Junior Johnson is among the pioneers of NASCAR. In an interview dating back to 2011, he reminisced about his moonshining days and made some shocking revelations.
“Bootlegging cars was the start of race cars. We souped them up to outrun the law, and that’s where they got the idea to start racing. We’d find a strip of road and race our moonshine cars. I retired from driving in NASCAR when I was just 35 because, honestly, the speed and the danger I experienced running moonshine and racing on those country roads was greater than the speed and the danger I dealt with on the racetrack.”
Helping his family with their moonshining business in souped-up stock cars, Johnson went from racing with his peers to racing on the high-banked ovals.
After a long chase, cops got a hold of Johnson. However, with his achievements in the sporting world, he had all charges against him removed with a presidential pardon.