Pardon my ignorance: Who's Junior Johnson? Why is his Obama Endorsement important?

[RoadRage]

Is he a politician? Someone we've been hoping for an endorsement from?

Sorry - I just haven't seen his name until today..

Thanks for all info.

[Kookaburra]

1. He's a big deal in NASCAR

His influence is huge in NC.

[yardwork]

14. It's much more than just NASCAR.

Junior Johnson represents the white male working class south. His life represents the mythology of the working class guy from the backwoods who runs liquor and then starts a new sport that takes the country by storm. American ingenuity, fast cars, independence, entrepreneurship, not letting the government push you around... Bruce Springsteen writes songs about Junior Johnson. Junior Johnson is not just a NASCAR hero, he's an American hero.

If every Junior Johnson fan in the country voted for Obama...I can't even imagine how big that number would be. In essence, Junior Johnson is a hero to the exact same demographic that is least likely to vote for Obama.

That's how big this endorsement is.

[Kookaburra]

16. You're correct Yardwork

I just gave the abbreviated version/explanation. ;-)

[bluestateguy]

2. NASCAR is to North Carolina what high school football is to Texas

nt

[HughMoran]

Gosh giiirl! Your interests include sports!

:D

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Right, sports. Not NASCAR, sports. ;)

[HughMoran]

7. It's true that I don't consider it a sport

Yet....

Oh, and I drag-race.

[RoadRage]

13. Sorry.. never thought of "NASCAR" as a Sport...

Soccer, Volleyball, Hockey, Basketball.. i'm there. ;) But, driving a car in circles for hours.. HELL, I do that every weekend getting my kids around town - but I don't consider that playing a sport.. ;)

Thanks for the info!

[HughMoran]

19. As I said above

I don't consider it a sport either - just razzin' ya :D

[onenote]

3. Google is your friend

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junior_Johnson

He is an icon in the world of stock car racing.

[WI_DEM]

23. Yes, but if somebody posts a thread about somebody we shouldn't have to google to

find out what it's about. The thread should give enough information so that people who open it know what the person is writing about.

[hogwyld]

4. He's a demi God in the NASCAR crowd

One of the "founding fathers" for NASCAR racing.

[jaxx]

6. NASCAR is known to be a republican group.

That one of the icons dares to be different is news.....to NASCAR fans. A couple of the other ones have strayed too.

[CherokeeDem]

17. Well...that's not exactly true....

I am a huge NASCAR fan, as are most of my family and many of my friends...all of who are lefty Democrats. While NASCAR has it roots in the South...not all NASCAR fans are "rednecks" and not all are Republican. Oh, by the way, not all Southerners are "rednecks" either.

[ncgrits]

20. Thank you, Cherokee! nt

[Midlodemocrat]

LOL. I was wondering the same thing.

Thanks for asking this. :thumbsup:

[melody]

8. He's the Elvis of NASCAR

You're probably too young to remember him at his heyday ... either that or you don't have southern relatives. lol

[11 Bravo]

9. Hall of Fame NASCAR driver and good ol' boy.

[fizzgig]

10. thanks for asking

i've been curious, too

[CherokeeDem]

11. Jr. Johnson is a former NASCAR Driver...

Very famous moonshiner in his early days and then became a champion driver and later car owner in NASCAR. His endorsement will echo through the millions of NASCAR fans...especially since Richard Petty (the King of NASCAR is a Repub). Will this mean much in the long run? Most likely not, other than it is beginning to show that extremely diverse people are choosing Obama. That he is not appealing to the "lefties" but also to just regular folks.

[Elwood P Dowd]

12. Here is a good Junior story from The Daily Kos I posted in the other JJ thread.

When Junior first started racing on small dirt tracks, he was so good he picked up a sponsor quickly. He got halfway into the season, traveling from track to track in the Deep South, that he started missing his family. He called his sponsor and told him he was taking a week or so to go home and visit.

"You can't do that", his sponsor said.

"Why not?" asked Junior.

"Because you're committed!" the sponsor said.

"No," replied Junior, "I'm involved, but I'm not committed."

What's the difference?" said the sponsor.

Junior suggested they have breakfast so he could explain. They went to a nearby diner and ordered ham and eggs with grits and some strong coffee with a bit of chicory, and talked about this and that until the food came. Then Junior's sponsor asked him to explain the difference between being involved and being committed. Junior thought for a moment, then pointed to his plate.

"You see this? The ham and the eggs?" he said. The sponsor nodded.

"Well," Junior said, "the chicken is involved. The pig is committed."

The man has always followed his own good sense.

[RoadRage]

15. Great story.. :) Thanks!

[scheming daemons]

18. Junior Johnson is to NASCAR what Wayne Gretzky is to hockey

[onager]

21. "One of us had to get killed before NASCAR changed any safety rule."

I heard Junior Johnson say that in a documentary about NASCAR. Nearly fell off the couch. But there was never much love lost between many of the drivers and the France family (the Bushes of NASCAR, to oversimplify for illustration).

As Johnson made that comment in the documentary, we saw footage of his friend Glenn "Fireball" Roberts' fatal crash. Roberts' Pontiac rolled over on the roof and the fuel tank split. Fuel poured down to the lowest spot--the inverted roof of the car. Then it ignited.

Junior Johnson pulled Roberts out of the car. So yes, I think "hero" definitely applies, and not just for his driving.

Oh, before I forget--NASCAR's first two champion drivers came from the good ol' Confederate states of Pennsylvania and New York. So it's never been just a Goober Sport, as often depicted.

[bushisanidiot]

22. Wait, are you talking about Jimmie Johnson or Dale Jr.? That's 2 different

NASCAR drivers.

[applexcore]

25. No, Junior Johnson. He's a racing legend, not a current driver.

[RedLetterRev]

24. Here's a link to an earlier DU thread

that has some more info in it here.

For us Tarheels, yeah, it IS a big deal.

[mitchum]

26. Read Tom Wolfe's "The Last American Hero"...

Johnson is a living folk hero

[LisaM]

27. So I guess this means....

If the Dems take all three branches of government, we won't be able to get rid of NASCAR?


Damn!




:sarcasm: