Dick Johnson (born April 26,
1945 in Queensland
, Australia) is the owner
of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former
racing driver. As a driver, he
was a five-time
Australian Touring Car
Champion and a three-time winner of the
Bathurst 1000. As of 2008 Johnson has claimed
over twenty awards and honors, including the
V8 Supercar Hall of Fame into which
he was inducted in 2001.
Early life
As a teen
Johnson attended Cavendish Road State High
School in Brisbane, Australia and it was in this area of
Coorparoo
that he first started driving with his father as a
young child. Cavendish Road State High School has named one
of their school houses Johnson, in his honour. The house colour is
blue.
Racing
Johnson started out racing an
Holden EH in
the mid 1960s. By 1970 he had worked his way up to the
Australian Touring Car
Championship. Despite becoming synonymous with driving
Fords, Johnson raced in his early days in
a FJ Holden then a
Holden
Torana.
1981 Tru-Blu Ford Falcon
1980, during the
Bathurst 1000, his
car was destroyed after hitting a rock that had fallen (or been
thrown) onto the track. The resulting public support—AU$70,000 was
donated to help rebuild the car—threw Johnson into the big time.
The Ford motor company provided a new car shell and promised to
match the donation dollar for dollar. His first primary sponsor to
escalate him into the big arena was Ross Palmer, owner of Palmer
Tube Mills of Brisbane, Australia, allowing him to return the next
year to win both the
Australian Touring Car
Championship (ATCC) and the Bathurst 1000 (with
John French. He won the ATCC
again in 1982 (the Tru Blu XD
Falcon), 1984 (Greens Tuff XE
Falcon), 1988 (
Ford Sierra RS500) and
1989 (Ford Sierra RS500). He also won Bathurst in 1989 (in a Ford
Sierra with
John Bowe) and
1994 (in an EB Falcon, also with John Bowe). The names Tru Blu, and
Greens Tuff were product names of Palmer Tube Mills. With much
larger budgets required in the racing industry, Palmer helped
negotiate for Shell to be primary sponsor.
NASCAR
In 1989
and 1990, prompted by Palmer Tube Mills who assisted him in
receiving multiple sources of sponsorship, Johnson made a brief
foray into the Nascar Winston Cup, entering a total of seven races
with a best start of 11th at Sears Point Raceway
in his first race, and a best finish of 22nd at
Pocono
Raceway
.
Dick Johnson retired from racing at the end of the 1999 season. He
remains in charge of the team, but his son
Steven has taken over driving
Johnson's famous Number 17.
Career results
| Season |
Series |
Position |
Car |
Team |
| 1970 |
Australian
Touring Car Championship |
16th |
Holden LC Torana
GTR |
|
| 1971 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
13th |
Holden LC Torana GTR XU-1 |
|
| 1972 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
7th |
Holden LJ Torana GTR
XU-1 |
|
| 1973 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
42nd |
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 |
|
| 1974 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
13th |
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 |
|
| 1975 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
23rd |
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 |
|
| 1976 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
28th |
Holden LJ Torana GTR XU-1 |
|
| 1977 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
22nd |
Ford XB Falcon GT |
Bryan Byrt Ford |
| 1978 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
10th |
Ford Falcon XC
GS500 |
Bryan Byrt Ford |
| 1979 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
29th |
Ford XC Falcon Cobra |
Bryan Byrt Ford |
| 1981 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
1st |
Ford XD Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1982 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
1st |
Ford XD Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1983 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
6th |
Ford XE Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1984 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
1st |
Ford XE Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1985 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
2nd |
Ford
Mustang |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1985 |
Australian Endurance Championship |
8th |
Ford Mustang |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1986 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
6th |
Ford Mustang |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1987 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
6th |
Ford Sierra RS
Cosworth |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1988 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
1st |
Ford
Sierra RS500 |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1989 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
1st |
Ford Sierra RS500 |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1990 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
4th |
Ford Sierra RS500 |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1991 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
8th |
Ford Sierra RS500 |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1992 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
8th |
Ford Sierra RS500 |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1993 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
5th |
Ford EB Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1994 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
8th |
Ford EB Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1995 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
7th |
Ford EF Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1996 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
10th |
Ford EF Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1997 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
7th |
Ford EL Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1998 |
Australian Touring Car Championship |
10th |
Ford EL Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
| 1999 |
V8 Supercar Championship Series |
10th |
Ford AU Falcon |
Dick Johnson Racing |
|
References
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