Dick Johnson at his workshop in Stapylton, Queensland

Most 68-year-olds would be celebrating their success and settling down to retire, but for V8 Touring Car legend Dick Johnson, things have taken a turn for the worst.

Johnson, who has been involved in the V8 Supercar industry for over three decades, recently came out and told the media that he is broke, simply putting it as he is ‘in the shit’, having lost $9.1m dollars in recent years due to dodgy deals surrounding sponsorship for his team Dick Johnson Racing.

A company called Westpoint came on-board with Dick Johnson Racing after Shell Helix ended their sponsorship contract with the team, with the company later becoming bankrupt and costing Dick Johnson Racing millions.

Since Westpoint’s failed sponsorship, Dick Johnson and his team have struggled to make it by. Johnson then decided to create a phone company called Firstrock, with the company one year later falling to pieces.

Jim Beam then came to DJR’s rescue, sponsoring the team until the 2013 season. Things were looking up for the team here, with Dick Johnson Racing securing their first V8 Championship in decades with James Courtney, who later moved to Holden Racing Team.

Since Courtney’s departure, Dick Johnson Racing is yet to pick up another race win. Steven Johnson (Dick Johnson’s son) was forced to leave the team this year and opted for the Porsches in the Carrera Cup series, as another driver was able to bring more money to the team.

John Reid was the driver set to replace Junior Johnson (Editor’s note: *muted laughter*) at the start of the year, but not long after the first couple of races was replaced by young Ford Performance Racing driver Chaz Mostert.

Dick Johnson is currently living on $365 per week, just getting by. Johnson also noted that he is paying his employees correctly and the only thing he owns a part of in the company is the workshop.

A new book will be released soon, highlighting the struggles of Dick Johnson Racing and also his personal life. You ought go out and buy it and give the old fella a hand!