NASCAR Lengend, Junior Johnson will soon return to NASCAR racing as part of a BGN team. Johnson will be at a press conference at the former Smokin’ Joes Cup race shop in Hamptonville, NC, on Monday at 11am/et to formally announce the formation of the team. Johnson will talk about his involvement with the team, announce the team’s sponsor, Overton’s Inc. and introduce the team’s driver, one that has extensive NASCAR experience. Another press conference will be held on Tuesday at 11am/et in Greenville, N.C., at the home office of Overton’s(NOL) – Junior Johnson is lending his name to a new Busch Grand National team being formed. Does this mean the legendary ex-driver and car owner is ready to get back in the sport? No. In return for the use of his name, the team will use shops owned by Johnson(SpeedNet) and some hints are given in this story(posted 3-24) by Larry Woody at – Laid-back Johnson just an advisor now(Tennessean), mentions Johnson as more of an advisor and Overton’s as well as a driver Chris Cook, who hopes to make his BGN debut in the April 3 BellSouth Mobility 320 in Nashville. In the story it also mentions that Cooks team rents a shop Johnson owns in Hamptonville(3-27-1999) – UPDATE 1: Junior Johnson’s race shop on U.S. 421 in Yadkin County is back open for business, with Kevin Sassar setting up a Busch operation for Chris Cook, a Late Model driver from Nashville. Johnson, who retired as a NASCAR team owner three years ago, will offer some advice to the team(PitNow) – UPDATE 2: Lengendary NASCAR driver/owner Junior Johnson made a return to the sport today, announcing he is serving as a ?????consultant???? to a new BGN team which will make its debut in the Saturday race at Nashville. The #65 Chevrolet Monte Carlo will run under the Sasser Motorsports banner, sponsored by Overton’s, Inc., a Greenville, NC, company that has become the world’s largest watersports dealer. The driver will be Chris Cook, a 32-year-old instructor at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix. Cook’s driving experiences include the Alaskan Grand Prix (three consecutive championships), go-kart racing, top-level road racing, the 24 Hours of Daytona and the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix. Cook was the Rookie of the Year, set the unofficial track record, won two pole positions, and notched multiple top-five finishes in the Late Model division at Nashville in 1992. The Sasser Motorsports team has a five-race schedule tentatively mapped out in this, its first season on the circuit. Crew chief for the Nashville race is Jimmie Wilson, a well-respected name in NASCAR who most recently served as a high-level consultant to various Winston Cup teams. The team is based out of Johnson’s former ?????Smokin Joe???? NASCAR Winston Cup shops in Hamptonville. The 68-year-old is not the crew chief or the team owner, and has no financial interest in the team. But his relationship with the team goes deeper than being a landlord. The Sasser involvement is about as deeply as he wants to get committed to racing, he says. Although Sasser Motorsports and Overton’s have committed to a five-race schedule for 1999, they team is aggressively looking to compete in additional events during 1999. And next year, Kevin Sasser’s plans to ?????have a little fun???? get ratcheted up a notch when the team hopes to go to a two-car effort – with Kevin Sasser as driver for one car(PR)(3-29-1999)
