8573.5
1973	Cale Yarborough	11		RSD 24	DAY 22	RCH 3	CAR 2	BRI 1*	ATL 5	NWS 6	DAR 19	MAR 2*	TAL 41	NSV 1*	CLT 3	DOV 2	TWS 4	RSD 24	MCH 6	DAY 36	BRI 19	ATL 2	TAL 6	NSV 14*	DAR 1*	RCH 2	DOV 25	NWS 3	MAR 2*	CLT 1*	CAR 3				2nd	7106.65
1974				RSD 1*	DAY 2	RCH 3	CAR 2	BRI 1*	ATL 1	DAR 5	NWS 2	MAR 1*	TAL 9	NSV 14*	DOV 1*	CLT 11	RSD 1*	MCH 27	DAY 3	BRI 1*	NSV 1	ATL 14	POC 3	TAL 4	MCH 3	DAR 1*	RCH 21	DOV 28	NWS 1*	MAR 11*	CLT 23	CAR 2*	ONT 3		2nd	4470.3
1975				RSD	DAY 3	RCH	CAR 1*	BRI 20	ATL 22	NWS 2	DAR 36	MAR 3	TAL 40	NSV 14*	DOV 27	CLT 2	RSD	MCH 4	DAY 26	NSV 1*	POC 35	TAL 41	MCH 3	DAR 19	DOV 4	NWS 2	MAR 19*	CLT 19	RCH 26	CAR 1*	BRI 20	ATL 5	ONT 4		9th	3295
1976				RSD 2	DAY 42	CAR 3	RCH 4	BRI 1*	ATL 3*	NWS 1*	DAR 25	MAR 2	TAL 2	NSV 1*	DOV 27*	CLT 3	RSD 7*	MCH 2*	DAY 1*	NSV 5	POC 25	TAL 26	MCH 2*	BRI 1*	DAR 23	RCH 1*	DOV 1*	MAR 1*	NWS 1*	CLT 2	CAR 5	ATL 4	ONT 23		1st	4644
1977				RSD 2*	DAY 1*	RCH 1*	CAR 6	ATL 3*	NWS 1*	DAR 16	BRI 1*	MAR 1*	TAL 2	NSV 2*	DOV 1	CLT 24	RSD 3	MCH 1*	DAY 23	NSV 4	POC 6	TAL 2	MCH 5*	BRI 1*	DAR 5	RCH 4	DOV 3	MAR 1*	NWS 2	CLT 2	CAR 4	ATL 5	ONT 3		1st	5000
1978			Olds	RSD 1*	DAY 2	RCH 3	CAR 18	ATL 4	BRI 4	DAR 15*	NWS 26	MAR 16	TAL 1*	DOV 2	CLT 4	NSV 1*	RSD 5*	MCH 1	DAY 2	NSV 1*	POC 26	TAL 4*	MCH 2*	BRI 1*	DAR 1*	RCH 4	DOV 2	MAR 1*	NWS 1	CLT 22	CAR 1*	ATL 8	ONT 2		1st	4841
1979				RSD 3	DAY 5	CAR 18	RCH 1	ATL 4	NWS 9	BRI 24	DAR 6	MAR 11	TAL 33	NSV 1		CLT 4			MCH 3	DAY 20			TAL 24				RCH 5		MAR 8		NWS 20		ATL 3*	ONT 3	4th	4604
			Chevy												DOV 2*		TWS 4	RSD 4*			NSV 2	POC 1		MCH 17	BRI 5	DAR 19		DOV 3*		CLT 1		CAR 3
1980				RSD 23		RCH 25		ATL 8*	BRI 5	DAR 12	NWS 4	MAR 4		NSV 3*	DOV 16*	CLT 17	TWS 1*	RSD 4	MCH 2		NSV 2*	POC 3		MCH 1	BRI 1*	DAR 29		DOV 4	NWS 10		CLT 2	CAR 1*	ATL 1*	ONT 3	2nd	4642
			Olds		DAY 19		CAR 1*						TAL 6							DAY 40			TAL 2				RCH 26			MAR 3
1981	Darrell Waltrip		Chevy	RSD 17																															1st	4880
			Buick		DAY 36	RCH 1*	CAR 1	ATL 36	BRI 1*	NWS 3	DAR 1*	MAR 26	TAL 3	NSV 2	DOV 12	CLT 9	TWS 30	RSD 1*	MCH 7*	DAY 10	NSV 1*	POC 1*	TAL 2	MCH 2	BRI 1*	DAR 2	RCH 3*	DOV 2	MAR 1	NWS 1*	CLT 1	CAR 1*	ATL 2	RSD 6
1982				DAY 20	RCH 27	BRI 1*	ATL 1	CAR 7*	DAR 23	NWS 1*	MAR 5	TAL 1	NSV 1*	DOV 15	CLT 22	POC 13	RSD 32	MCH 2	DAY 36	NSV 1*	POC 6	TAL 1*	MCH 7	BRI 1	DAR 24	RCH 3	DOV 1*	NWS 1*	CLT 14	MAR 1*	CAR 1	ATL 3	RSD 3		1st	4489
1983			Chevy	DAY 36	RCH 29	CAR 3	ATL 40	DAR 2	NWS 1*	MAR 1*	TAL 33	NSV 1*	DOV 2	BRI 1*	CLT 4	RSD 7	POC 2	MCH 4	DAY 20	NSV 2	POC 2	TAL 2	MCH 2	BRI 1*	DAR 3	RCH 3	DOV 5	MAR 3	NWS 1*	CLT 2	CAR 5	ATL 9	RSD 6*		2nd	4620
1984				DAY 3	RCH 2*	CAR 10	ATL 10	BRI 1*	NWS 6	DAR 1*	MAR 3	TAL 38	NSV 1	DOV 6	CLT 26	RSD 11	POC 6	MCH 3	DAY 31	NSV 2	POC 22	TAL 6	MCH 1	BRI 21*	DAR 40	RCH 1*	DOV 11	MAR 1*	CLT 27	NWS 1*	CAR 4	ATL 6	RSD 34		5th	4230
1985				DAY 3	RCH 3*	CAR 18	ATL 16	BRI 23	DAR 2	NWS 2	MAR 23	TAL 24	DOV 5	CLT 1	RSD 8	POC 3	MCH 2	DAY 3	POC 3	TAL 9	MCH 2	BRI 4*	DAR 17	RCH 1	DOV 2	MAR 2	NWS 14	CLT 4	CAR 1	ATL 3	RSD 7				1st	4292
1986				DAY 3	RCH 5	CAR 5	ATL 4	BRI 3	DAR 2	NWS 4	MAR 27	TAL 34	DOV 5	CLT 5	RSD 1	POC 40	MCH 5	DAY 4	POC 4	TAL 25	GLN 2	MCH 3	BRI 1*	DAR 5	RCH 29	DOV 14	MAR 4	NWS 1	CLT 9	CAR 3	ATL 39	RSD 4			2nd	4180
1987	Terry Labonte			DAY 18	CAR 8	RCH 5	ATL 4	DAR 32	NWS 8	BRI 9	MAR 5	TAL 2	CLT 6	DOV 3	POC 37	RSD 4	MCH 28	DAY 10	POC 6	TAL 6	GLN 2	MCH 33	BRI 4	DAR 5	RCH 8	DOV 32	MAR 3	NWS 1*	CLT 4	CAR 4	RSD 8	ATL 28			3rd	4007
1988				DAY 5	RCH 9	CAR 31	ATL 4	DAR 23	BRI 16	NWS 1	MAR 4	TAL 4	CLT 9	DOV 12	RSD 2	POC 32	MCH 3	DAY 19	POC 9	TAL 14	GLN 18	MCH 13	BRI 22	DAR 8	RCH 3	DOV 18	MAR 7	CLT 10	NWS 4	CAR 3	PHO 2	ATL 8			4th	4007
1989			Ford	DAY 9	CAR 18	ATL 36	RCH 30	DAR 18	BRI 24	NWS 5	MAR 5	TAL 2	CLT 39	DOV 4	SON 15	POC 1	MCH 14	DAY 6	POC 13	TAL 1	GLN 14	MCH 40	BRI 5	DAR 33	RCH 12	DOV 14	MAR 11	CLT 11	NWS 3	CAR 14	PHO 2	ATL 40			10th	3569
1990	Geoff Bodine			DAY 9	RCH 33	CAR 2	ATL 7	DAR 4*	BRI 24	NWS 8	MAR 1*	TAL 24	CLT 10	DOV 15	SON 4	POC 3*	MCH 3	DAY 25	POC 1*	TAL 17	GLN 2	MCH 7	BRI 11	DAR 8	RCH 9	DOV 36	MAR 1	NWS 16	CLT 36	CAR 4	PHO 8	ATL 2			3rd	4017
1991				DAY 32	RCH 13	CAR 12	ATL 23	DAR 9	BRI 24	NWS 28	MAR 20	TAL 6					MCH 39	DAY 2	POC 3	TAL 30	GLN 22	MCH 35	BRI 31	DAR 7	RCH 14	DOV 2	MAR 23	NWS 15	CLT 1	CAR 4	PHO 8	ATL 8			14th	3277
	Tommy Ellis												CLT 16	DOV 21
	Geoff Bodine	97													SON 8	POC 5
1992	Bill Elliott	11		DAY 27	CAR 1*	RCH 1*	ATL 1	DAR 1	BRI 20	NWS 20	MAR 10	TAL 2	CLT 14	DOV 13	SON 5*	POC 3	MCH 10	DAY 5	POC 13	TAL 5	GLN 14	MCH 3	BRI 6	DAR 3	RCH 14	DOV 2	MAR 30	NWS 26	CLT 30	CAR 4	PHO 31	ATL 1			2nd	4068
1993				DAY 39	CAR 11	RCH 33	ATL 9	DAR 14	BRI 30	NWS 10	MAR 27	TAL 22	SON 17	CLT 6	DOV 17	POC 10	MCH 9	DAY 20	NHA 9	POC 3	TAL 11	GLN 4	MCH 10	BRI 11	DAR 18	RCH 2	DOV 10	MAR 12	NWS 18	CLT 10	CAR 3	PHO 5	ATL 4		8th	3774
1994				DAY 9	CAR 39	RCH 12	ATL 32	DAR 3	BRI 30	NWS 18	MAR 9	TAL 19	SON 30	CLT 22	DOV 31	POC 10	MCH 11	DAY 19	NHA 16	POC 17	TAL 2	IND 3	GLN 12	MCH 7	BRI 5	DAR 1	RCH 15	DOV 28	MAR 3	NWS 6	CLT 33	CAR 6	PHO 35	ATL 38	10th	3617
1995	Brett Bodine			DAY 25	CAR 14	RCH 18	ATL 23	DAR 12	BRI 27	NWS 9	MAR 11	TAL 30	SON 29	CLT 35	DOV 21	POC 10	MCH 40	DAY 20	NHA 21	POC 15	TAL 28	IND 24	GLN 16	MCH 36	BRI 28	DAR 31	RCH 16	DOV 17	MAR 22	NWS 22	CLT 27	CAR 27	PHO 17	ATL 20	20th	2988

Car No. 27 results

NASCAR Winston Cup Series results
Year	Driver	No.	Make	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	Owners	Pts
1974	Earl Ross	52	Chevy	RSD	DAY	RCH	CAR	BRI	ATL	DAR	NWS	MAR	TAL	NSV	DOV	CLT	RSD	MCH 2	DAY 13	BRI 16	NSV 8	ATL 20	POC 13	TAL 10	MCH 6	DAR 22	RCH 15	DOV 3	NWS 4	MAR 1	CLT 20	CAR 8	ONT 8		8th	1009.47
1984	Neil Bonnett	12		DAY 4	RCH 5	CAR 28	ATL 33	BRI 11	NWS 9	DAR 10	MAR 5	TAL 23	NSV 2*	DOV 15	CLT 12	RSD 2	POC 14	MCH 17	DAY 9	NSV 10	POC 19	TAL 19	MCH 13	BRI 23	DAR 30	RCH 7	DOV 6	MAR 5	CLT 16	NWS 4	CAR 33	ATL 21	RSD 6		8th	3802
1985				DAY 10	RCH 23	CAR 1	ATL 3	BRI 19	DAR 6	NWS 1*	MAR 5	TAL 26	DOV 8	CLT 15	RSD 27	POC 5	MCH 8	DAY 12	POC 2*	TAL 2	MCH 11	BRI 3	DAR 4	RCH 9	DOV 5	MAR 9	NWS 10	CLT 42	CAR 15	ATL 12	RSD 3				4th	3902
1986				DAY 32	RCH 7	CAR 9	ATL 34	BRI 30	DAR 4	NWS 11	MAR 26	TAL 40	DOV 28	CLT 13	RSD 8	POC 23	MCH 25	DAY 11	POC 31		GLN 5	MCH 34	BRI 11	DAR 24	RCH 5	DOV 2	MAR 8	NWS 12	CLT 3	CAR 1	ATL 6	RSD 9			13th	3369
	Davey Allison																			TAL 7
1991	Sterling Marlin	22	Ford	DAY 2	RCH 9	CAR 33	ATL 7	DAR 10	BRI 27	NWS 22	MAR 28	TAL 4	CLT 11	DOV 15	SON 26	POC 8	MCH 13	DAY 8	POC 5	TAL 5	GLN 12	MCH 12	BRI 2	DAR 6	RCH 10	DOV 17	MAR 14	NWS 13	CLT 5	CAR 8	PHO 3	ATL 7			7th	3839
1992				DAY 35	CAR 15	RCH 7	ATL 17	DAR 22	BRI 32	NWS 8	MAR 2	TAL 4	CLT 22	DOV 14	SON 16	POC 7	MCH 32	DAY 2	POC 11	TAL 2	GLN 16	MCH 7	BRI 15	DAR 28	RCH 21	DOV 33	MAR 7	NWS 5	CLT 16	CAR 5	PHO 9	ATL 7			10th	3603
1993	Hut Stricklin	27		DAY 4	CAR 13	RCH 18	ATL 20	DAR 28	BRI 27	NWS 22	MAR 26	TAL 20	SON 10	CLT 20	DOV 15	POC 13	MCH 21	DAY 40	NHA 25	POC 28	TAL 12	GLN 17	MCH 34	BRI 32	DAR 36	RCH 17	DOV 29	MAR 23	NWS 28	CLT 23	CAR 24	PHO 36	ATL 22		24th	2866
1994	Jimmy Spencer			DAY 37	CAR 12	RCH 22	ATL 10	DAR 27	BRI 35	NWS 32	MAR 18	TAL 4	SON 26	CLT 19	DOV 39	POC 37	MCH 23	DAY 1	NHA 32	POC 24	TAL 1	IND 43		MCH 20	BRI DNQ	DAR 37	RCH 35	DOV 39	MAR 20	NWS 23	CLT 16	CAR 38	PHO 38	ATL 20	29th	2613
	Tommy Kendall																						GLN 22
1995	Loy Allen Jr.			DAY 17	CAR 28	RCH 29	ATL DNQ	DAR 18	BRI DNQ																										37th	1820
	Jeff Purvis									NWS DNQ
	Elton Sawyer										MAR 20	TAL 27	SON DNQ	CLT 25	DOV 41		MCH 23		NHA 23	POC 29	TAL 14	IND 41	GLN 29	MCH 21	BRI DNQ	DAR 32	RCH 38	DOV 40	MAR 33	NWS 34	CLT 28	CAR 31	PHO 30	ATL 28
	Jimmy Horton															POC 34
	Greg Sacks																	DAY 17

References

1. Smith, Walt. "Junior Johnson and Darrell Waltrip have formed NASCAR's most elite team". UPI. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
2. https://www.greensboro.com/labonte-chooses-new-racing-team/article_1ec39004-a2fd-513d-92f7-17221347d7ee.html
3. https://www.greensboro.com/labonte-chooses-new-racing-team/article_1ec39004-a2fd-513d-92f7-17221347d7ee.html
4. Golenbock, Peter (1998). The Last Lap. Macmillan. pp. 345–362. ISBN 0-02-862147-6.

External links

• Stock Car History Online