Junior Johnson: NASCAR's Most Notorious Cheater

Junior Johnson is one of the most iconic names in NASCAR’s history. Junior became one of the early greats in NASCAR racing after being brought up by bootleggers and even spending some time in jail himself. He had an amazing driving career and switched to team ownership, where he made an even bigger impact on the sport and cemented his legacy as one of the sport’s greatest innovators. Today, we’re going to dive into the legacy of NASCAR’s most Notorious Cheater.
Junior Johnson: NASCAR's Most Notorious Cheater
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[@raychapman1134]

The way you talked about President Reagan pardoning Junior makes no sense whatsoever. It implied that he was pardoned and released at the same time when the events took place 30 years apart.

[@the_Real_Grammy_of_6]

I thought the same thing

[@waynelowe1682]

I was literally just about to comment this... Reagan wasn't even president for another 20+years.

[@juhansuits6555]

Well - the mid-fifties was the time when certain Reagan era time travellers were known hanging around with their DeLorean. It seems we haven't been told the whole story.

[@BlacktoothPodcastClips]

@@juhansuits6555😂😂😂

[@gchampi2]

@@juhansuits6555 Nicely put...🤣🤣🤣

[@GregBrownsWorldORacing]

I went to Martinsville, it was pre-race and Junior Johnson happened to stroll by.The man got a standing ovation just for walking by, down in chicken bone alley. No announcement was made saying who he was or his accomplishments. The fans just knew. I struggle to think who else would get a reaction like that.

[@gregorygolden1296]

First of all Junior wasn't a cheater. Was a innovator. Second, Junior did way more for NASCAR than it did for him. Think Winston. He went to them for sponsorship and long story short, got them to sponsor the whole series for starters. He was a Incredibly smart. He helped make the cars safer. And faster.

[@borismcfinnigan3430]

You aren't the only person that loves Junior Johnson...But yeah it was cheating.

[@Houndini]

Totally correct. Jr. Johnson used their own rule book to his own advantage just like Smoky did. They were owners &/ or drivers That Big Bill France couldn’t control or threaten. And that is why both of them told France they just pull their equipment out & quit selling tickets for his own pockets. Today’s Nascrap is not even worth watching.

[@rkr7372]

The last of that timeframe was Harry Hyde.

[@rkr7372]

Thank you, you can’t consider it cheating if NASCAR turned a blind eye to it, I’m sixty years old and miss the old NASCAR.

[@CarolinaKid93]

Another contribution from Junior, with thanks to Budweiser pouring more money in for two cars and retaining DW, that set up the success for Childress/Earnhardt and Melling/Coors/Elliott and most likely their careers being more successful than if another path was taken.

[@SuperNASCARrocks]

Junior was one of those drivers who always found a gray area to work around. He was always known as that type of driver.

[@michaelhill7878]

You call it cheating Junior called it innovating.

[@normanreyome8237]

Love this man.... There is a story about Junior being quizzed by an owner if he was going to drive/race in the upcoming season over breakfast. JJ replied that he wanted to be involved, but not committed. The owner asked him what the hell does that mean? Junior looked at his plate of bacon and eggs and said " You see this food here?... The chicken was involved, ... but the pig was committed....." AWESOME

[@israelmathes6268]

He was talking to Bill France Sr.

[@douglinn1583]

Can you imagine a car built by Junior Johnson and Smokey Yunick?

[@DTittle]

And put Cale Yarborough,Dale Earnhardt or David Pearson in it.

[@currentbatches6205]

No, and neither could the NASCAR tech inspectors.

[@user-lj1sf8ew7t]

Junior and Smokey must be rolling in their graves over the spec car that the weenies are driving now.

[@danielfoster3642]

That could have been amazing to see.

[@danielfoster3642]

Junior Johnson was a character who did things his way, both as a driver and as an owner.

[@Johnnycdrums]

J.J. was straight up badass, like from an ancient race.

[@the_Real_Grammy_of_6]

It seems to me that the biggest cheater in this story is NASCAR. Actually NASCAR has always been the biggest cheater…looking the other way when it suits them

[@mikecross4350]

GM bought nascar over and over when they needed to catch up

[@rkr7372]

You left out the fact Junior was the first competitor to bring a air compressor to the track, he also modified a Jack so you only had pump it three times to get the car high enough to change a tire. I appreciate the video.

[@ryanstuckey8677]

it was Leonard wood who modified the jack not jr

[@user-gm2tw4ft8y]

He was a Goodwood with his stock car. He was on slicks and it started raining during his run. After, in the press tent, a reporter asked him how his car handled in the rain. His reply was priceless "It don't"

[@MorganOtt-ne1qj]

Jr. Johnson was a driver, engineer, crew chief, and owner at the same time. Not a pretty boy that turns a steering wheel, but a DRIVER, that knew what he could do behind the wheel. So maybe he ran a little 'shine in his early days...😮👍👍

[@sammylacks4937]

IMO there's not another single person that did more to help NASCAR , the drivers and was an innovator in the progress of the cars than Junior. All the while under the guise of a down home country person. He was one of the smartest people and at least for awhile couldn't even write his name. Nothing but respect here. Thanks Jr. RIP our friend.

[@Widnu]

Funny thing, I saw an interview with David Pearson, they were asking him if he was upset that he wasn't in the inaugural class of the Nascar "HOF" - He was upset alright but not about being excluded. He was upset that Junior Johnson wasn't, in the inaugural class, from David's perspective he explained that Junior got Winston cup sponsorship etc; Called him the most important figure in Nascar. Just wanted to share.🏆

[@blucheer8743]

Jr was one of the rare characters that combine great talent for what he was doing with complete fearlessness! One of the most confident men to ever walk the earth!

[@JeffIbach]

Washington 500 1991 Junior Johnson brought the Budweiser car and failed tech twice. The next day during pre race interview the driver of this car said “yea we had the Bud Light car here yesterday” 😂

[@phoenixkazmerik481]

Great video man. Although at 6:52 you say Waltrip won twelve races and the championship in back to back seasons of 1980 and 81. Dale won in 1980, Darrell was 81 and 82.

[@HMods1991]

Yeah, the Reagan part was worded poorly. You should’ve said which then he was later pardoned by Reagan in 1986.

[@jok3r906]

Their are three areas in life... Green, red, and gray. Junior loved the gray area, and found ways around the rules

[@BloodRaven1969]

With the exception of 2 cars that NASCAR made it clear they'd let slide through it wasn't so much ways arounf the rules as rules NASCAR had no idea they wanted to have until Jr showed them they did. Same goes for Smokey Yunic

[@wsbill14224]

The colorful characters and the never-ending arms race of "cheating" is what made NASCAR fun to watch. It's a joke now. No credibility left. I miss the old guys and the old cars. They were fun. I don't think fun is legal anymore.

[@bradbarley6639]

The most notorious and creative one was Smokey Yunick by far.

[@user-jf4nj3ez2k]

Yep. No doubt.

[@mikedurhan9941]

Yeah, but Smokey pushed it too far and became a pain in the arse to NASCAR. Junior did not; he was smarter than that...........

[@danielfoster3642]

Absolutely.

[@burnout9069]

@@mikedurhan9941 The way I always read into it, was. NASCAR expected him to be cheating the moment he showed up, and would ride his ass to no end. But like jj. He was just being creative with the rulebook. Im sure there was more politics in the back ground that has been missed in that part of history.

[@mikedurhan9941]

@@burnout9069 Whatever you wish to think.......... In Smokey's day, it was still the era where you began with a stock car. You could "race prep" it, and what you could change is what the rules specified. Smokey took the opposite approach, to wit: "If the rules don't say you can't, then you can". That was not the spirit of the sport in that day. His focus was on racing in 1958; by 1968 it was souly on cheating. Smokey became impressed with himself as being good at it (cheating). What he really became was a pain in the neck to NASCAR. He went way too far. He wasted their time - they wanted him gone...........

[@michaelhutto2521]

smoky yunick was the worst documented cheater,he was doing stuff that they had to create new rules on-lol,to get extra fuel in his car,they had regulations on gas tanks,but no rules on fuel lines,he used to snake fuel lines all over the car to get extra fuel in-lol

[@KarenSimon-se3ez]

Johnson was an incredible driver and very very smart! He was good at every thing he tried!

[@kevinbarrett9615]

Immortalized by Springsteen in the song Cadillac Ranch , and in the movie Last American Hero.

[@vr6swp]

Johnson was often quoted as saying the fastest car he ever drove was a moonshine hauler, not a NASCAR stocker

[@MoterSport33]

Stock car

[@pauljanssen7594]

The one rule of thumb for cheaters is this, it's only cheating if you get caught.😊

[@lookingthroughice7843]

Jr Johnson is a legend. One of the best drivers ever on track or on the road.

[@danielfoster3642]

He certainly was.

[@JC-gw3yo]

JJ was certainly a major presence in NASCAR.. We need more characters like him

[@pughoneycutt1986]

And never discount the love part of that last quote, because that car is not just your income it is your freedom

[@RealisticFisHed]

I always thought it was really cool that he also got a voice cameo in Cars 3

[@paulday5722]

I still enjoy NASCAR but I miss the days when true innovation and finding slick ways around the rule book were an integral part of the sport. Crew Chiefs were admired for their ingenuity and having the guts to try getting away with it. Nowadays, officials and fans act like you are an axe murderer if you put a piece of tape in the wrong spot.

[@albertcoburn5674]

"It ain't cheatin if its a technical advantage."

[@marks8603]

It's not a crime the first time.... Junior was a GENIUS at bending the rules..

[@michaelhill7878]

Meh ever hear of Curtis Turner and Smokey Yunick?

[@plantfeeder6677]

He's up there with the best. I always looked at cheating as creative interpretations of the rulebook of which the creativity part I wasn't blessed with. So let your driving do the talking. The desire to win is in all of us some will go to great lengths to make sure that happens.

[@currentbatches6205]

11:33 - The bagging of the sand...

[@williambowen1771]

Junior never cheated. He innovated. I'm sure he helped rewrite the nascar rulebook though. Can't cheat if it's not in the book

[@smokeymchaggis73]

I think Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon would have something to say about the only driver & owner worthy HoF careers.

[@israelmathes6268]

During Richards time Lee owned Petty Enterprises. In the 80s when Richard took ownership he didn't fair so well.

[@smokeymchaggis73]

@@israelmathes6268 so what? He's Richard Petty. His contribution to the sport as an owner is worthy of the HoF even if Petty Enterprise never won a race

[@israelmathes6268]

@@smokeymchaggis73I agree. He is a HOF owner as well. I was just stating that as an Owner Junior Johnson had more success. If Adam would have lived I think Petty would have had more Championships then Hendrick Motorsports. I meant no disrespect to the King. I love Petty's especially Maurice.

[@velvetjones1856]

Johnson was arrested in 1956 and Reagan was president between 1981-1989. He may have pardoned him when in office, but that didn't get him released from prison in 1956. Ronnie was doing General Electric Theater on TV in 1956.

[@Johnnycdrums]

Also an MC at the Apollo Theatre, NYC.

[@danielfoster3642]

General Electric Theater. Never heard of that before. You intrigue me.

[@user-yy7pd6su2c]

I seem to remember bill elliotts narrow t bird

[@noobs4life303]

Great video but ........ I'm not sure that Junior Johnson is the most "innovative." Certainly he's in the top 3 but I think Smokey Yunick may have him beat. IF you can get your hands on a copy I HIGHLY recommend "Best Damn Garage in Town." In all of the research I've done over the years the one thing in reference to Yunick that I saw time and time again was his assertion that "I never broke the rules. The rule didn't exist until after they found out that I was doing it." 😂 And typically I have found that others will back up his claim. It wasn't illegal until after Smokey had done it. 🤔 Now that I think about it, maybe this video is correct. Like I said it wasn't illegal when Smokey did it, BUT he sure was responsible for a ton of rule additions, amendments and changes.

[@lynnd1811]

Jr Johnson wasn't arrested for running his own still. On a Biography Channel interview Jr stated that his Daddy was feeling a bit under the weather and told Jr to go check the still, when he did the revenuers arrested him. Jr started that he loved and respected his Daddy so much that if he had known beforehand that he would have been arrested he would have gone to check the still anyway. He then told stories about having so much moonshine in the house he and the other kids had to crawl over the boxes of shine to get in and out of bed.

[@donsimonsen1658]

The rear exhaust pipes,, Also prevented others cars from from Drafting..

[@BloodRaven1969]

That was the biggest part. Anyone trying to draft was breathing nothing but tha5t Torino's exhaust while the exhaust screw up the slip stream off the back end of that fastback body. Big 68/69 Torino fanatic so I ask the older guys into them about that exhast effect. Was interest to learn.

[@Johnnycdrums]

@@BloodRaven1969; Lol, nothing stock about those tail pipes, other than going out the back.

[@FormerFBISpecialAgent]

Very interesting history! On the Ronald Regan pardon, Regan DID indeed pardon Junior Johnson, but in 1985. That effectively cleared his record, allowed him to vote, and allowed him to participate in the community without being restricted by a felony. The VAST majority of presidential pardons are AFTER a person has served their time and have proven they are a valuable member of the community. I used to work on these behind the scenes and do background checks and interviews to give the President the full picture of who is requesting a pardon.

[@caltiki3090]

It’s debatable between him and Smokey……………

[@mikechurch2359]

Junior was something special he help make it what it was / is there would be no Winston cup if no for junior

[@abcullens2328]

The rear exhaust helped Junior Johnson's car in this way, if another driver tried to draft behind the Junior Johnson car it would cause the car behind to overheat from the hot exhaust. Also the driver in the car behind him would be inhaling the exhaust fumes. This prevented drafting. And Reagan was making cowboy movies in the 50s. Thanks for the video I enjoyed it.

[@Johnnycdrums]

MC at the Apollo Theatre, NYC.

[@jsmith282]

My opinion just like smokey if it's not in the rule book it's fair game

[@user-gm2tw4ft8y]

I remember when his car went through tech and they found a number fails. When he was later asked what he thought, his response was "They only scratched the surface"

[@jebediahgentry7029]

I would say Smokey Yunick is the most notorious cheater

[@mikeskidmore6754]

The rear exhaust prevented other cars from drafting behind the car with rear exhaust. It would blow hot air into the radiator and the hot exhaust fumes were terrible for the driver in the back .. So NASCAR banned rear exhaust exits..

[@alexsweet8585]

Nobody's more notorious for cheating than Smokey Yunick.

[@Lesposito25]

You’re not going to say why the PRESEDENT pardoned junior? Seems pretty important

[@elijahrebello1]

I would be more interested in getting the president right, Reagan was president in the 80s not 60s

[@Johnnycdrums]

@@elijahrebello1; Who are you blaming, Eisenhower?

[@elijahrebello1]

No. Video states that Reagan pardoned him in the 60s. Someone else clarified that Reagan cleared his record in the 80s. I guess that’s considered a pardon, but he didn’t get away with anything.? Just seems like a major error given the content of the video.

[@Johnnycdrums]

@@elijahrebello1; It was implied, not stated, as such. I give him a pass, as it was an error, obviously not wanted .

[@m42037]

The 65 galaxies were underrated, let's see today's drivers race these @165mph at Daytona

[@chiefkikyerass7188]

And that's was when tires and tracks sucked

[@royhoco5748]

not a mention of how Jr. brought Winston into racing as a major sponsor

[@shanew.williams]

I liked for the video clips & pics.

[@roberthartmaier6643]

Junior was also the guy who was responsible for R.J. Reynolds sponsoring the Winston Cup that awarded 1 Million to the driver who won the championship. This increased the popularity of NASCAR and made it a nationwide sport instead of a southeastern minor league one.

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

I thought all bananas are yellow. If this car was orange would it have been the Orange Orange?

[@johncmitchell4941]

Banana for the 'bent' bodywork, tilted down in front and up in the back. That JJ painted it yellow might have been him playing to that from the get go. Did the nickname begin in the shop and catch on as expected? Hmm. A clever man he was, and with a sense of humor.

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

@@johncmitchell4941 Hahaha. Thanks for clearing that up. 👍

[@Johnnycdrums]

@@johncmitchell4941; Changing the 66' Galaxie body, front and back must have took some doing, espesially the back end. Very subtle in the back, just I can't tell where it starts, it's totally blended. Big fan of the 66' 7 Litre Ford in stock form here, as it's a beatiful design in my book.

[@spyder7724]

Re-writing history. Reagan President in 1955?

[@TheSilvert8008]

I blame the Doc Brown paradox. ☺

[@Mbartel500]

In the early days of stock car racing…if you weren't cheating, you weren't winning.

[@mrbigw100]

Darrell waltrip told a story about the time he drove jr Johnson cars he would get a rench and open a door in the jack point and drop lead shot out of the chassis to make it lighter and was caught in a race when he spun out and slid down pit road and there was only 2 cars on pit road and lead shot went everywhere the door was in the jack stop so when they jacked up the car to look for where it would of come out of there covered the door with the jack 😂 he also used lead radios and helmet s when they weighed the cars

[@Dr.J.Garlock]

1956 Presidential pardon by Ronald Regan? Not sure that was possible!

[@royb.1441]

I swear - it feels like every driver's origin story has them as the first person to discover and use drafting

[@oldmanfunky4909]

Nascar coined the slogan "If your not cheating, your not trying!"

[@brianmaricle9646]

Having an edge on the law was part of moonshining so having an edge in racing shouldn't be considered cheating since moonshining gave us NASCAR

[@DrewWolf-xk7sk]

Beside this video having factual inaccuracies and distortions, there is a wonderful indie film from 1973 called The Last American Hero. It’s available thru streaming services. The film features a song called “I’ve Got a Name” by Jim Croce who had died just days before the film’s release.

[@geofjones9]

The headline said Johnson was a notorius cheater. Smokey Yunick was famous for bending the rules, but this clip said very little a bout Johnson cheating. The "inovations" he created were not illegal, just new.

[@ryangold8517]

They weren't rule breakers, they were rule makers

[@54Rocketeer]

Shocking voice over!

[@pok30306]

Great video. Minor stat correction, Sterling Marlin never won for Junior Johnson, while Elliott, Bodine, and Labonte did.

[@kurtvanluven9351]

But Marlin's 1995 Daytona car used Jr's tricks to win.

[@fordenginebuildersv8power184]

It wasn’t juniors still it was his dads! Gonna tell a story tell it right

[@mikecross4350]

Everybody stretched the rules nobody cheated unless they got caught

[@kurtvanluven9351]

How about Sterling Marlin's 1995 winning car for the Daytona 500? It had 3 oil pumps, almost no oil in the pan and circulated through the rear end? (plus the X-pipes)

[@BuddyCorp]

I want a full video on the Banana.

[@Johnnycdrums]

Probably a FE 427 side oiler.

[@edmondcamp2878]

Darrell won 12 races each year in 1981 and 1982 not 1980 and 1981. Cale drove for Junior in 1980 winning six races five super speedway races and at Bristol and 14 pole positions.

[@elisamaria3628]

He actually sold his team to Brett Bodine

[@duanefalk219]

Wait a minute…you said Waltrip won the championship in 1980 and 1981. Earnhardt was the 80 champion. Pretty big thing to get wrong!

[@stealthbomber2127]

Smokey Yunick was great at cheating too. Chad Knaus is the new undisputed cheating king and nascrap let him do it.

[@dddevildogg]

Chad has the same last name as Melania Trump's maiden name...Anglicized from Knavs?

[@timothymooney4466]

Most of the things you described as infamous aren't, they are simply famous. Infamy denotes something nefarious, repugnant or scandalous.

[@scottboyd7368]

You are correct. But we, including YOU, knew what he meant, in context.....

[@cousinjohncarstuff4568]

Who was got fed up with after race inspection, jumped in the car and drove off with the fuel tank removed?

[@burnout9069]

Wasn't that Yunics car?

[@wingunder]

Wait a minute. Eisenhower was President in 1956, definitely not Ronald Reagan. @3:05

[@TanDawg58]

He wasn't just a cheater on track. He also had an affair while he was still married to Flossie, which lead to their divorce and his marriage to the young blonde (can't think of her name)

[@jasonthunders6551]

28 june,i share my birthday with Junior👍

[@chiefkikyerass7188]

Bro, Ronny was President from 1981-88

[@watajob]

Junior was VERY good at... interpreting the NASCAR rule book. However, I think Smokey Yunick was just a bit better.

[@Richard4point6]

NASCAR lost me when the France family discovered the word "parity."

[@RandomTrinidadian]

Renember.... if you aint cheatin', you aint winnin'

[@johnwhitaker1]

If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tyrin'

[@BlacktoothPodcastClips]

Love the quote at the end

[@mattskustomkreations]

3:05. Huh?? Junior was NOT in prison til Ronald Reagan pardoned him! 😅 He went to prison in 1956-57 when Reagan was still wrapping up his acting career. It wasn’t til 30 years later when Reagan was President that he basically vacated Junior’s old felony conviction.

[@ronbelanger4113]

What kind of professional racing series winks toward cheating ? Laughcar is the one.

[@rbell3109]

The video at about 10:00 is not the 1965 Daytona 500. Looks to be a 1968 race with a reddish color 1968 Charger 500 running in second

[@dougeldredge]

he also made some good country ham

[@danielfoster3642]

Ham and moonshine? Wow.

[@davecasey4341]

I always thought Smokey Yunick was the most notorious cheater in NASCAR history.

[@matthewmoilanen787]

Sorry but Chad Knause was Nascars biggest cheater. He even went so far as to tell Jimmy on monitored radio to hit the wall post race so Nascar couldn't use the templates on the car.

[@TheSports_Fanatic]

I saw Johnson and I was going to start fuming if you were talking about Jimmie

[@practicelogos53teamer]

😂 HMS fan

[@alparker8661]

I thought Smokey Unick held this title.

[@danielfoster3642]

No one knows for sure who the biggest cheater was in NASCAR history.

[@bullhornzz]

If you think he's a notorious cheat you should look into Smokey Yunick. 🤣

[@barbaraannen8126]

Reagan was not prez in 1956

[@robschannel4512]

If you ain't cheating you ain't trying.

[@cosmostrek512]

If you are not cheating you are not trying.😂😂😂😂🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@kevin2960]

Smokey was up there too

[@lsuhutch9570]

I love this video, but you have got to change that presidential/prison part. Editing department needs to reevaluate its process.