NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson dies at age 88

NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson has passed away at the age of 88 amid a recent decline in health and admission into hospice care.

NASCAR Hall of Famer and overall stock car racing legend Junior Johnson has passed away at the age of 88.

Johnson, a member of the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2010, was admitted to hospice care earlier this week just days before his passing.

NASCAR confirmed the news on Twitter with a very nice accompanying tribute article detailing Johnson’s amazing career, a career as a legendary driver, mechanic and team owner that spanned from the sport’s moonshining roots to its modern era.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France had this to say about his passing.

"“Junior Johnson truly was the ‘Last American Hero’. From his early days running moonshine through the end of his life, Junior wholly embodied the NASCAR spirit. He was an inaugural NASCAR Hall of Famer, a nod to an extraordinary career as both a driver and team owner. Between his on-track accomplishments and his introduction of Winston to the sport, few have contributed to the success of NASCAR as Junior has. The entire NASCAR family is saddened by the loss of a true giant of our sport, and we offer our deepest condolences to Junior’s family and friends during this difficult time.”"

Johnson competed in 313 races over the course of his 14 years in the sport, and he had a ton of success, winning 50 races, tied for 12th all-time, and recording 121 top five finishes and 148 top 10 finishes. He also took 46 pole positions and led roughly one quarter of the laps he completed (12,642 of 51,988).

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The Ronda, North Carolina native never won a championship and remains the winningest non-champion in Cup Series history, 10 wins clear of Mark Martin and 13 clear of active driver Denny Hamlin. However, he also never competed for an entire season. For example, in 1965, he competed in only 36 of the 55 races, but when he competed, he was dominant, winning a career-high 13 races.

In the end, his best finishes in the championship standings were his sixth place results in the 1955 and 1961 seasons.

Johnson won the Daytona 500 in 1960, and he did win six championships as the team owner of Junior Johnson & Associates, three with Cale Yarborough in 1976, 1977 and 1978 and three with Darrell Waltrip in 1981, 1982 and 1985.

Johnson was named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers back in 1998, and that distinction of being one of the top 50, no matter how much time passes and how many more all-time greats compete in the sport, will never go away.

In addition to his NASCAR Hall of Fame induction in 2010, he was also inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the friends, family and NASCAR fans of Junior Johnson as they mourn his passing, especially during this holiday season of Christmas and the New Year.