CONCORD, N.C. -- Smiling ear-to-ear, 78-year old Junior Johnson declared his selection for the inaugural NASCAR Hall of Fame class "the biggest thing that's ever happened to me" in a storied career that included 50 race wins as a driver and six Cup championships as a team owner.When asked if being a Hall of Famer was how he'd most want to be remembered, the single recognition he'd like on his headstone one day, Johnson deadpanned with a twinkle in his eye, "I'd want it to say, 'He didn't cheat as much as everyone thought he did.' ...
"But that would be a lie too," Johnson added as the room filled with laughter.
The subject of the great Tom Wolfe classic, "The Last American Hero," Johnson wasn't able to attend the Hall of Fame announcement ceremony Wednesday in downtown Charlotte because of recent back surgery. But he watched on television, "and I will never forget when (NASCAR Chairman) Brian France called out my name."
