By David Morgan, Associate Editor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Throughout the majority of the first Duel race Thursday night at Daytona, it appeared everything was going the way of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson in his bid to make it into the field for the 66th running of the Daytona 500.
Barring something unfortunate, it seemed Johnson was on easy street, running near the front of the field in the early going and playing it safe near the back after a round of green flag pit stops, but with 11 laps to go, everything changed.
Ahead of Johnson’s No. 84 Legacy Motor Club Toyota, a trio of cars got together and Johnson found himself with nowhere to go, getting swept up in a crash in Turn 4 that also included Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Austin Dillon, and Daniel Hemric.
Luckily, Johnson was able to escape the incident relatively unscathed aside from losing all of his track position and now running behind J.J. Yeley – the driver he was battling for the transfer spot into the Daytona 500 field.
With six laps remaining in the 150-mile race, it was anyone’s guess which of the two would come out on top.
The two raced side-by-side, neck and neck over the final laps, with both taking the advantage at one point or another. On the final lap, Johnson found himself behind Yeley and in desperation mode.
Then came the break Johnson needed.
A stack up ahead of Johnson and Yeley caused Yeley to have to make an evasive move when Ross Chastain’s No. 1 Chevrolet started fading backwards, allowing Johnson to fall in behind Chastain with help from fellow Toyota teammate Martin Truex, Jr. That push was all Johnson needed with Yeley hung out to dry on the outside as held onto the transfer spot all the way to the finish to punch his ticket into Sunday’s race.
“This Carvana Toyota Camry was very, very capable in the draft,” Johnson said. “It was pretty easy to get up to the front and kind of maintain. And, while I was enjoying my position on track, I just knew it was too early, I knew stuff was coming and I knew something would happen. A few things happened after the pit stop that were quite exciting. Thankfully, we were in the right spot at the right time at the checkered flag.”
Johnson added that even with everything on the line, he appreciated the fight that Yeley and his small team were able to put up in the closing stages of the race.
“It was intense,” Johnson said. “With probably three to go he threw a…
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