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In the name of the father: Johnsons' pinch-me moment

30 May 2022
'It may never happen again, to be fair'

Father and son duo Steven and Jett Johnson both needed moments to take in Monday’s landmark laps.

Dick, Steven and Jett Johnson turned laps aboard Shell V-Power Racing Team Mustangs at Queensland Raceway.

It marked patriarch Dick’s first Supercars laps since 2019; conversely, Jett cut his first ever Supercars laps.

Dick was inducted into the Supercars Hall of Fame in 2001, some four years before Jett was born.

Steven made his debut in 1994, and made his 424th and final Supercars start in 2014.

Dick and Steven combine for 745 starts and 33 wins, with the former a five-time ATCC champion.

Dick leads Steven and Jett

Only Jamie Whincup has won more drivers’ titles than Johnson senior.

Jett himself is accomplished; he won the 2015 Central Queensland go-kart title, and last year’s TA2 Muscle Car Northern Series.

Speaking after Monday’s laps, Steven joked how he kept an excited Jett in his place.

"I had dad in front of me, and Jett behind me, where he should be," Steven joked.

"When all three of us were side by side, I kept looking around and taking in what was around me.

"It was slippery with rain, but it didn’t matter… it was something that Ryan [Story] has organised and quite a surprise.

"I didn’t know what to expect or I didn’t ask anything until the day.

'It’s something I’m never forgetting'

"To have all three of us on track, it may never happen again, to be fair."

Dick led the trio on track, complete with iconic open-face helmet.

The three cars were fitted with radios so the Johnsons could communicate out on track.

That proved beneficial for Steven, who made sure Jett was in his mirrors.

However, the ever-joking Dick, 77, quipped that he was wasn’t as fortunate.

"The good thing was that we all had a radio, so we could talk to each other," Steven said.

"I might have been doing some fatherly guidance along the way to make sure he kept his emotions and right foot in check."

Dick quipped: "I couldn’t hear a goddamn thing!"

Jett, who is currently competing in Trans Am, was taken aback by the track time.

The young Queenslander only turned 17 in March; he moved up to 16th in the Trans Am standings in Sydney at the weekend.

While his first Supercars laps were special in itself, the moment itself wasn't lost on the third-generation racer.

"I was made even more special that it was all three of us together," Jett said.

"It was a little bit hard at first to take in, I was looking around and it didn’t quite hit me at first.

"It’s something I’m never forgetting."

The season will resume in Darwin on June 17-19. Purchase your tickets now.

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