What's that you say? Yes, the title does say Junior Johnson, not Billy Scott, but please keep reading and that will become self explanatory. Before you continue though, just to alleviate any confusion, back in the day, as they say, there were two racers that answered to the name Junior Johnson. That's probably not surprising when one considers that Johnson is about the third most used surname in the United States, coming in behind Smith and Jones, and lots of sons are named for their fathers, hence, Junior Johnson. The one you probably are more familiar with, Thomas Wolfe's The Last American Hero, hailed from Ronda, North Carolina, just a stone's throw from the old North Wilkesboro Speedway. (Lord, I miss that track) The one cited here comes from Florence, South Carolina, a short drive from the Darlington Raceway.
Once again, as she has done with each story she has given me, Barbara writes in the third person, as if she isn't part of the story. Gentle readers, let me assure you, Barbara was an important and integral part of the entire story of Billy Scott's racing success along with all other aspects of his life. You will never meet a couple more devoted to each other and to spreading the word of the Lord wherever they go. In its infancy, the folks that viewed auto racing right up there with backstreet gambling and barroom brawling never met these good folks, because Billy and Barbara belied any such thought simply through their every word and deed.
Alright, it's time for me to back away and give the platform over to the lovely Barbara Scott. Please enjoy:
As has been mentioned before, Billy Scott had three track championships in the 1967 season. It was the most labor intensive and stressing year of his racing career. Two of the championship tracks were at least 250-300 miles from home. The travel was more difficult after working a 10-hour day shift.
He was driver of Marion Cox' car and they were racing three tracks regularly, specifically for the championships. The tracks were Starlite Speedway in Monroe, N.C., Charleston Speedway in Charleston, S.C., and Savannah Speedway in Savannah, Ga.. They were also running Columbia Speedway, in Columbia, S.C. on Thursday nights. As is well known, Marion "Preacher" Cox would not begin a race after 12 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Savannah was a Saturday night race, but the last race would be on Sunday. Billy and Dean Henley were in a tight battle in points, with this being the last race. Billy, Ralph Earnhardt and Junior Johnson of Florence were discussing the tightness of the points race in Savannah. Marion had already told Billy they would not take the car to race on Sunday. They all knew Billy's chance of winning would be over if he missed that one race.
As they were leaving the track in Columbia, Junior told Billy he should come to Savannah and maybe he would let him drive his car. We left home on Saturday morning with Billy's hopes of winning the championship all but gone.
He knew what the points were, as wife Barbara had kept all of the finishing positions from the scorers. Heat races were run as Billy watched from the top of Junior's truck in the pits. Ralph Earnhardt had won the first heat, with Junior Johnson on the outside pole.
As the track steward began lining the cars up on the track to begin the final race, Junior Johnson looked toward the pits and saw Billy on top of his truck. He motioned for Billy to come to the track, with his helmet. Billy moved faster than he did in some of the race cars he drove, to get to Junior. As he reached the car, Junior began to climb out, telling Billy to get in and win that race. Can anyone even imagine a driver getting out of a car he had put on the outside pole and putting a driver in, who had never driven the car? Junior did just that and Billy won the race, with Ralph Earnhardt a very, very close second. It was just as if the Lord Himself had gotten involved in the situation. Billy did not want to take any of the winnings but Junior wouldn't hear of it and paid Billy something for driving. All the way home Billy kept saying, "I wish I hadn't took that money."
After the last race, scores were tallied and it was listed in the NASCAR Newsletter that Dean Henley had won the Track Championship for 1967. Barbara did not agree with NASCAR and immediately called Daytona and filed a written appeal. She explained in her complaint that Billy had won over Dean by a mere 4 points. Once Daytona checked the points for the year, the Scott's received a letter from the secretary who kept the score sheets and posted them to the drivers. She apologized and said she had been trying for months to get a new adding machine, and thanks to the Scotts' NASCAR had bought her one.
It took a roundabout way to get to this point. It's not about the car, it's not about the points, nor is it about a championships; it's all about Junior Johnson who actually gave up a win to help a fellow driver's dreams come true. He could have won the race and gotten the glory for doing so. Instead, his thoughts were to help another driver from losing what he had raced for all year. More than ever before, the Scotts believe the Lord shows the best in people, at a time of need.
Thank you Junior and in our eyes you are the "Famous Junior Johnson"!!!!!!"
God bless you and we love you,
Billy Scott and Family
(****Note**** Junior Johnson passed away not too long after this article was written. Billy was happy he was able to publicly thank Junior for an act of kindness and love which will never be forgotten by the Scott Family.)
Well gentle readers, I don't know about you, but a story like that warms my heart and makes me glad to be involved in any small way with racing and the good folks that are attracted to it. Junior Johnson's generosity in stepping out of his car and out of the final race of the season so that a competitor might realize a dream is one of the most selfless acts you'll ever find in sports. Try to imagine a football player breaking free and running the length of the field with the ball only to hand it to a teammate to take across the goal line. Nope, that's not going to happen... ever.
Racers are, and always have been, special people. When you hear someone use the term, "Racing family", they are not kidding nor are they exaggerating. Racers and everyone connected with them, from track owner to car owner, all the way down to the lowly fan, share a connection that binds them together with that feeling of family. And so, my dear family... Billy and Barbara, you will be in my heart and my thoughts as you accept your richly deserved award Wednesday evening for being one of the all-time best Saturday Night Heroes. May the Lord always bless you and may He also bless the soul of Junior Johnson, a man who gave so much to others in the name of family and friendship. R.I.P. Junior.
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