Rough Night for 6-Time

Speedweeks didn’t get off to a great start for one Jimmie Kenneth Johnson.

After drawing the pole position for the Sprint Unlimited, the driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet hoped to start his quest for a third Daytona 500 victory with a strong performance in the 75-lap exhibition race. Those hopes were quickly dashed on lap 44.

Hurdling down the backstretch, he made contact with Casey Mears and was sent spinning through the grass. As he got his car pointed in the right direction, the front nose dug into the ground and tore away from the car. All that was left was the radiator.

He would finish the race in 22nd, 36 laps down.

‘I could see the hole closing up,” Johnson said. “I was trying to get out of it and I avoided from crashing the two guys that closed the door on me, but I got hit from behind and that’s what sent me down through the infield. I was just trying hard on one of those nights. I was certainly trying to see what I could get with and what I couldn’t by being aggressive, and we’re down. I was trying to back out of it. I don’t think the two guys I was trying to be in the middle of, knew that I was there and I could see the door closing. I was trying to back out of it. I did a decent job getting out of there and not spinning the No. 1 (McMurray) and the No. 13 (Mears) and I got hit from behind and that sent me down to the infield. It’s unfortunate because the hole was there and I had a good run coming up through the center but they just started closing the door on me.”

“Gotta give you props right there Jimmie,” Chad Knaus said. “You’re a hell of a driver. Good dress rehearsal tonight, we learned a lot.”

Johnson was not the only member of the Hendrick brigade to have trouble. Pre-race favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. was caught up in the lap 23 wreck in Turn 1. After cutting a tire, Brian Vicker’s No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet t-boned the right side of Earnhardt’s car and ripped it off. He was held on pit road for a number of laps until his crew used tape to create a makeshift car number on the right side. Going into Turn 3, Jamie McMurray was shoving Kasey Kahne down the backstretch. Kahne got loose and turned into the side of AJ Allmendinger. His night finally came to an end with 10 laps to go after his engine expired in Turn 2.

Despite wrecking out, Johnson took to Twitter to say he was “good with tonight” and glad that he could “get the bad luck outta the way. Sorry about your cars .”

He qualified sixth for the Daytona 500 and will start third in the second Duel race on Thursday.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

Tucker White
Tucker White
I've followed NASCAR for well over 20 years of my life, both as a fan and now as a member of the media. As of 2024, I'm on my ninth season as a traveling NASCAR beat writer. For all its flaws and dumb moments, NASCAR at its best produces some of the best action you'll ever see in the sport of auto racing. Case in point: Kyle Larson's threading the needle pass at Darlington Raceway on May 9, 2021. On used-up tires, racing on a worn surface and an aero package that put his car on the razor's edge of control, Larson demonstrated why he's a generational talent. Those are the stories I want to capture and break down. In addition to NASCAR, I also follow IndyCar and Formula 1. As a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, I'm a diehard Tennessee Volunteers fan (especially in regards to Tennessee football). If covering NASCAR doesn't kill me, down the road, watching Tennessee football will. I'm also a diehard fan of the Atlanta Braves, and I lived long enough to see them win a World Series for the first time since 1995 (when I was just a year old). I've also sworn my fan allegiance to the Nashville Predators, though that's not paid out as much as the Braves. Furthermore, as a massive sports dork, I follow the NFL on a weekly basis. Though it's more out of an obligation than genuine passion (for sports dorks, following the NFL is basically an unwritten rule). Outside of sports, I'm a major cinema buff and a weeb. My favorite film is "Blazing Saddles" and my favorite anime is "Black Lagoon."

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