Junior runs a one-off for Petty Enterprises (1955)
Join me throughout this year as I take a look at when some of the sport’s biggest stars drove some unusual cars! (Presented in no particular order).
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| Junior (after becoming a full-time team owner) and Richard Petty, courtesy Autoweek |
Why? Very few drivers ran for the same team owner the entire season in the sport’s early days. So it’s not surprising to see Junior Johnson having run for four different team owners in 1955. But for a single race, Junior ran for his longtime rivals in Petty Enterprises.
How successful were they? Running the Petty Enterprises 44 car Johnson came home second in the Greenville-Pickens Speedway race.
What was the aftermath? Both driver and team went their separate ways, with Johnson later hitting his stride as a legendary team owner.
Ranking on the Strange-O-Meter? 5 “Durllll”s out of 10—Junior ran for plenty of different teams, but the fact he ran for his arch-rivals early on, albeit for a single race, is just bizarre.
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