Danny Johnson

Danny Johnson (born November 29, 1974) is an American NASCAR crew chief who currently works for Reaume Brothers Racing as the crew chief for Jason White in the No. 33 Chevrolet Silverado in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

Biography
Johnson served as the crew chief of the No. 44 Martins Motorsports Chevrolet for the 2020 season. Johnson served as the crew chief for Josh Williams’ ARCA Menards Series team part time in the 2016 season, tallying up a pair of wins in Nashville and Madison as well as a handful of top-tens throughout his time with the team. Johnson was also atop the pit box for various races in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season for MBM Motorsports; most notably with Martins himself for his best finish of the season at Phoenix.

This announcement comes off the heels of Martins Motorsports and Tommy Joe Martins announcing a full-time campaign together in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the 2020 season.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to join Martins Motorsports and to work with Tommy Joe on a full-time basis in 2020.” Said Danny Johnson. “We worked together a few times during the 2019 season and experienced some success, so I look forward to building on that this year. The move over to Martins Motorsports was a no-brainer for me. This will allow me to help develop a solid and competitive program. Tommy is a wheel man and does a great job of getting everything out of the race car. As a driver, he is diligent about taking care of our equipment and he knows what he wants out of the car. His ability to communicate this information definitely makes my job as a crew chief a lot easier!”

Johnson’s experience, work ethic, and drive in the sport are a spectacular match-up for a team that is prepared to leave it all out on the race track on a weekly basis and brings some familiarity to the table between driver and crew chief right out of the gate.

“Craig and Rodney have really worked hard to put this team together in a short amount of time,

and in doing so have given us all the resources we need to thrive in 20 (2020).” Said Johnson. “As team owners, they are committed to giving us the equipment we need to be competitive week in and out. Their hard work has definitely laid a solid foundation for our team to have a productive season moving forward.”

With the team being a new entry coming into the 2020 season there is added emphasis on finding a solid qualifying pace for the first few races of the season. NASCAR’s second division brings with it a hard-set group of competition every week, ending in some teams being sent home when qualifications are complete.

“My first goal for this year is for us to make the race at Daytona.” said Danny Johnson. Without having any points to rely on, this will be the biggest feat we need to accomplish when starting off the season. With the cars and motor program we have put in place, it is realistic to expect that we can be a 15th to 18th place car week in and week out. One of my main focuses for this year is to be competitive and maximize our weekends. This will allow us to continue to build our program and achieve our long-term goals moving forward.”

Together, with a hard-working crew behind them, the pair look to match the success they found last season and are ready to set and achieve their goals for the 2020 season.

Suspension
It was already a bad day on Saturday for underdog racer Tommy Joe Martins and his No. 44 Martins Motorsports team as the rear axle on their machine flew out of the car forcing an end to their race. However, insult to injury occurred on Tuesday when NASCAR handed down penalties to the team for the infraction.

Johnson has been suspended for the next NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Kentucky

According to the weekly penalty report, the team broke section 12.5.2.7.4e of the rule book. The report noted the reasoning of loss or separation of improperly installed real axle.

No word on who the crew chief will be, just yet, but Kevyn Robolledo has recently joined the team as car chief after a stint with RSS Racing’s No. 93 team. He could be a potential fill-in.

Other information
Johnson joined elite as he is officially inducted into the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame. The 28th annual induction ceremonies was held in the Hall of Fame Museum located on the grounds of Weedsport Speedway in New York.

One of the winningest drivers on the circuit today, Johnson has racked up 593 victories in the past four decades for 40 different car owners, which is a challenge in itself. The guy can drive a race car — one that he’s familiar with or one that he’s never seen before; one that’s hooked up perfectly or a car so ill-handling that he needs to carry it across the finish line. And Danny’s done it at 55 different speedways in 13 states and two Canadian provinces — a feat unmatched by any other driver in the modern era.

"I was born into it, I didn’t really know anything else," Johnson said of his adventurous career. "My dad (Milt) raced, my brother (Alan) raced, and I was 18 years old and I needed to do something with my life, something to stay out of trouble. I had the opportunity — with my parents' help — to put some sponsors together and get a race car," he related.

His first checker was at nearby Canandaigua Speedway in 1979.

"The first win was so cool! I was racing with Will Cagle at the time. He tried to get me on the bottom and I kind of closed the door on him and went off to win. Cagle was always the guy to beat so that felt good, real good."

The future superstar’s role model was his older brother, Alan, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. The Johnson brothers occupy two of the top three spots on DIRTcar’s all-time Modified win list.

"On DIRT, (my idol) would have been my brother," Johnson revealed. "I used to go to the races with him, I would help work on his car and I wanted to do what he was doing. And I wanted to be good at it! That was the competitive side of me, always coming through."

The pair traveled up and down the highways, looking for the next race show. Both going their own ways eventually, and both becoming legends in the auto racing arena.

"When (DIRT promoter) Glenn Donnelly had all those tracks, we were racing a lot. If you didn’t make some money one night, you would most likely make some money on one of the other nights, so it kept you going," Johnson said.