Pontiac Catalina Racer - Speed And Circumstance

Shorty and Bobby Johns pose at Daytona in July 1960 with Smokey Yunick's '59 Catalina. Does the car look familiar? It's the same one that Fireball Roberts raced the year before for the very first Daytona 500.

Bobby Johns was born into a racing family on May 22, 1932. His father, Socrates "Shorty" Johns, was a top-notch race mechanic and ran midget cars in Miami, Florida, in the '30s. He taught his son how to race as soon as Bobby was old enough to walk. Early on, he was exhibition-racing his very own Pontiac that his dad built with enough horsepower to make Bobby a pint-size hero at the tracks.

At age 18, he competed in the Sportsman Class in NASCAR, the junior leagues to the Grand Nationals. It's where he met Fireball Roberts for the first time, and where he decided to make racing his career for life. After two years in the U.S. Army, Bobby joined the NASCAR Grand Nationals Division, campaigning a father-son-built '57 Chevrolet for the '58 and '59 season.

On February 14, 1960, Bobby held First Place at the Daytona 500 with the Smokey Yunick-built No. 3 '59 Catalina. The Ray Fox car was unable to pass him. His commanding lead was lost, however, when his rear window released at high speeds, forcing him into a spin with nine laps to go.

In 1960, Bobby's life changed when Fireball convinced Smokey Yunick to let him join the Smokey team and pilot the '59 No. 3 Pontiac Catalina at the Second Annual Daytona 500. It was a day of ill-fated history as the rear window blew out of the Catalina with just nine laps to go and Bobby leading. The end result was a Second Place finish.

Bobby came back to Smokey for two more races in 1960, both behind the wheel of the No. 3 Pontiac Catalina: the Firecracker 250 at Daytona (July 4, 1960) and the '60 Dixie 300 at Atlanta (July 31, 1960). Bobby started Third, dropped to Thirtieth with axle problems at the first mentioned race, but earned a strong Fourth Place finish at the second.

The next month, on August 14, 1960, Bobby led an astonishing 168 out of 500 laps at the Western North Carolina 500 and finished in Fourth Place, driving for Cotton Owens behind the wheel of the No. 5 '60 Pontiac Catalina. It was this first pairing with Cotton that led Bobby to both tragedy and victory later that season.

Bobby prepares to take on Darlington on September 5, 1960, in the Cotton Owens-prepared No. 5 '60 Catalina.

Race No. 35 of the NASCAR Grand National season, on September 5, 1960, in Darlington, North Carolina, saw Bobby behind the wheel of the No. 5 Catalina. On lap 95, he was involved in a crash that fatally injured three pit-crew members and left Bobby upside down in the destroyed race car. Despite the devastating accident, he and Cotton carried on.

As we learned from Bobby in this exclusive interview, Ray Nichels offered a delegate car to Cotton, which was reentered into NASCAR racing just in time for the Atlanta 500 on October 30, 1960. It was Bobby's biggest win behind the wheel of a Pontiac-a First Place finish-earning him $15,975. He easily led 194 of 334 laps in the race.

In 1961, Bobby left Pontiac-against his wishes-as he was forced to drive a Ford under sponsorship just so he could continue racing. But in 1962 he came back to Pontiac with a passion, competing in 13 races-all of them behind the wheel of a 421 SD Pontiac Catalina. His top accomplishment was a First Place win on April 29, 1962, at Bristol International Speedway, where he led 430 of 500 laps.

Bobby drove for Pontiac again in 1963, in 11 of 12 races. He purchased a '63 Catalina from Ray after Pontiac adhered to the American Manufacturers Association (AMA) racing ban of March 1963.

Bobby poses in front of the Jack Smith No. 47 '61 Catalina on October 22, 1961, for the '61 Southeastern 500. He started in position number one and led for 49 laps.

Bobby was one of the few racers to continue with Pontiac after the AMA ban. In 1964, he drove a '64 421 Catalina at Augusta, Daytona, Atlanta, North Wilkesboro, and Martinsville. For 1965, he campaigned a '64 421 Catalina in five races late in the season. His last race with Pontiac was in Augusta, Georgia, on November 14, 1965-once again driving a '64 Catalina.

Today, Bobby is 75 years old and operates Bobby Johns Enterprises, where he wholesales and exports Goodyear & Phoenix race tires, American Racing Wheels, Ultra Custom Wheels and automotive parts. He is based out of Miami, the very same Florida metropolis where he raced his dad's Pontiac.

To this day, Bobby affectionately calls Pontiacs "Tin Indians" and says that they are still his favorite cars. Our interview with Bobby Johns begins with his first Pontiac race car. It's probably not a machine that would normally spring to mind.