Joe Lee Johnson

Joe Lee Johnson (born September 11, 1929 - May 26, 2005 ) was an American NASCAR racing driver. In 1959 he was a champion in the NASCAR Convertible Division . He was also the first driver to win the World 600 , today's Coca-Cola 600. He is not related to NASCAR drivers Junior Johnson and Jimmie Johnson .

Career

Johnson's career in NASCAR began in 1957 in the race on the Daytona Beach Road Course , which he finished in 33rd place. In 1957 he only drove one more race. In 1958 he started in two races in the NASCAR Convertible Division , in which he was relatively successful. Therefore Johnson decided to take part in all races of the Convertible Division season 1959. He also drove a large number of races in the Grand National Division, today's Sprint Cup, in 1959 . He won one race in the Grand National Division and two in the Convertible Division, in which he also won the Drivers Championship. Johnson was the last champion of the Convertible Division, because in 1960 this series no longer existed due to insufficient interest. Since the Convertible Division no longer existed, Johnson focused only on the Grand National in 1960. He took part in 22 of the 44 season races. Eight times he finished in the top 10, six times in the top 5 and he won once. He won this one victory in the World 600 , which was held for the first time in 1960. After winning the World 600, he achieved nothing of note. He ended his racing career on August 5, 1962 in the Nashville 500 at Nashville Speedway .

Joe Lee Johnson died on 26 May 2005 at cancer .

Web links

• Driver statistics on racing-reference.info