DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: Driving the guts out of his No. 48 Ally Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE under the lights at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway Saturday night, seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson couldn’t escape the late-race chaos of superspeedway racing – which ultimately contributed to locking him out of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
Earlier in the race, Johnson executed magnificently in the first two stages gaining crucial stage points in an attempt to leap over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron and Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto.
Throughout Stage 3, Johnson kept his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet near the front but in the closing laps of the Coke Zero Sugar 400 – the battle for the lead intensified ultimately causing the second multi-crash of the race that swept Johnson as one of its victims.
The incident appeared to start when the tire let go on Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford Mustang after contact with another car. Logano spun directly into the path of the front-runners collecting Darrell Wallace Jr., Matt DiBenedetto, Christopher Bell and Matt Kenseth in the process.
Logano’s shot to Kenseth sent the No. 42 Chevrolet from the bottom of the track to the top tapping the left rear of Johnson’s car which sent the No. 48 Chevrolet spinning into Tyler Reddick who made contact with the backstretch wall.
Johnson was able to limp a battered Ally Chevrolet back to pit road where under repair efforts from the Hendrick Motorsports team was able to keep Johnson on-track but out of contention for a win and even top-10 finish.
With just two laps to go to finish the race, Johnson was able to stay ahead of the damaged vehicle policy and drive a mangled race car to the checkered flag – finishing 17th.
The race was won by his Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron – led by crew chief Chad Knaus who guided Johnson to his seven Cup Series championships.
Winless in 120 races, Johnson made a trip to victory lane to congratulate Byron, Knaus and the No. 24 team.
“It’s a big win for Chad Knaus and William Byron,” Johnson said. “I really felt like we had a way to transfer, to win, or point our way in and things just got ugly. Unfortunate, but that’s plate racing.”
Despite the last-chance efforts by crew chief Cliff Daniels and the No. 48 bunch, Johnson lost his opportunity to contend for a record eighth NASCAR Cup Series championship by a mere six points behind DiBenedetto.
Of course, it just wasn’t Daytona that kept the further NASCAR Hall of Famer out of the 10-race Playoff run.
“We had a really good car and last couple months we’ve been really getting our act together and running well,” added Johnson. Really disappointed to not be in the Playoffs. That was the number one goal to start the year.”
A missed opportunity in NASCAR’s return at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in May, a disqualification after finishing second in the Coca-Cola 600 for a real alignment failure or even being sidelined for the Brickyard 400 in July because of a positive COVID-19 test all were contributing factors to keeping one of NASCAR’s great on the sidelines for the title, but in typical Johnson fashion – he took the defeat in stride and is determined to get himself and his team in Victory Lane over the final 10 weeks of the season.
“When I look back at the disqualification at Charlotte and then missing the Brickyard 400 due to my COVID-19 positive test and only miss it by six points – we did all that we could this year. I’m so thankful for Hendrick Motorsports and the career that I’ve had there, the relationship with Ally and their continued support for this race team.
“Cliff Daniels and these guys on my team – they pour their guts out for me. There’s 10 races left, 10 trophies to go chase and we’ll have to focus our efforts there.”
While the missing presence of Johnson in the run to the championship 4 certainly won’t define the season from their standpoint – let alone Johnson’s career, the El Cajon, Calif. native said he was proud of the strides his team has made in 2020 under the leadership of Daniels.
“The last three years have been tough – we all know that,” Johnson admitted. “I think we’ve shown some bright spots and Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) has done a really good job of leading this team and taking this team in the right direction. I think we can show that and close out the year.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
