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Billy Johnson
Johnson atRoad America in 2013
Nationality	American
Born	William Ryan Johnson (1986-10-10)October 10, 1986 (age 39) Torrance, California
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship career
Debut season	2014
Current team	Chip Ganassi Racing
Racing licence	FIA Gold
Car number	68
Engine	Ford
Starts	4
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	52nd in2015
Previous series
2013 2005–2006,2011–2013	American Le Mans Series Rolex Sports Car Series
NASCAR driver
NASCARCup Series career
1 race run over 1 year
2017 position	40th
Best finish	40th (2017)
First race	2017Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 0 0
NASCARO'Reilly Auto Parts Series career
5 races run over 4 years
Best finish	50th (2013)
First race	2010Zippo 200 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Last race	2013CNBC Prime's "The Profit" 200 (Loudon)
Wins Top tens Poles 0 1 0
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2016–2017
Teams	Chip Ganassi Racing
Best finish	21st (2016)

William Ryan Johnson (born October 10, 1986) is an American professionalsports car andstock car racing driver. He is the 2016 IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS champion. He currently competes part-time in theWeatherTech SportsCar Championship andFIA World Endurance Championship, driving forFordChip Ganassi Racing UK in the No. 66Ford GT.

When he was thirteen years old, Johnson startedkart racing. In 2003, he won a scholarship to race in the seriesSkip Barber Racing School and a scholarship in Valencia Spain to compete in the inaugural season ofFormula BMW USA as a Factory BMW "Junior" driver.^[1]

In 2004, Johnson competed in theFormula BMW USA Championship and finished fifth and received the Sportsman of the Year award.

In 2005, Johnson finished in the top-ten of his one and onlyStar Mazda Pro Series race.

In 2005, Johnson made his sports car debut withSpeed Source co-driving withJames Hinchcliffe in the Grand-Am Cup ST class, en route to seven top-ten finishes in seven races. He also made his GT car debut in the Virginia round of theRolex Sports Car Series withTeam Prototype Technology Group in aBMW M3. and had 7 top-10 finishes in the Grand-Am Cup ST class driving for SpeedSource, Matt Connolly Motorsports, and Compass 360.

In 2006, Johnson competed in oneSpeed World Challenge race for Tindol Motorsports as well as theGrand-Am Cup ST class for Kensai Racing, Potter Racing, and ROAR Racing.

2007 was Johnson first full season in sports cars, finishing second in the ST Championship with 3 victories under Kensai Racing. He also made hisKoni Challenge GS class debut thanks to Jim Click Racing, finishing 6th as the highest placing Mustang.

In 2008, Johnson made the progression to a full season in the GS class under Motorsport Technology Group with four podium finishes driving a BMW Z4 M-Coupe and Porsche 997.

In 2009, after winning at Homestead in a Porsche 997 for Motorsport Technology Group, and the team running out of funds halfway through the season, Johnson signed withRoush Fenway Racing's Koni Challenge team, driving aFord Mustang FR500C alongside Jack Roush Jr. A year later, the two won atHomestead-Miami Speedway, Jack Roush's 400th win as a car owner.^[2] They finished third in the championship with a win at New Jersey and multiple podiums.

In late 2011, Johnson finished second in the championship with three victories, at VIR, Watkins Glen, and New Jersey. That year he also joinedTurner Motorsport to drive a BMW M3 at theRolex Sports Car Series, finishing fourth at Montreal.

In 2012, Johnson made his RolexDaytona Prototype debut with Doran Racing Sunday morning after illness and injury left the team short on drivers mid-race and Johnson filling in having never driven a Prototype. Driving forRoush, he claimed wins at Daytona and Mid-Ohio, and a podium finish in a one-off ST race at Lime Rock and a top-5 driving a BMW M3 for RumBum Racing.

In 2013, Johnson made hisAmerican LeMans Series Debut driving forAston Martin Racing in the2013 12 Hours of Sebring, finishing ninth. He won at Daytona and Lime Rock in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS class and had a podium finish at Laguna Seca in the Turner Motorsports BMW M3 in the GT class.

In 2014, Johnson switched toMultimatic Motorsports in theContinental Tire Sports Car Challenge series driving the Boss 302R with Ian James winning the season finale at Road Atlanta. He also drove forScuderia Corsa in the Ferrari 458 in the GTD class in the 24 Hours of Daytona with Ken Wilden, Dave Empringham, and Rod Randall.

In 2015, Johnson drove withScott Maxwell in the Boss 302R and debut theFord Shelby GT350R-C, finishing third in the Championship and winning at Lime Rock. He returned with Turner to drive a BMW Z4 atPetit Le Mans.

In 2016, Johnson joinedChip Ganassi Racing'sFIA World Endurance Championship team, driving the No. 66Ford GT in the first three races of the season, including the24 Hours of Le Mans; sharing the car withOlivier Pla andStefan Mücke, he was the only American to race for Ford in the series that year.^[3] They finished 4th at LeMans.

He won the 2016Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Championship in theFord Shelby GT350R-C withScott Maxwell, winning six races that year - Daytona, Mosport, Lime Rock, Road America, COTA, and Road Atlanta.

He returned to run the2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship, and won the opening race at Spa.^[4]

Johnson has been involved as a test driver forFord Motor Company andMultimatic Motorsports during the development of theGT350/R, 2016Ford GT, Ford GT GTE/GTLM, Mustang GT4, FP350S, Mustang Performance Pack 2, and the newGT500. In addition to testing and development, he has also provided road racing training for Roush driversCarl Edwards,Greg Biffle,Joey Logano,Brad Keselowski,Chris Buescher,Ricky Stenhouse,Darrell Wallace Jr.,Aric Almirola.^[5]

In 2010, Johnson made hisNASCAR Nationwide Series debut atWatkins Glen International, driving the No. 6 for Roush Fenway Racing as aroad course ringer.^[2] Despite qualifying ninth,^[6] he was involved in a multi-car wreck on lap 24, finishing 36th.^[6]

Johnson returned to RFR in the 2011 Nationwide Series, this time atRoad America, where he topped the time charts in the first practice^[7] before qualifying on second row and running in the top-five until falling out early due to an engine problem.^[8]

Running only one race in 2012, Johnson scored his first NASCAR top-ten finish atCircuit Gilles Villeneuve. After running in the top-five most of the day, multiple Green-White-Checker attempts turned it into a fuel mileage race, and he had to pit for fuel on the second attempt from second. On the third and final GWC restart, Johnson drove from twentieth to eighth in two laps.^[9]

Coming off of that strong performance, Johnson led his first-ever laps atRoad America in 2013. In that race, he started seventh and worked his way to the lead before a lap fourteen pit road speeding penalty. He retook the lead again by lap 39 before being collected in a wreck at lap 47 while running fourth.^[10] He then made his first oval start atNew Hampshire Motor Speedway, finishing both races in fifteenth place.^[11]

In 2017, Johnson joinedRichard Petty Motorsports for hisMonster Energy NASCAR Cup Series debut atSonoma Raceway'sToyota/Save Mart 350, driving the No. 43 as a substitute for the injuredAric Almirola.^[5] After starting 26th, he finished 22nd.^[12]

Johnson is of Japanese descent. He graduated fromCal State Fullerton where he majored in Business.^[1]

(key)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

^* Season still in progress.

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2016	Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK	Stefan Mücke Olivier Pla	Ford GT	GTE Pro	339	21st	4th
2017	Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK	Stefan Mücke Olivier Pla	Ford GT	GTE Pro	332	27th	10th
2018	Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK	Stefan Mücke Olivier Pla	Ford GT	GTE Pro	340	21st	6th
2019	Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK	Stefan Mücke Olivier Pla	Ford GT	GTE Pro	340	25th	6th

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

^* Season still in progress
¹ Ineligible for series points

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBilly Johnson.

• Official website
• Billy Johnson driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• Living people
• 1986 births
• Racing drivers from Torrance, California
• NASCAR drivers
• American people of Japanese descent
• Sportspeople of Japanese descent
• 24 Hours of Daytona drivers
• 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
• WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
• FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
• British GT Championship drivers
• GT World Challenge America drivers
• Multimatic Motorsports drivers
• Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
• RFK Racing drivers
• Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers
• Lamborghini Super Trofeo drivers

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