Ricky Johnson

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This article is about Ricky Johnson. For other uses, see Rick Johnson.
Ricky Johnson
Ricky Johnson celebrated 2012 AMSOIL Cup win.jpg
Johnson celebrates winning the 2012 AMSOIL Cup
NationalityAmerican
BornRichard Bernard Johnson Jr.
(1964-07-06) July 6, 1964 (age 57)
El Cajon, California
Related to
TORC: The Off Road Championship Pro 4 career
Debut season2011
Current teamMenzies Racing
Championships2011, 2012
Best finish1st in 2011, 2012
Finished last season2nd
Previous series
2013, 2021
2009–2010		Stadium Super Trucks
TORC Pro 2
Championship titles
1984 AMA 250
1986 AMA 250 and Supercross
1987 AMA 250 and 500
1988 AMA 500 and Supercross
TORC Pro 2 (2010)
TORC Pro 4 (2011, 2012)
Awards
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame inductee (1999)
Motorsports Hall of Fame of America inductee (2012)[1]
1997 and 2003 Baja 1000 winner
1999 American Speed Association Rookie of the Year
2012 AMSOIL Cup winner
2014 Frozen Rush winner
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
12 races run over 4 years
Best finish31st (1996)
First race1995 Spears Manufacturing 200 (Mesa Marin)
Last race1997 Carquest 420K (Las Vegas)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 2 0
Last updated on: February 3, 2014.

Richard Bernard "Ricky" Johnson Jr. (born July 6, 1964) is an American former professional motocross, off-road truck and stock car racer. He competed in AMA motocross and Supercross during the 1980s and, won seven AMA national championships.[2] He later switched to off-road racing. He won the Pro 2WD Trophy Truck championship in the 1998 Championship Off-Road Racing and 2010 TORC Series.[3] He also won the Pro 4WD class at the 2011 and 2012 TORC Series. In September 2012, Johnson won the 4x4 world championship race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway and later that day won the pitting the two and four wheel drive trucks. Johnson won the 2014 Frozen Rush, the first short-course off-road race on snow.

Racing career[]

Motocross career[]

Johnson was born in El Cajon, California where his father was an avid motorcyclist who bought his son a mini-bike when he was 3 years old.[2] When he turned 16 in 1980, he earned his pro license.[2] He won his first 250cc class national championship in 1984 for the Yamaha factory motocross team.[4] For the 1986 season, he was offered a job with the Honda team by team manager and five time former world champion Roger De Coster.[2] He battled his Honda teammate David Bailey throughout the 1986 season, coming away with the 250 title and the Supercross crown.[5] De Coster picked Johnson, Bailey and another Honda teammate Johnny O'mara to represent the US in the Motocross des Nations in Maggiora, Italy. Team U.S.A. won with a clean sweep. Back home,[citation needed] he finished second to Bailey in the 500 class. The rivalry was short-lived as just prior to the start of the 1987 season Bailey was paralyzed in a practice crash.[2]

Johnson dominated the 1987 season, winning both the 250 and 500 crowns.[2] In 1987, Johnson also won what is considered one of Supercross history's greatest races in the Super Bowl of Motocross at the L.A. Coliseum.[citation needed] After crashing in the first corner Johnson came back from near dead last to pass Jeff Ward and eventually privateer Guy Cooper on the penultimate lap to squeeze the win. Johnson followed this performance by adding the 1988 Supercross and 500 titles to his name.

Johnson started the 1989 season strongly but suffered a serious injury when he broke his wrist in a practice session.[2] He would never fully recover from the injury. He soldiered on for a few more seasons but the injury proved too debilitating. He announced his retirement at the beginning of the 1991 season.[2]

At the time of his retirement from motocross racing at age 26, he was the all-time leader in Supercross victories. Johnson was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America[1] in 2012.

Career after motocross[]

Johnson went on to have success in off-road racing and stock car racing. He took wins in the famous Baja 1000 twice and was American Speed Association stock car series Rookie of the Year in 1999, driving for Herzog Motorsports as a teammate to unrelated El Cajon, CA off-road racer Jimmie Johnson.[2] Johnson ran twelve races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series from 1995 to 1997.

Off-road racing[]

Johnson's 2010 truck

Johnson founded the Traxxas TORC Series for the 2009 season. He sold the series after the season to the United States Auto Club (USAC) and he concentrated on being a driver. Johnson won the TORC Series Pro2wd Championship in 2010 after a season long battle with Rob MacCachren, the defending champ. This championship came down to the last race of the season at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway with Johnson securing a second-place finish to win the championship.[3]

In 2012, Johnson won the Pro 4x4 World Championship race on Sunday at Crandon's second race weekend. Later that day, he won the pitting the Pro 4x4 and Pro 2 drivers against each other.

In 2013, Johnson joined some Stadium Super Trucks races, with sponsorship from Jegs High Performance.[6] He did not return to the series until 2021 at the Music City Grand Prix.[7]

Johnson started 2014 early by competing in the Red Bull-sponsored Frozen Rush race. This inaugural event featured Pro 4 trucks racing with studded tires on snowy mountain slopes at Sunday River in Maine. Eight drivers from the two national series (TORC and LOORRS) were selected to compete head to head with the victory advancing to the next round. Johnson beat Johnny Greaves in the final round for the win.[8]

In addition to short course truck racing, Johnson has competed in desert off-road races. In 2009 and 2010 he was 3rd in the Unlimited Truck class of the SNORE Mint 400.

Personal life[]

Johnson now lives in Southern California with his wife, Stephanie, and their children.

Images[]

  • Johnson after winning a Traxxas TORC Series race in 2010

  • Holding US$40,000 check for winning 2012 AMSOIL Cup

  • 2013 Pro 4 Trophy Truck

Motorsports career results[]

NASCAR[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Craftsman Truck Series[]

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series results
Year Team No. Make 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 NCTC Pts
1995 01 Chevy PHO TUS SGS MMR I70 LVL BRI MLW CNS HPT IRP RCH MAR NWS SON MMR
25 		PHO 93rd 88
1996 Penske Racing 22 Ford HOM PHO POR
25
15 		TUS CNS
DNQ 		HPT BRI MLW LVL I70 IRP FLM GLN
30 		NSV RCH NHA MAR 31st 786
Billy Ballew Motorsports 15 Ford NWS
27
23 		MMR
21 		PHO
15 		LVS
38
1997 63 Chevy WDW TUS HOM PHO POR EVG I70 NHA TEX BRI NZH MLW LVL CNS HPT IRP FLM NSV GLN
8 		RCH MAR SON
4 		MMR CAL
DNQ 		PHO LVS
17 		48th 414
1998 WDW
DNQ 		HOM PHO POR EVG GLN TEX BRI MLW NZH CAL IRP NHA NSV HPT LVL RCH MEM GTY MAR SON MMR PHO LVS NA -

Stadium Super Trucks[]

(key) (Bold – Pole position. Italics – Fastest qualifier. * – Most laps led.)

Stadium Super Trucks results
Year 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 SSTC Pts Ref
2013 PHO LBH
4 		LAN
13 		SDG
2* 		SDG
5 		STL TOR TOR CRA CRA OCF OCF OCF CPL 8th 123 [9]
2021 STP STP MOH MOH MOH MOH NSH
13 		NSH
13 		LBH LBH

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Ricky Johnson at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i Rick Johnson at the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "Greaves, Johnson, Currie Crowned 2010 TORC Series PRO Champs; Douglas Wins AMSOIL Cup". Race Dezert. 5 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
  4. ^ AMA motocross champions
  5. ^ Motocross Action Every champ
  6. ^ "Ricky Johnson joins Robby Gordon's stadium truck series". Racer. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 13 December 2013.
  7. ^ "SST Added To Nashville IndyCar Weekend". Stadium Super Trucks. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  8. ^ Jung, Carter. "Frozen Rush: Ricky Johnson Wins Inaugural Race". Red Bull. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  9. ^ "2013 SST Point Standings". Stadium Super Trucks. Retrieved January 29, 2019.

External links[]

Sporting positions
Preceded by
none 		Red Bull Frozen Rush Champion
2014 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from ""