“I’m Just Glad It’s Over” – 38 Years Back Junior Johnson Was Granted a Presidential Pardon by Ronald Reagan

There’s no sport in the world with a checkered past quite like NASCAR! With its history of the very first racers originating from America’s moonshine smuggling routes, there was one man who wasn’t just good at getting away from the competition on the track, but also the authorities on the road while hauling moonshine at breakneck speeds. However, when Robert ‘Glen’ Junior Johnson would try to run away from the authorities on foot, things wouldn’t end so well!

In 1955, Johnson had his first year in NASCAR, adding five staggering victories to his name. But his on-track shenanigans were halted for 11 months in 1956 after Johnson found the authorities waiting for him as he tried to light his father’s moonshine still in the woods of Wilkes County. While Johnson would dominate the sport as a driver and owner once he got out of federal prison, the perfect Christmas gift would come in 1986 from President Ronald Reagan.

President Reagan’s perfect holiday gift to Junior Johnson three decades later

Junior Johnson had missed out on an entire season of racing due to his moon-shining conviction in 1956. Even though he had never been caught by authorities while running moonshine in the North Carolina hills, a planned operation ultimately outsmarted Johnson. He was quoted by the Los Angeles Times: “They (revenue officers) found the place somehow and staked it out. When I got to the still, they came out of hiding and charged me with manufacturing non-tax-paid whiskey.”

Although the authorities had got the better of him, Johnson was focused on his budding career as a racer and was eager to get back on track. Once he got the opportunity almost a year later, Johnson would hold on to the sport’s golden era for 10 years in which he won 50 out of 310 races. But the winning didn’t end there as Johnson became a team owner in 1967. His team would go on to win 119 races, $9 million and five Winston Cup championships!

The overwhelming success he would go on to find in NASCAR, both as a driver and an owner, would make his illegal activities look minor in front of President Reagan, who had a soft spot for athletes. However, the journey to that point was a tumultuous one for Johnson, who had to wait for half a decade before his pardon request was officially granted. He shared, “I filed a request for a pardon just over five years ago. I hadn’t given up hope that it would come through, though I was told when I filed that it probably would take quite some time.”

The fateful day finally came on December 26, 1986, five years after Johnson’s request and 30 years after his official conviction. Johnson was granted a presidential pardon, and quoted by multiple sources as he shared his delight: “It makes me feel like I’m finally finished with what happened. I’m just glad it’s over.” He would also later call the pardon the “best Christmas gift I ever got”.

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Even though Ronald Reagan pardoned Johnson for his moon-shining shenanigans, the generational bootlegger has done his best to preserve his intriguing past!

Johnson was not one to let the community forget his bootlegging origins!

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Junior Johnson’s family moonshine recipe made its way to a distillery in Madison, which created the Midnight Moon Shine using it. Adding to Johnson’s contributions to the presence of moon-shiner memorabilia, he would also create a life-sized still for the NASCAR Hall of Fame!

In 2015, the Hall of Fame executive director, Winston Kelley, shared the story of how Johnson created the still when NASCAR wanted to honour its moonshining past accurately. A man working on a contract basis for Kelly had gone up to see what Junior was up to and reported back that what was supposed to be a miniature still was indeed life-sized! Unfortunately for Kelly and Johnson’s grand plans, the still was too large to accommodate in the allotted section. However, the team were hellbent on having the historic marvel installed.

Talking about the installation process and the conversation that ensued between the Kelley and Johnson, the former shared, “He looks at me and said, ‘You boys did want one, kind of like, we used back in the day.’, I said, ‘Yeah we were wanting something in kind of the 40s, 50s era’. He says, ‘That’s what we used back then. They’re a little more sophisticated now’.”

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It’s safe to say that Junior Johnson was not one to shy away from retelling and reliving his family’s legacy, even if it ended up getting him in major trouble in the past!