[ad_1]
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (AP) — Jimmie Johnson could only watch the familiar, jubilant scene around Daytona International Speedway on pit road, the first two times he’d been there.
Fireworks exploded above him and the Hendrick Motorsports car – the organization that Johnson once helped make the best in NASCAR – was incinerated, while daytona 500 The checkered flag was stuck outside William Byron’s window.
The Daytona 500 was a race in his championship heyday in which Johnson was always in danger of winning. Heck, Johnson won it twice in 2006 and 2013 while driving for Rick Hendrick.
In his return to NASCAR as a part-time driver he found Daytona International Speedway difficult to master and full time team owner Legacy Motor Club. Johnson was collected in a multi-car crash just six laps into Monday night, falling out of contention and finishing 28th in the No. 84 Toyota.
“I expected to run a long race. It’s a matter of time before you get into something here, Johnson said.
Photos you should see
The seven-time NASCAR champion and latest Hall of Fame inductee had a more successful night as a team owner than as a driver. Legacy drivers John Hunter Nemechek and Eric Jones finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
“Two top-10s in both cars, that’s good,” Johnson said.
When Johnson saw Byrne’s team celebrating from a distance, he turned back and smiled. They were teammates at Hendrick for three seasons before Johnson stepped away from NASCAR at the end of 2020.
“No joke, he used to go trick-or-treating at my house when he was a kid,” Johnson said. “He gave me a little autograph card that said, ‘Someday I’ll be your teammate.’ I patted him on the head and said, ‘Yes, of course baby. Of course you are.’ “He just won the Daytona 500.”
Byron began Hendrick Motorsports’ 40th anniversary season with the team’s first Daytona 500 victory since Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014.
“It was weird seeing Jimmy there tonight and not having him in our car,” Hendricks said. “It felt really weird.”
Johnson came dangerously close to missing the cut for “The Great American Race.”
He did not have the speed in the time trials to earn a spot in the 40-car field. This meant that Johnson had to race his own way. He survived a late spin that put him in a precarious position, only to make a comeback with a three-wide move through the final turn that sealed him in his 21st Daytona 500.
At least this time it was Johnson’s last Daytona thrill.
“There’s optimism early on, hopefully we can fix the suspension and then at least participate in the draft,” Johnson said. “Then, as time went on, we realized the severity of the damage and unless I had a unique situation, we had too much damage to really hang in the draft. So again, at that time it was just wondering whether there would be more precautions and whether we would gain some status through the precautions.
Even after the disappointing result, Johnson would not rule out another run at the Daytona 500. he used a #onelasttime Hashtag ahead of his expected final Daytona 500 in 2020. He won’t be in such a hurry for his next one.
“As long as we keep finding partners, I’ll keep coming back,” Johnson said. “Others said I retired. I never said this.”
Johnson spent two years in IndyCar before returning for three Cup races last season. He got into a late crash in last year’s Daytona 500 and finished 31st. In his two other starts he finished 38th and 37th.
Johnson said he will fly to his London home on Tuesday and possibly return to the United States in three weeks in his owner’s cap to race at Phoenix Raceway. He will return to the No. 84 at Texas Motor Speedway in April and then for seven more races this season, looking for his first Cup finish since June 4, 2017 at Dover Motor Speedway.
Until then, Johnson was happy to have at least one more race at Daytona – where he hung out with the band Creed and NSYNC member Joey Fatone, his race-day fit was a cowboy hat and fans flocked to him. Because he remained a must-get for autograph hounds.
“I soaked it up as much as I could, even rolling around with a wrecked car,” Johnson said. “But to be here, and to be a part of the race, especially with the testing that we had as a team on Thursday going into the race, the results weren’t what we wanted, but It was very special.”
Copyright 2024 The associated Press, All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link