ROBERT JAMES "BOBBY" JOHNS - 05/22/1932 - 03/07/2016
a retired American race car driver. Johns raced in the NASCAR series in the 1956-1969 seasons, with 141 career starts. His first Cup start came at Columbia Speedway in Cayce SC in the Arclite 100. He started 15th; but was involved in a crash on lap 40 and was out of the race. His first top five would come in 1958 at Martinsville as he brought home his #77 Chevy in fourth place. He almost pulled out the win in the 1960 Daytona 500, finishing second to Junior Johnson. His first win would come at Atlanta in 1960, as he led 225 laps and outran the field by over a lap to win the Atlanta 500. He had two wins among his 36 top ten finishes and finished the 1960 season 3rd in the points. His other win would come at Bristol as he would dominate and lead 430 of 500 laps. He whipped the field by six laps in an impressive drive. He would run a hand full of races in NASCAR's Convertible Series in 1959. His best run came at Martinsville where he started fourth and finished fifth in the 36 car field. He also attempted to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 seven times, and succeeded in both 1965 and 1969, where he finished 7th and 10th, respectively. In 1965 he would roll off 22nd, but work his way through the field and bring home his #83 Lotus in seventh place; as team mate Jimmy Clark drove to the Victory and drank the milk. It was the first time a rear-engine car would win at Indy. In 1969, Jones started in the last row, and again ran a conservative race. Attrition
was high and many cars retired with mechanical issues. Johns came home 19 laps down, but that was good enough for 10th place. The creative genius Smokey Yunick went to Indy in 1964 with an unusual "side-car" contraption; that Johns attempted to make the 500 with. The experimental car never got up to speed and was not fast enough to make the field. It was a tough year to try and qualify, as 18 entries failed to make the race. Interesting fact, Bobby Jones was able to race in regardless of being conscripted into the United States Army. Johns died on March 7, 2016, in his Miami, Florida home at age 83.
Johns 1965 Lotus
Johns 1964 concept car by Smokey Yunick --->
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