DAYTONA BEACH — Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson survived last-lap chaos at the Daytona 500 and savored landmark achievements as driver and team owner Sunday night.
The 49-year-old legend scored a third-place finish in the Great American Race, his best showing since winning for the second time in 2013. In addition, Legacy Motor Club’s two full-time cars ran fifth (John Hunter Nemechek) and 12th (Erik Jones), despite the latter absorbing damage in a wild wreck that sent Ryan Preece airborne.
“This feels incredible, and I have emotions that I didn’t expect to have,” said Johnson, who purchased an ownership stake in Petty GMS Motorsports in 2022 and rebranded the team the following season. “I’ve never been in this position as an owner. It’s really opened up a different set of emotions. The pride that I have in this result, and the pride that I have in this company and what we’re trying to achieve and the journey we’re on, I’m so satisfied and so happy right now.”
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In the second lap of overtime, Johnson came off Turn 2 in 12th place — a logjam formed behind former champions Denny Hamlin and Austin Cindric as they battled for the lead. Cole Custer slid to the outside, lost control and swept up Hamlin, Cindric and several others as William Byron escaped the wreckage to clinch his second consecutive Daytona 500 title.
Johnson held his position in the middle of a three-wide pack, passed Nemechek on the right and surged around pole sitter Chase Briscoe to follow Byron and Tyler Reddick to the checkered flag.
“Thankfully, Denny’s car, the direction it went, stayed up against the outside wall for a period of time and allowed some cars to get through, and I was one,” Johnson said.
“I’ve been here 22 times now, and the seas don’t part like that every time. So I’m glad I got one in my favor.”
Johnson competed in 12 Cup Series races over the previous two seasons, including both the 2023 and ’24 Daytona 500s. He placed 31st and 28th, respectively.
Byron, who became the youngest multi-time Daytona 500 champion in history, relished another chance to race with former Hendrick Motorsports teammate Johnson.
“At one point, I was behind Jimmie with like 25 laps to go. Just seeing him still out there wheeling, his car was pretty loose, and he’s just throwing it around,” Byron said. “That’s just Jimmie.”
Johnson secured a spot in the field for his Shaquille O’Neal-designed No. 84 Toyota on speed Wednesday. From his viewpoint in the white-flag lap, a top-10 showing would have been “nice.”
But, a top-three finish with the added benefit of not needing to prepare for another race until Memorial Day Weekend’s Coca-Cola 600?
“It means that I can get after it tonight and celebrate with my team,” Johnson said. “Normally, I’d be worried about recovering and getting ready for the next race.
“One thing I did not do as a full-time driver was savor the moments, and I’ll be able to savor this one.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona 500: Jimmie Johnson scores best finish since 2013
