Lost one of my childhood heroes yesterday. RIP Junior.

https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2019/12/20/junior-johnson-moonshiner-nascar-legend-dies-88/

He was one of the last great founders of NASCAR. He was one that I never met, but I always wanted to be like. I didn't have a ton of heroes as a kid, but the likes of Junior, Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, and David Pearson were among them. I grew up right in the heart of NASCAR and loved hearing these guys talk about the best years of racing. (no, I am not a hater of modern NASCAR) Just seems like these back woods hillbillies were smarter and more innovative than anyone ever gave them credit for. Junior was one of the best mechanics in the business! 

It's a sad loss of a historical icon, but honestly I'd love to live to 88 and be able to look back and know I did half of what he did. 

RIP

Most memorable Junior quote (at least for me):  “if you don’t have a good garden, you don’t have good groceries...”

and 

“...to this day I believe the fastest car I ever drove was probably a shine car...”

I was also a Junior Johnson fan. When I was a kid working on cars with my father I always had to swing the jack around the car like he did for practice.  https://i.redd.it/lf92gff86wtz.gif

I got to met him a couple times when I was younger, once in Manhattan when they were here for the awards dinner and once at his shop in Ingle Hollow which was incredibly exciting.  It was like walking through a working museum as there were bits from pretty much every era.  
 

I never could take a decent picture, and with film you didn't know it was bad until it was too late to get another.  My parents picked on me for days when I got this one developed.

In reply to Wally :

Thats a cool pic!!

In reply to VegasNick :

I was so excited to meet him and get it, but I a stranger was drafted to take it and she snapped it before I was ready, and unfamiliar with a manual camera.  When I got it developed my mother said it looked like some old guy was bothering me for a picture.  I had been a fan of his since I was about 5 and when I saw him and asked for an autograph he told some random woman to take my camera and get a picture of us.  I met a lot of NASCAR people that day but Junior, Ned Jarrett, and Chocolate Meyers really stood out as the most fan friendly folks you could imagine. 

In reply to Wally :

I interpret your weird angry/constipated look as an expression of intense respect and admiration.

RIP