Herman Austin Johnson (March 4, 1953 – December 10, 2016), was a driver in the CART Indy Car series, born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He raced in seven seasons (1979–1985), with 35[1] career starts. He drove in the Indianapolis 500 in 1982 and 1984. He finished in the top ten eight times, with his best finish in 6th position in 1982 at Atlanta.
In 1976, Johnson won the SCCA National Championship at Road Atlanta and was the 1977 USAC Mini-Indy Champion. Johnson had two serious pit fires in 1981 roughly a month apart from each other. Johnson's father suffered a fatal heart attack, just days before the 1982 Indianapolis 500.[2] Also during this race, Rick Mears bumped into the back of his car on a lap 183 pit stop. For his next race Johnson, who ran a business painting helmets, trimmed the back edge of his rear wing with the message "Rick...if you can read this, you're too close."
Johnson suffered a serious crash in practice for the 1986 Indianapolis 500. Johnson suffered injuries to his back and neck, and the crash effectively ended his Indy car driving career. After his recovery, Herm was known to occasionally compete in sports car and ice racing events.
Johnson resided in Eau Claire, running a custom painting business, 'Just Herm Designs'. The shop has done work for several Indy 500 winners, IndyCar, and NHRA Champions, as well as amateur racers. The shop specializes in custom paint jobs for helmets, race cars, and motorcycles. Johnson also served as a performance driving instructor[3] at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, Minnesota.
On December 10, 2016, Johnson died from liver and renal failure.[4]
Racing record
editSCCA National Championship Runoffs
edit| Year | Track | Car | Engine | Class | Finish | Start | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Road Atlanta | Lola T324 | Volkswagen | Formula Super Vee | 2 | 2 | Running |
| 1976 | Road Atlanta | Lola T324 | Volkswagen | Formula Super Vee | 1 | 3 | Running |
Complete USAC Mini-Indy Series results
edit| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Austin Johnson | TRE 16 |
MIL 2 |
MOS 3 |
PIR 1 |
1st | 500 | ||||||
| 1978 | Austin Johnson | PIR1 16 |
TRE1 5 |
MOS 14 |
MIL1 2 |
TEX 7 |
MIL2 5 |
OMS1 5 |
OMS2 22 |
TRE2 3 |
PIR2 5 |
4th | 773 |
| 1979 | TEX1 | IRP | MIL1 | POC | TEX2 | MIL2 | MIN1 19 |
MIN2 11 |
30th | 24 |
Complete CART Indy Car Series results
edit| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Pos | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Mergard Racing | PHX | ATL | ATL | INDY | TRT | TRT | MIC | MIC | WGL | TRT | ONT | MIC | ATL 7 |
PHX 13 |
24th | 98 | [5] | |||
| 1980 | Menard Racing | ONT 14 |
INDY DNQ |
MIL 17 |
POC 11 |
MDO | MIC | WGL | MIL 11 |
ONT 13 |
MIC 13 |
MXS 14 |
PHX 8 |
24th | 272 | [6] | |||||
| 1981 | PHX | MIL 22 |
ATL 22 |
MIC 33 |
RIR 7 |
MIL 13 |
MIC | WTG 9 |
MXC 8 |
PHX 9 |
17th | 38 | [7] | ||||||||
| Cannon Racing | ATL 17 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982 | PHX 19 |
ATL 6 |
MIL 23 |
CLE 13 |
MIC 34 |
MIL 16 |
POC | RIV 22 |
ROA 17 |
MIC | PHX | 26th | 24 | [8] | |||||||
| 1983 | ATL | INDY DNQ |
MIL | CLE 16 |
MIC 24 |
ROA DNQ |
POC | RIV | MDO 17 |
MIC | CPL | LAG | PHX | 42nd | 0 | [9] | |||||
| 1984 | Menard Racing | LBH | PHX | INDY 8 |
MIL 18 |
POR | MEA | CLE | MIC | ROA | POC | 32nd | 5 | [10] | |||||||
| Pace Racing | MDO 23 |
||||||||||||||||||||
| Jet Engineering | SAN DNQ |
MIC | PHX | LAG | CPL | ||||||||||||||||
| 1985 | Menard Cashway Lumber | LBH | INDY DNQ |
MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | MIC | 39th | 1 | [11] | ||||||||||
| Leader Card Racing | ROA 12 |
POC | MDO 24 |
SAN | MIC | LAG | PHX | MIA | |||||||||||||
| 1986 | Team Menard | PHX | LBH | INDY DNQ |
MIL | POR | MEA | CLE | TOR | MIC | POC | MDO | SAN | MIC | ROA | LAG | PHX | MIA | NC | - | [12] |
Indianapolis 500 results
edit| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Lightning | Offy | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1981 | Lightning | Chevrolet | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1982 | Eagle | Chevrolet | 14th | 9th |
| 1983 | March | Chevrolet | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1984 | March | Cosworth | 9th | 8th |
| 1985 | March | Cosworth | Failed to Qualify | |
| 1986 | March | Cosworth | Practice Crash | |
Notes
edit- ^ 35 starts do not include the 1982 Indy 500, as it was not a CART race that year.
- ^ "Johnson Says Dad was along". Archived from the original on 2020-04-21. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- ^ "BIR Performance Driving School Instructors". Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ^ "You are being redirected..." www.racer.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-15.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1979 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1980 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1981 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1982 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1983 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1984 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1985 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Herm Johnson – 1986 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
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