Book review: Dick Johnson Racing / DJR Team Penske, 40 Years of Cars

Dick Johnson Racing / DJR Team Penske
40 Years of Cars
1980 – 2019

The racing cars are the heroes in this excellent new book by Aaron Noonan and Will Dale, but human drama is an ever present undertone as Noonan and Dale track the 40-year history of Dick Johnson and his eponymous racing team.

Johnson first came to the attention of many Australians back in 1980, when his Bathurst campaign that year unexepectedly came to a catastrophic end. His striking blue XD Ford Falcon crashed out of contention, hitting a rock.

Many Australians collectively donated a massive sum of money, possibly spurred by suspicion the rock had been thrown on the track by a drunken bogan. That suspicion was later discredited, but by then Johnson was already in receipt of more than enough funding from Touring-Car fans and Ford Australia to build a brand-new XD Falcon.

Fate was not done with torturing Johnson though; three years later his Falcon chassis number ‘XE 1’ left the track at high speed during Hardie’s Heroes in 1983. He and his team turned up for the start of the race the next day in a new car that had been borrowed and hastily resprayed. The paint was still wet on the starting line.

In many ways, Johnson’s racing career has been marked by the many lows just as much as his highs.

Who could remain unmoved by learning that the highly successful ‘EB5’ Falcon chassis was broken up and turfed after years of sitting around unattended in the workshop following an almighty prang at Phillip Island in 1996? All that remains of that car today is the CAMS logbook, which is still in Johnson’s possession, according to the book.

Another DJR Ford that has been apparently lost to posterity is the Bryan Byrt Ford-sponsored XC Falcon. Byrt, who owned the car, died in 1978, but the XC soldiered on in touring car races until November of the following year.

The book reveals that Johnson was supplied an ex-police XD that had the XC’s race components transferred into it. The XC, in turn, was converted back to a road car with the XD’s police interceptor running gear and sold by the dealership. So where now is that car – the XC coupe?

There were also plenty of highlights over 40 years, of course. DJR’s dominance during the Sierra (Group A) period was unforgettable and the book has documented that period with the same sort of attention to detail as the Group C and V8 Supercars eras.

The book even mentions the nine-inch diff internals from the Group C XE Falcon that ended up in the rear of DJR Sierras too – turning the turbocharged Fords into literal world-beaters. And the book reminds us that DJR was campaigning Mustangs as long ago as the eighties.

Anecdotes include one concerning an acid bath to lighten the shell of the first XD Falcon, which resulted in a buckled roof – “the dumbest thing I’ve ever done,” Johnson recalls. Repairing the buckled roof with bog (body filler) took the car beyond its original specified weight.

Johnson’s second XD, the book notes, was carefully ‘walked’ down the Campbellfield production line and optimised for weight. At scrutineering – without a full tank of fuel – it weighed nearly 300kg less than the next lightest Falcon, Murray Carter’s. Little wonder it was such a successful car.

Containing more than 100,000 words, the book is full of such truths, including other technical tweaks, some of which were even legal.

The latter part of the book dwells on Car of the Future, Johnson’s team drivers – including his son – and his relationships with sponsors, his business investments and the profound effect they had on the team. Other subjects covered include the Penske stake in the team, the development of the Mustang shell in the post-Falcon era and the return of Marcos Ambrose from the USA. Scott McLaughlin’s consecutive championship wins in 2018 and 2019 provide a satisfying conclusion to the book.

Each chapter is dedicated to a specific race car with a place in DJR’s history. The chapter is broken up into ‘Fast Facts’, ‘Claim to Fame’, ‘Bathurst history’ and ‘Afterlife’. This makes for an easily digestible and interesting format.

Disappointingly, there are grammatical errors peppered throughout the book, but few readers will either notice or care. Instead, they will be delighted and enthralled by the story-telling, the sheer scope of facts and over 1000 stunning images, some of which are sure to be unfamiliar to even the die-hard fans.

The book is limited to a print run of 3000 units, individually numbered and signed by Dick Johnson. As a further bonus it’s printed in Australia too. The publishers indicate many have already been sold, so it will be a rare volume in any enthusiast’s collection.

At just under $120, ‘Dick Johnson Racing / DJR Team Penske, 40 Years of Cars’ is priced right for the collector and avid DJR fan.