DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In terms of the fight to make the Daytona 500, both Jimmie Johnson and Kaz Grala endured all the stress they could handle Thursday night at the World Center of Racing.
Johnson and Grala earned the two “race-in” spots available during the Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona Int’l Speedway, in battles that came down to the final lap of both qualifying races.
In the first Duel, Johnson appeared set to cruise to a guaranteed berth in the Great American Race, but was involved in a multi-car incident in turn three coming to 10 to go that nearly left him in dire straits.
Contact between defending Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Daniel Hemric sent Hemric spinning down the banking, with Austin Dillon and Johnson left with little room to take evasive action.
To his credit, Johnson managed to spin his No. 84 Carvana Toyota Camry XSE into a skid before he made contact with any of the other cars involved, salvaging his Duel hopes despite a nervous moment.
From there, Johnson — a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and the co-owner of Legacy Motor Club — was locked in a dogfight with NY Racing’s J.J. Yeley following the final restart with six laps left.
The two battled back and forth, trading position nearly every lap of the final run, but it was the sprint to the finish line off turn 4 that decided the outcome.
As Ross Chastain lost momentum and slowed ahead of him, Yeley had to jump to the high side of the lead draft, but had no help upstairs and began fading entering the tri-oval.
That allowed Johnson to shoot to the middle of the racetrack with a shove from fellow Toyota driver Martin Truex Jr., giving Johnson the boost he needed to race his way into his 21st Daytona 500.
After saluting Yeley for the hard-fought battle on pit road, Johnson acknowledged the amount of relief he felt at finally knowing his place on the grid for Sunday’s 66th Daytona 500 was secure.
“I just have such a greater appreciation for what so many others have gone through to race in after going through that tonight,” Johnson said. “I was so fortunate for so many years to not have to worry about getting in on speed, for a variety of different reasons. Last year, even, went well. We got in on speed.”
“To go through that just now, and literally have it come down to the last hundred yards of the Duel … that wasn’t in my playbook,” Johnson added. “I’m glad I prepared like I did….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at …