(AP) – Robert Glenn "Junior" Johnson, a moonshine runner turned
NASCAR driver described as "The Last American Hero" by author
Tom Wolfe in a 1965 article for Esquire, died Friday.

NASCAR announced the death of Johnson, the winner of 50 races as
a driver and 132 as an owner. He was a member of the inaugural class
inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010.

A native of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, Johnson was named
one of NASCAR’s greatest drivers in 1998 after a 14-year career that
ended  in 1966 and included a win in the 1960 Daytona 500. He honed
his driving skills running moonshine through the North Carolina hills,
a crime for  which he received a federal conviction in 1956 and a full
presidential pardon in 1986 from President Ronald Reagan.