Jeff Johnson’s normal work gear includes a badge, duty belt and a clean-pressed uniform, but he recently traded those for a helmet, fireproof driving suit and a 3,400-pound racecar.
The local law enforcement officer spent two days this past fall in NASCAR country and is getting a chance to chase his dream of becoming a professional NASCAR driver.
On Sept. 26, Johnson spent two days testing an ARCA car at the historic Hickory Motor Speedway where the likes of Richard Petty, Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett once raced. This opportunity was given to him by Chris Lafferty, owner of Lafferty Motorsports. Lafferty Motorsports is well-known in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Racing Series and also has ties to late model and street stock divisions.
As a kid, Johnson always wanted to get into stock car racing and one day race in NASCAR. He raced in motocross for several years and loved competing with the other riders, but wanted to go elsewhere with his racing career. His passion has always been in NASCAR with hopes of one day racing in the Sprint Cup Series. But with stock car racing being such an expensive sport, he never thought that dream would become a reality. That is until he met with Lafferty.
On the first day at Hickory, Lafferty familiarized Johnson with the track and discussed his expectations of consistency, drive, dedication and a positive attitude. Johnson soon began running laps around the historic speedway.
