Jimmy Johnson, former GM at Hendrick, dies

Jimmy Johnson, who saw Hendrick Motorsports grow from 40 to nearly 400 employees in a 16-year tenure as that company’s general manager, died Friday night at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. He was 61.Mr. Johnson had suffered a stroke earlier in the week.

“So much of what we are today can be traced back to the late nights and long hours that Jimmy put in,” said Rick Hendrick, the team’s owner. “He had a vision and a passion for this company, and it showed in everything that he did. It's impossible to measure the impact he had on Hendrick Motorsports.”

Mr. Johnson, a Fayetteville native and an accountant by trade, went to work for Hendrick’s auto dealerships in 1983. He became general manager of Hendrick Motorsports in December 1985.

One of Mr. Johnson’s first assignments in his new job was delivering a Camaro to Tim Richmond, who had been hired to drive for the Hendrick team in 1986.

Mr. Johnson drove the car to Richmond’s house boat in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., then asked Richmond to take him to the airport for his flight back to Tampa, where Johnson had been working before agreeing to move to Charlotte to take the racing job.

“That,” Mr. Johnson said years later in recalling that day, “was a big mistake.

“We go flying down the road, this six- or eight-lane highway with like a four-inch curb separating the two sides. All of a sudden, Tim says, 'You want a cup of coffee?'

"I said I wasn't much of a coffee drinker, but he jerked the wheel to the left and we jumped the curb running 70 or 80.

“That thing started sliding backward into incoming traffic and he slid it around, jerked it back into low gear and floored it. We're spinning the wheels going backward. You couldn't see for the smoke. The thing took off and he went immediately back over the curb, across in front of traffic and down an embankment into the parking lot of this coffee shop.”

Mr. Johnson looked at Richmond incredulously.

"I said, 'What the hell was all of that?' " Mr. Johnson said. "Tim said, 'They're topless.' We went inside, and sure enough it was a topless coffee shop because they had outlawed topless bars in Fort Lauderdale. So we go in and get a cup of coffee and check out the interior.”

Mr. Johnson went on to be part of 100 Cup-level race wins and eight NASCAR championships .He retired from Hendrick Motorsports after the 2001 season and was named director of special projects for the Hendrick Cos.

“There wasn't anyone who was more of a joy to be around than Jimmy," Hendrick said. "He taught my son (Ricky Hendrick) so much about business and life, and he was a great friend to all of us. We thought of Jimmy as a member of the family, and he will be sincerely missed.”

Mr. Johnson lived in Mooresville. He is survived by his wife, Priscilla, and sons Jamie, Ryan and Dustin. Memorial plans are still pending.

This story was originally published February 23, 2008 at 7:41 AM with the headline "Jimmy Johnson, former GM at Hendrick, dies."