Johnson answers the challenge at Daytona

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February 24, 2013

In late January, Rick Hendrick challenged his teams to return to championship form. Much of that challenge was seemingly directed toward the No.48 Lowes team. This pressure to perform coupled with the unveiling of the new Gen-6 car, definitely made for a long, hard off season. Today, however, at the Daytona 500, Jimmie Johnson and his Chad Knaus led crew, took the first step in answering that challenge.

Johnson, who started ninth in the event, didn’t spend much of time at the front of the pack, but when the time came, he drove his Hendrick Chevy to the front. Johnson looked very strong in the late stages, driving with extreme determination. He seemed to have re-kindled the fire he had during his five year reign as the series champion. Today’s victory was Johnson’s 61st career victory and his second in the Daytona 500.

Knaus, who was forced to miss Johnson’s first Daytona 500 win due to a NASCAR suspension, is known throughout the garage for his work ethic. The challenge from Mr. H is sure to have hit home with him the most. Given Chad’s personality, being told by his boss that he “…didn’t feel they were as good as they could be”, was most assuredly a wake up call for the five time championship winning crew chief. Today his team displayed a flawless performance that allowed Knaus to add the Daytona 500 to his already impressive resume’.

After seeing the performance today, Mr. Hendrick is proving once again why he owns the most successful teams in the sport. Hendrick’s has the ability to spot and attain talented individuals and then motivate those individuals to perform at unheard of levels is the key to his success. The current Hendrick driver and crew chief line-up is very impressive and shows no sign of going away in the foreseeable future. We are witnessing a dynasty similar to that of the Steelers, Lakers, and the Yankees. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot see all four Hendrick cars in the chase again this season and if today is any indication, the No.48 team may once again be leading the way.

Hit from Early Wreck Costly for Kurt Busch in Daytona 500

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February 24, 2013

Lap by Lap: Daytona 500 won by Jimmie Johnson

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SM Staff

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February 24, 2013

When the caution came out with nine to go, Jimmie Johnson was just a nose ahead of Brad Keselowski, able to choose his line on the restart. He would choose the outside lane and would hold the field off to win the 2013 Daytona 500.

Green flag

Lap 1 Gordon uses the side draft and goes up in front of Patrick

Lap 2 Gordon leads Patrick and Ky Busch

Lap 5 Gordon leads Patrick Ky Busch Kahne and Dillon

Lap 6 Gordon and Patrick while Harvick and Busch are side-by-side for third

Lap 7 Gordon Patrick Ky Busch and Kahne single-file while Dillon and Harvick are side-by-side for fifth

Lap 11 Most of the field runs single-file. Gordon leads Patrick Busch Kahne Dillon Bowyer Johnson Harvick Biffle and Kenseth

Lap 14 Gilliland down a cylinder

Lap 15 the whole field is a single-file train

Lap 20 Waltrip and Bayne have both lost the draft.

Caution lap 27 debris. Joe Nemechek gets the lucky dog. Leaders pit. Gordon leads Dillon Kahne Ky Busch Patrick Johnson Biffle. Busch made dive for the grass as he almost got into McMurray as he was pitting.

Restart lap 31 Gordon leads as Kahne and Johnson are side-by-side

Lap 32 Johnson to the lead out of turn two ahead……Kenseth jumps to the top in front of Gordon, Johnson jumps up in front of him

Caution lap 33 Ku Busch, Montoya McMurray Mears Keselowski Stewart Harvick Kahne ……..Kyle Busch caught the left rear corner of Kahne, collecting the rest. Pit stops for some

Restart lap 37. Johnson gets a good start on the bottom with Kenseth, both quickly pulling up to the top line. Kenseth dives under Johnson through turns three and four. Kenseth to the lead.

Lap 38 Kenseth and Johnsin side-by-side for first……..Kenseth pulls up to top lae ahead of Johnson out of turn four.

Lap 39 Kenseth leads while Johnson and Bowyer are side-by-side for second

Lap 41 Kenseth leads Johnson and Patrick

Lap 43 Kenseth leads Johnson Patrick Gordon Ky Busch Logano and Dillon single-file

Lap 70 Dillon pits

Lap 71 Brad Keselowski pits

Lap 72 48 24 10 2 16 43 95 9 17 83 93 21 78 among those who pitted

Lap 73 20 18 56 11 15 31 88 47 36 34 55 99 among those who pitted. Jack falls during 18 pit stop. Newman and Mark Martin lead. They haven’t pitted yet

Lap 74 Menard pits. Almirola too fast exiting pit road in section 7.

Lap 78 Newman and Martin pitted. Hamlin to the lead ahead of Truex and Kenseth

Lap 79 Hamlin leads Truex Kenseth Johnson Gordon Biffle Logano Patrick Earnhardt Bowyer

Lap 85 Caution debris. Pit stops. Fuel only for the leaders. Patrick Bowyer Truex Hamlin Biffle Logano Gordon Johnson Earnhardt Jr. off pit road. Waltrip stays out to take the lead.

Restart lap 90 Patrick edges ahead for the lead with help from Bowyer. Both go from bottom to top.

Lap 92 Patrick leads as Bowyer and Hamlin are side-by-side for second…….Hamlin and Patrick side-by-side for the lead

Lap 93 Hamlin jumped up to the outside, Patrick sideways saves it

Lap 94 Kenseth jumps to the outside ahead of Hamlin and Patrick

Lap 102 Kenseth Hamlin Patrick Bowyer Johnson as the field is single file

74 to go Logano, Hamlin, Bowyer, Truex, Stenhouse, Newman, Bayne, Edwards among others pit, handing the lead to Patrick

71 to go Patrick, Biffle, Earnhardt Jr., Johnson, Gordon, among others pit. Logano to the lead

70 to go Logano, Ambrose and Keselowski pit.

69 to go Kenseth leads Hamlin Bowyer Busch Martin

64 to go top 10 are pulling away from the field. Caution. Wise, Edwards, Dillon, Bayne, Labonte, Regan, Gilliland, Keselowski……….Keselowski got sideways after contact from Bayne, and then the accordion effect behind

Restart 54 to go Kenseth grabs the lead off the jump

53 to go Kenseth leads Hamlin and Kyle Busch.

51 to go Kenseth gives up the lead as he has a vibration and smoke trialing. Hamlin leads Kyle Busch. “It’s a gear or something. It’s shaking in the shifter.”

50 to go Hamlin leads Kyle Busch, Truex, Biffle, Johnson, Gordon, B. Labonte, Ambrose, Bowyer, Patrick. All single-file, top 13 trying to escape the rest of the field.

49 to go Busch blew up. Hamlin leads Truex, Biffle, Johnson, Gordon, B. Labonte, Ambrose, Bowyer, Patrick.

27 to go top nine pit, Smith grabs the lead ahead of Earnhardt Jr.

26 to go Smith, Earnhardt Jr, Martin pit. Keselowski to the lead

25 to go Truex Jr. blowing up. Penske racing teammates pit. Stenhouse pits. Scott Speed leads

Caution 24 to go Burton got into the outside wall. Speed pits. Keselowski to the lead, ahead of Johnson, Ambrose, Biffle, Hamlin Patrick Bowyer Gordon Newman Martin Almirola DaleJr

Restart 19 to go as Keselowski and Johnson are side-by-side for the lead

18 to go Keselowski leads Biffle, Patrick and Gordon

17 to go Keselowski leads Biffle, Patrick, Gordon, Martin and Earnhardt Jr.

16 to go Keselowski leads Biffle and Patrick while Gordon and Johnson are side-by-side for fourth

15 to go Keselowski to the bottom to block as Johnson and Biffle were side-by-side…..Keselowski back to the top, Johnson alongside Keselowski for the lead

11 to go Keselowski leads while Biffle and Johnson are side-by-side for second

9 to go Keselowski and Johnson side-by-side for the lead. Caution debris in turn two

The top 10: Johnson, BradK, Hamlin, Biffle, Bowyer, Danica, Logano, Dale Jr., Gordon, Martin

Restart 6 to go Johnson to the lead in turn two, ahead of Biffle and Keselowski.

5 to go Johnson leads Biffle and Patrick while Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. are side-by-side for fourth

4 to go Johnson, Biffle, Patrick, Earnhardt Jr., Martin single-file

Final lap. Wreck in turns one and two. 93 got into the wall. Logano also got damage. No caution.

Johnson. Earnhardt Jr. Martin. Keselowski. Newman. Biffle. Smith. Patrick. McDowell. Yeley. Bowyer. Stenhouse.

CHEVY NSCS AT DAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS: Jimmie Johnson Wins Daytona 500 in Chevrolet SS

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February 24, 2013

Johnson wins the Daytona 500

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SM Staff

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February 24, 2013

johnson_vl_dis500_yeazell — Photo Credit: David Yeazell

Jimmie Johnson won the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday. Johnson, making his 400th career start, held off teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin after the final restart with six laps remaining.

Johnson took the outside line, which had been faster for the entire race and it was enough for the 5-time champion to capture his second Daytona 500 win (2006) and his first win of the 2013 season.

“You have to race all day long and fight for track position. And this race car, this Lowe’s Chevrolet, was so good. Chad Knaus and all of Hendrick Motorsports gave me a fast car and I could really stay up front all day long. I had a lot of confidence those final few laps leading the train because I knew just how fast this car was. It’s a big credit for everybody at Hendrick Motorsports.” Johnson said.

Earnhardt Jr. finished second.

“We just had a lot of help from Mark Martin at the end. We were able to lay back until the last lap on the backstretch there to get enough of a run. We got by a couple of them, but I looked up in the mirror off of four and Mark was back there racing those guys and I lost my help. So when we got to Jimmie (Johnson) we didn’t have enough steam.” Earnhardt Jr. said.

“We have a hard time finishing these races, boy, to run one-two man what a day. I’m so proud of Jimmie, Dale what a great move by Dale there at the end. I’m glad.” team owner Rick Hendrick said.

Martin finished third, Brad Keselowski fourth and Ryan Newman finished fifth.

“The high lane just had all the speed. It doesn’t mean we weren’t trying. It just wouldn’t go down there eon the bottom and it made it real hard to pass. It wasn’t for lack of effort. I would rather make that effort, and I did, but I kept going to the back.” Keselowski said.

Danica Patrick started from the pole but dropped to second place after Jeff Gordon got a better start and was able to pull around Patrick before the first lap was complete. Patrick ran strong all day long and finished 8^th. Patrick led a total of five laps and became the first woman ever to lead a lap under green at the Daytona 500 and also tied Janet Guthrie’s career mark for a woman in Sprint Cup competition.

“Ran up front all day long and we led a little. We stayed in the top-10 all day pretty much. Had nice pit stops by the GoDaddy crew, the car was fast and it’s always a little frustrating when you come through and your top three on that last lap. I will learn more for next time. I really didn’t feel like I had a great grasp as to ‘how do you go win this race’”. Patrick said.

On lap 33, Kasey Kahne was spun around after contact from behind with Kyle Busch. Kahne spun sideways into oncoming traffic. Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick were also collected and sent to the garage for repairs.

“Oh, it’s crazy. I can’t believe it. I mean, I wanted to race. I didn’t want to run single-file by the wall. That’s what we were doing and you still got caught in something.” Kahne said.

Carl Edwards’ Daytona Speedweeks bad luck continued. He was collected in another accident.

“It’s so frustrating. This has not been fun. My guys, they’re not quitting and are working hard. They’ve already told me they’re ready to go to Phoenix and dominate. We’re not getting held down this year. It doesn’t matter how many cars we wrecked here. We’re fighting to the very end.” Edwards said.

Matt Kenseth led a race-high 86 laps. While leading the race, Kenseth he had to bring his car to the garage after a vibration was felt and smoke from the front of the car on lap 149.

“I’m not sure if it’s an engine or a transmission — if it’s a transmission we’ll get out, but if it’s an engine then obviously we won’t. Disappointing end to a great day.” Kenseth said.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch also went to the garage with engine problems.

“Just broke an engine for some reason. Just unfortunate that this whole team has got to go through this stuff. We got bottled up back in traffic a little bit there. I hate it that I wrecked the 5 and the rest of those guys that were racing around us. But, unfortunate for us we broke pieces.” Busch said.

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Phoenix International Raceway next weekend for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at 3:00 pm est.

Unofficial Race Results
Daytona 500, Daytona Int’l Speedway
http://www.speedwaymedia.com/cup/race.php?race=1
=========================================
Pos.	St.	No.	Driver	Make	Points
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1	9	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	47
2	19	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	42
3	14	55	Mark Martin	Toyota	41
4	15	2	Brad Keselowski	Ford	41
5	34	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	40
6	5	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	38
7	40	51	Regan Smith(i)	Chevrolet	0
8	1	10	Danica Patrick #	Chevrolet	37
9	38	98	Michael McDowell	Ford	35
10	41	36	JJ Yeley	Chevrolet	34
11	10	15	Clint Bowyer	Toyota	34
12	28	17	Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #	Ford	32
13	26	43	Aric Almirola	Ford	31
14	35	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	31
15	23	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	29
16	42	83	David Reutimann	Toyota	28
17	30	7	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	27
18	24	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	26
19	21	22	Joey Logano	Ford	26
20	2	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	25
21	16	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	24
22	29	26	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	23
23	31	95	Scott Speed	Ford	22
24	37	56	Martin Truex Jr	Toyota	20
25	43	93	Travis Kvapil	Toyota	20
26	39	32	Terry Labonte	Ford	18
27	33	21	Trevor Bayne(i)	Ford	0
28	11	78	Kurt Busch	Chevrolet	16
29	17	13	Casey Mears	Ford	15
30	18	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	14
31	8	33	Austin Dillon(i)	Chevrolet	0
32	20	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	12
33	36	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	11
34	4	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	10
35	22	34	David Ragan	Ford	9
36	6	5	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	8
37	12	20	Matt Kenseth	Toyota	9
38	25	38	David Gilliland	Ford	6
39	7	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	5
40	32	35	Josh Wise(i)	Ford	0
41	13	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	3
42	3	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	2
43	27	87	Joe Nemechek(i)	Toyota	0