Slick Johnson
| Slick Johnson | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | February 23, 1948 Florence, South Carolina, United States | ||||||
| Died | February 14, 1990 (aged 41) Daytona Beach, Florida, United States | ||||||
| Cause of death | Basilar skull fracture | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 68 races run over 8 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 23rd (1980) | ||||||
| First race | 1979 Carolina 500 (Rockingham) | ||||||
| Last race | 1987 Holly Farms 400 (North Wilkesboro) | ||||||
| |||||||
| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 1 race run over 1 year | |||||||
| Best finish | 138th (1983) | ||||||
| First race | 1983 Mello Yello 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| |||||||
Julius David "Slick" Johnson III (February 23, 1948 – February 14, 1990) was an American stock car racing driver. A veteran of short track competition in the Carolinas, he competed in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series during the 1980s; his best finish in the series, second, came in a non-points consolation race at Daytona International Speedway. He was killed in a racing accident in an ARCA race at Daytona in 1990.
Career
A native of Florence, South Carolina,[1] Johnson started his racing career on dirt tracks at age 16; his racing career was interrupted due to his spending time in the military, however he returned to competition in 1968 at Cooper River Speedway;[2] Johnson also competed at other tracks in the Carolinas during the late 1960s and 1970s including Sumter Speedway.[3]
Moving up from local competition during the 1970s, Johnson made his first start in NASCAR Winston Cup Series – now Sprint Cup Series – competition in 1979 at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham, North Carolina, finishing 27th in his first race in the series. He would go on to compete in a total of 68 Winston Cup Series races between 1979 and 1987, posting a best finish of eighth on two occasions, both in 1980, at North Wilkesboro Speedway and at Rockingham.[4] Johnson also finished second, to Tim Richmond, in a non-points consolation race for Daytona 500 non-qualifiers at Daytona International Speedway in 1982.[5]
Johnson also competed in a single Budweiser Late Model Sportsman Series (now Nationwide Series) race in his career, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1983; he started 19th and finished 28th in the event.[6]
Death
In 1988 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Johnson was injured in a severe crash during a practice session.[7] Following his recovery, Johnson returned to racing in the ARCA Permatex Super Car Series season-opening 200-mile race at Daytona International Speedway in 1990. Starting last in the 50-car field, Johnson was involved in a crash on the race's 76th lap that left him with a basal skull fracture and crushed chest; Johnson had been hit by three other cars during the course of the accident.[7] Transported to Halifax Medical Center in critical condition, Johnson died three days later; he was the 23rd racing-related fatality at Daytona, and the first stock car driver to be killed since Joe Young in 1987.[8]
The accident in which Johnson was involved, in which a paramedic was also injured one lap later, was featured in an episode of Rescue 911 that aired on November 13, 1990.[9]
References
- ^ Siano, Joseph (February 18, 1990). "Experience Is Lacking". The New York Times. New York. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ "Cooper River Welcomes Back Slick Johnson". The News and Courier. Charleston, SC. June 27, 1968. p. 4D.
- ^ Watts, Dargan (June 30, 1969). "Johnson Tops Sumter Field". The Sumter Daily Item. Sumter, SC. p. 3B.
- ^ "Slick Johnson – NASCAR Sprint Cup Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ Hinshaw, Lydia (February 13, 1982). "Richmond Slips By Slick For Win". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Daytona Beach, FL. p. 4B.
- ^ "Slick Johnson – NASCAR Nationwide Series Results". Racing-Reference. USA Today Sports Media Group. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ a b Glick, Shav (February 13, 1990). "Driver Still Critical, but Course Worker Improves at Daytona". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ "Driver Dies of Injuries Suffered in Daytona Crash". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. February 15, 1990. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ^ "Candy stars in 'Uncle Buck' tonight at 9 on CBS". The Item. Sumter, SC. November 13, 1990. p. 7A.
External links
- Slick Johnson driver statistics at Racing-Reference
- "Daytona". Rescue 911. Episode #208.