Growing up just outside of Indianapolis, racing was literally in his blood. “My sister started racing quarter midgets at age six,” he said, referring to the single-seat go karts that many children start out with in motorsports. “I would just go along with them to the track. Then they let me try it out when I was four-and-a-half, and I really liked it!”

This fun family tradition carried on every weekend. But then Sam started winning.

“I raced quarter midgets for about eight years,” he said. “I was winning quite a lot. I thought, maybe I’m pretty good at this? I should keep going and see how far it takes me.”

Inspired by his sister, Sam Johnson started racing at age four-and-a-half, with his family supporting him at every step along the way.

In 2023, Sam’s family bought a Legends car, a 5/8-scale hot rod with identical specs that enables grassroots participation in racing. They traveled with Sam every weekend around the short tracks of the Midwest, and he continued to win — capturing the most victories out of all Indiana-based Legends drivers.

So now what?

“When they said they wanted to buy a late model car, I didn’t really think they were going to do it,” laughs Sam. “It was a huge jump.”

Sam Johnsons family made a leap of faith by purchasing a 450-horsepower late model race car, which is the next step to NASCAR.

Late models are purpose-built stock cars — basically a level below NASCAR, but very similar in size and technique. The car Sam’s family purchased has a 450 horsepower Crate V8 engine from Chevrolet.

“It’s so much bigger and more powerful than what I was used to,” he said. “When you hit the throttle on this one, it really jumps into the corners. It’s got fat slick tires with tons of grip, as opposed to the tread tires I had been using.”

He would soon get a chance to test his new skills. In May 2025, he qualified 8th at his home track in Anderson, Indiana for what is now called the Turn One CRA Pro Series. “It was my first time competing at this level, so there was a huge learning curve,” he said. “We finished eighth, and stayed on the lead lap the whole race. The head of our race shop, Butch VanDoorn, said he couldn’t believe how fast I got up to speed in my first race, with just one practice.”

Competing in his first ever late model races in 2025, Sam Johnson held his own against many professional drivers.

Sam continued to qualify and compete throughout 2025, even finishing on the podium at Berlin Raceway in Michigan. While he didn’t score any victories as a rookie, he did rack up important successes along the way.

“My personal highlight was finishing 7th out of 33 cars in Owosso Speedway in Michigan,” Sam said. “We also did a 200 lap feature, which was twice what I had ever done before. We conducted our first in-race pit stop as a team. [Former NASCAR champion] Kevin Harvick drove in that race, and wrecked partway through — so I actually finished ahead of Kevin Harvick!”

For Sam, the most important aspect of the season was feeling like he belonged. “I competed against a lot of big names,” he said. “It was kind of a shell shock just racing against those guys — but also realizing that I can actually hang with them.”

Coming from quarter midgets and 5/8-scale Legends cars, Sam had to quickly adapt to big slick-tired stock cars.

Hammer Down

At the dawn of his professional racing career, Sam enrolled in Purdue University to study mechanical engineering.

“Both my dad and grandpa were engineers, so it was a natural path for me,” Sam said. “Racing and engineering really go hand in hand. In the classroom we learn about friction, which is a major focus of racing. I have to learn the dynamics of every moving part of the car. Racing helps me learn engineering, and engineering helps me with racing.”

Purdue boasts the only accredited motorsports engineering degree in the country. Boilermakers have gone on to tremendous success in motorsports, including NASCAR crew chiefs Jonathan Hassler and Matt Swiderski; and Angela Ashmore, the first female crew member to win the Indy 500.

“Most crew chiefs have an engineering degree,” Sam said. “As a driver, if I also have an engineering background, then we can speak the same language and communicate more effectively to make the car better.”

Racing is a family affair, as Sams parents and sister travel with him to every track.

For now, Sam Johnson Racing is a family affair. Mom, dad, and sister accompany Sam around the summer racing circuit, serving as his de facto crew. “Some of the other teams have big crews, and the driver comes in with his suitcase and just jumps into the car,” laughs Sam. “But we do everything ourselves — driving the trailer, working on the engine, monitoring tires. But I think it actually helps keep me grounded, and focused on what I need to do.”

“The dream is to get into NASCAR and race in the Cup Series,” Sam said. “If I keep winning, maybe we’ll get another sponsor, or more publicity, and keep rising up the ranks. It’s a ton of fun to do this, and I want to keep doing it in the future.”

Sam Johnson hopes to carry on the tradition of motorsports excellence at Purdue University.

Sam Johnson Racing: https://samjohnsonracing.com

Instagram: @j2autoracing

Writer: Jared Pike, jaredpike@purdue.edu, 765-496-0374