For Jimmie Johnson, hopes of winning a third Daytona 500 failed to materialize as the six-time champion thought they might.
Heading for the two-lap overtime shootout that decided NASCAR’s most prestigious race, Johnson lined up on the inside of front row next to leader Joey Logano, who had picked the outside lane for the final restart.
Denny Hamlin was third, lined up behind Johnson, but the inside line didn’t move, and Logano pulled out to the lead with help behind him. When NASCAR called a caution on Lap 203 because of a wreck on the backstretch, Logano was the winner.
“With about 10 to go, I thought we were in position to win the Daytona 500,” Johnson said after the race. “I wish we were in Victory Lane right now, but with plate racing, you honestly have no clue what’s going to happen. Our line just did not go on the restart at the end. I looked up in the mirror at a big gap and knew we were in trouble, especially with the outside line as tight as they were to one another.
“Really, the last two restarts just didn’t work for us. I was ahead of one lane, and the guys behind us just weren’t bumper to bumper. Then, on the last restart, the same thing on the bottom. So it’s just the way things happened.”
Source: Reid Spencer / NASCAR Wire Service
