Dick Johnson
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1945-04-26) 26 April 1945 (age 67)
Retired	2000
Related to	Steven Johnson (son)
Australian Touring Car Championship
Years active	1970-2000
Teams	Bryan Byrt Racing Dick Johnson Racing
Starts	202
Wins	22
Best finish	1st in 1981, 1982, 1984, 1988 & 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship
Previous series
1989-90 1990	NASCAR Australia NASCAR Winston Cup
Championship titles
1981 1981 1982 1984 1988 1989 1989 1994 1995	Australian Touring Car Champ. Bathurst 1000 Australian Touring Car Champ. Australian Touring Car Champ. Australian Touring Car Champ. Australian Touring Car Champ. Bathurst 1000 Bathurst 1000 Eastern Creek 12 Hour
Awards
2001	V8 Supercar Hall of Fame

Dick Johnson (born 26 April 1945 in Queensland, Australia) is the owner of the V8 Supercar team Dick Johnson Racing and a former racing driver. As a driver, he was a five-time Australian Touring Car Champion and a three-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. As of 2008 Johnson has claimed over twenty awards and honors,^{[citation needed]} including the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame into which he was inducted in 2001.

  Early life

As a teen Johnson attended Cavendish Road State High School in Brisbane, Australia and it was in this area of Coorparoo that he first started driving with his father as a young child. Cavendish Road State High School has named one of their school houses Johnson, in his honour. The house colour is blue.

  Racing

  Dick Johnson in the Holden EH at Lakeside in November 1969

Despite becoming synonymous with driving Fords, Johnson raced in his early days in a succession of Holdens. Johnson's first race car was a Holden FJ, his first race being at Lakeside International Raceway in November 1964 In 1968 and 1969 he raced his Holden EH and from there progressed to a Holden Torana GTR for 1970, scoring his first Australian Touring Car Championship points at Lakeside in that year. The GTR was upgraded to XU-1 specifications in 1971. Johnson's first drive in the Hardie Ferodo 1000 was in Bob Forbes' XU-1 Torana in 1973 when they placed fifth, and in 1974 he purchased an ex-Holden Dealer Team Torana which he campaigned until the switch to Ford in 1976.^[1]

  1981 Tru-Blu Ford Falcon

In 1980, during the Bathurst 1000 he started 2nd and led for the first 17 laps before his car was destroyed after hitting a football sized rock that had been accidentally kicked onto the track be some drunken fans. The resulting public support—A$70,000 was donated to help rebuild the car—threw Johnson into the big time. Led by its CEO Edsel Ford II who saw the value of the goodwill in the press surrounding Johnson's crash, the Ford Motor Company provided a new car shell and promised to match the donation dollar for dollar. His first primary sponsor to escalate him into the big arena was Ross Palmer, owner of Palmer Tube Mills of Brisbane, Australia, allowing him to return the next year to win both the Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) and the Bathurst 1000 (with John French). He won the ATCC again in 1982 (the Tru Blu XD Falcon), 1984 (Greens Tuff XE Falcon), 1988 (Ford Sierra RS500) and 1989 (Sierra RS500). He also won Bathurst in 1989 (in a Ford Sierra with John Bowe) and 1994 (in an EB Falcon, also with John Bowe). The names Tru Blu, and Greens Tuff were product names of Palmer Tube Mills. With much larger budgets required in the racing industry, Palmer helped negotiate for Shell to be primary sponsor.

  NASCAR

In 1989 and 1990, prompted by Palmer Tube Mills who assisted him in receiving multiple sources of sponsorship and through the company's American offshoot Redkote, Johnson made a brief foray into the Nascar Winston Cup driving a Ford Thunderbird, entering a total of seven races with a best start of 11th at Sears Point Raceway in his first race, and a best finish of 22nd at Pocono Raceway.^[2]

Dick Johnson retired from racing at the end of the 1999 season. He remains in charge of the team, but his son Steven has taken over driving Johnson's famous Number 17.

  Career results

  References

  External links

• Dick Johnson Racing official website
• Dick Johnson's Elaborated Biography