Robert Johnson is rail thin and tall, very nearly a full head taller than his dad. The young man has the build of a basketball player, but instead, he plays lacrosse at school. Now, Robert has a new sport “ racing “ on which to concentrate and he has a pretty good coach during the early stages of his driving career. Others have turned to his dad for advice for years. When Junior Johnson talks, people listen. This is how far Roberts racing career has progressed “ he already has hero cards, and nice ones at that. On the back, a couple of his hobbies are listed as”driving ANYTHING” and”learning about racing.” Hes a freshman at Forsyth Country Day in North Carolina, where Richard Childress grandsons are also students. So far, there are a couple of cars in the Robert Johnson stable, one thatll run on dirt, the other on asphalt, with another machine on the way. Of course, hes using the #11, the number made famous by Junior Johnson & Associates drivers like Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott.”I started thinking about (driving) a few years ago,” says the 15-year-old Robert.”I kept talking about it, and finally got something going. I learn a lot about racing just from being around (Junior), and I decided Id see if I could do it myself.” “Hes been talking about it “¦ you know how kids are “¦ since he was eight, 10, 11, 12 years old,” Junior adds.”Hes all the time acting a monkey on golf carts and stuff. You can tell hes interested in it, and he asked me one day if I would get him a car.” See full story at Rick Houston’s Stock Car History Online.(1-26-2009)
