Consistency -- not speed -- pays off for Johns

To celebrate Bristol Motor Speedway's 100th Cup Series race, NASCAR.COM is taking a look back at significant moments and drivers that have made events at BMS the most sought-after ticket in NASCAR.

Bristol Motor Speedway can be an intimidating place for a driver coming there for the first time. And it's been that way ever since the track opened in 1960.

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Inside the Numbers

Most Cup Series races

Rank	Track	No.
1	Daytona	127 *
2	Martinsville	123
3	Richmond	108
4	Darlington	107
5	Charlotte	103
6	Atlanta	102
7	Bristol	99
8	Michigan	82
	Talladega	82
10	Dover	81
11	Pocono	65
12	Loudon	31
13	Phoenix	28
14	Watkins Glen	27
15	Sonoma	22
16	Fontana	20
17	Texas	19
18	Indianapolis	16
19	Las Vegas	13
20	Homestead	11
21	Chicago	10
22	Kansas	9

* -- Includes 23 Daytona 500 qualifying races that were points events.
Race totals as of July 12, 2010.

But Bobby Johns wasn't so much intimidated as intrigued by the high-banked half-mile bullring when he showed up there for the first time in 1961, because it reminded him of his home track in Florida. Besides that, Johns was never one to shy away from a challenge.

Now 76 and still operating his tire and auto parts store in Miami, Johns recently recalled racing at Bristol.

"When I went there in '61 and sat on the pole, that's the first time I had seen the place," Johns said. "But it gave me some indication that I could run it. We had the Palm Beach track, and I always said to myself, 'If you can get around this place good, you can go anywhere and run good.' That's just about the truth. Darlington was the same way."

It took a series of coincidences for Johns to wind up on the pole that year. The car he ended up driving was not the one he planned to take to Tennessee.

"In 1961, when I went there with Jack Smith's car, I had a deal with Ford Motor Company and was waiting for an engine from Holman-Moody," Johns said. "But they kept sandbagging around and Jack asked me if I wanted to drive his Pontiac.

"My Dad and I towed it up there and we unhooked the tow bar and put her on the pole, that quick. Hell of a car. Bud Moore was the mechanic on that car. What a mechanic. Bud Moore doesn't get near enough credit for his abilities, I tell you what."

Johns led 49 laps but faded to finish 17th. But he knew with the right equipment and a few lucky breaks, he could improve upon things the following season. During the winter, Johns and father Shorty went to work on a brand-new Pontiac that they hoped would be as good as the one Smokey Yunick was preparing up the road in Daytona Beach for Fireball Roberts.

"We built that car in Miami, the '62 Pontiac, with parts and assistance from Pontiac," Johns said. "We also had a deal with Pontiac with support during the year. It was a sweetheart of a car. It drove great. It seemed like everywhere we went, it was a challenge between Fireball and myself.

"Normally, Fireball's car would be quicker in qualifying, but that wasn't a surprise from Smokey because he knew every trick in the book, from soft tires to illegal heights to everything else. He always made it through [tech inspection]. We never challenged him for the pole, but during the race, we'd run pretty good."

Roberts won the pole for the 1962 Volunteer 500 and Johns started sixth. But it became apparent early on that Johns, using the high groove to his advantage, was closing quickly on Roberts. And when Johns went by on Lap 62, the only thing that could stop him would be misfortune.

"After a few laps, I got out in front and it seemed like I could run the top of that race track," Johns said. "It was mine because nobody wanted to run the top. I rode the rim all the way, the whole time."

During Johns' pit stops, Richard Petty grabbed the lead but as soon as he had to stop, Johns would retake the lead.

"We weren't geared up for great pit stops," Johns said. "That was one of our big problems throughout my career. We never had that good a pit crew. In fact, the only time I had one was when we run Indianapolis. Our pit crew was made up of a bunch of good ol' boys from around Martinsville and through there. We could lose some time in the pits but the car was flawless."

After Petty retired with engine problems, Johns built up a six-lap lead on second-place Roberts and won going away, taking home $4,405 for his efforts. He had led all but 70 of the 500 laps.

When asked how he amassed 3,000 hits, baseball Hall of Famer Wee Willie Keller once said, "Hit 'em where they ain't." That pretty much summed up Johns' strategy at Bristol that day, as he was one of the few cars able to carry speed off the corners.

"We changed gears for that race five times before we decided which one to run," Johns said. "We couldn't figure out whether to run the top or the bottom. But when we decided the top was going to be the best way, nobody was running there and that way we could get through the traffic better and we had the gear to run down the straightaway."

Even with the change from asphalt to concrete, the quickest way around Bristol had always been to hug the apron through the corners.

"At Bristol, you could run it down into the first corner and put the left foot on the line, right down on the flat," Johns said. "The car would just go around the corner real good, then you'd drift out to the wall and do it again in the other corner. It would grip good, but the problem is during the race, that line was always obstructed by something, maybe lapped cars or it might get greasy."

In 1962, Johns found a better alternative.

"It wasn't a matter of being the fastest way around but it was one where you could maintain a real good consistency in your run," Johns said. "You were back in the throttle in the middle of the corner. But at the bottom, you really had to play with the throttle to keep it down, especially when the track started getting slick."

Unfortunately, Bristol never seemed to be as kind again to Johns.

"I run for Holman-Moody in '64 and in qualifying, we blew an engine," Johns said. "And another time, Goodyear came out with a new tire and they stuck it on the right side. They were actually lighter weight tires. Somebody had broken a driveshaft and had left the cup, and it had gotten embedded in the track a little bit. I come off of Turn 4 -- I think I was running next to Richard -- and I blew the right front and before you could even think about it, I hit the end of the guardrail that went up to the concrete grandstand.

"I hit so hard that I pushed the steering wheel right out the driver's side window. The gearshift jumped over into the middle of my lap. We had an electrical fire. All I saw was fire so I pulled the extinguisher. Ralph Moody came running over there and he got to choking. I think he had to go the hospital to get his lungs cleared. They pulled that old race car down and covered it up with canvas. They didn't want anybody to see that thing. It was a disaster."

Unable to drive in the race, Johns was invited to join Hank Schoolfield and Hal Hamrick in the Universal Racing Network booth for the radio broadcast, and Johns continued that for several years after hanging up his helmet.

Racing at a time when 500 laps at a place like Bristol or Martinsville was a grueling physical challenge, Johns prided himself on being able to go the distance every time out.

"I never have had a relief driver," Johns said. "If you look back at one of the Martinsville races, they had 27 relief drivers. It was the hottest damn race I've ever been in. It was torture. I ran fourth after sitting on the pole and when I got out of the car, I took three steps and they took me right straight to the hospital.

"I never had air conditioning growing up at home. And never had it in the tow truck or car. The heat doesn't bother me. To this day, it doesn't bother me. I've got a built-in cooler somewhere, I guess."

Growing up, Johns was exposed to racing through his father. Shorty Johns raced midgets, and during summer vacation, Bobby would travel with his father throughout the Midwest and South. By the time he was old enough to drive, Bill France had introduced stock cars to South Florida.

"Stock cars started coming into our area around 1948, '49, when France ran a race at Davie at one of the airstrips down there," Johns said. "We built the car but I was too young to race. After that, I started running locally. And in 1952, NASCAR had taken over the track at Palm Beach and I was doing pretty good there. I had taken the lead in Sportsman by 1,000 points.

"I said, 'We're going to chase points this year.' Well, chasing points didn't work out too good because the guys we were trying to beat were running seven, eight times a week. So it didn't take too long for them to overhaul me. We did all right. That year, I set a record for winning 35 out of 60 races."

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• History-laden Bristol on cusp of 100th Cup race