Herm Johnson
Herm Johnson (born March 4, 1953 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin), is a former driver in the CART Championship Car series. He raced in 7 seasons (1979–1985), with 35[1] career starts, including the 1984 Indianapolis 500. He also raced at Indy in 1982, but the race was not part of CART that year. He finished in the top ten 8 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 Super Vee Champion. 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 runs 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 Indycar career.
Johnson currently resides in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, running his custom painting business, 'Just Herm Designs'.[3] The shop has done work for several Indy 500 winners as well as IRL and NHRA Champions (Eddie Cheever Jr., Al Unser Jr., Johnny Herbert and Sam Hornish, Jr., for example) as well as amateur racers like Jon Belanger and 4-time SCCA Champion Brad Ellingson. The shop specializes in custom paint jobs for helmets, racecars, and motorcycles. Johnson also is a performance driving instructor[4] at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd Minnesota.
Racing record
SCCA National Championship Runoffs
| 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
| 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 |
Indy 500 results
| 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
- ↑ 35 starts do not include the 1982 Indy 500, as it was not a CART race that year.
- ↑ Johnson Says Dad was along
- ↑ JustHermDesigns.com
- ↑ BIR Performance Driving School Instructors