Junior Johnson passed away yesterday at the age of 88. Here's the obit from Motorsport.

Getting to know America from abroad in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Junior was a key figure, immortalized in Tom Wolfe's 1965 Esquire article "The Last American Hero"—still wonderfully readable today. The rest of us can only add commentary: Wolfe was the master, the original.

I have always assumed that Jim Croce's song "Rapid Roy (the Stock Car Boy)" was based on Junior, but none of the obits I've so far seen mention it.

Rest in peace, Junior Johnson.