Wreck ends Johnson’s last bid for Cup

Dream of eighth championship dies in Daytona pile- up

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Long after a fireworks extravaganza lit up Daytona International Speedway and well after William Byron and his Hendrick Motorsports team ended their celebration in victory lane, Jimmie Johnson found time to reflect.

On his night. On his emotions. On his legacy. He pretty much covered them all.

Johnson posted a picture on Instagram of his battered No. 48 Chevrolet, which was caught up in a late- race wreck and knocked out of playoff contention in the regularseason finale Saturday. The crash meant his racing career would end without a record- setting eighth Cup Series championship.

“7 it is,” he wrote. “I’m damn proud of that in case you were wondering.”

Johnson was running near the front of the pack

most of the night and was in position to make the playoffs until Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano made contact and started a multi- car melee that collected Johnson and nine others with less than two laps to go. Logano slammed into Bubba Wallace, who slid sideways and nearly wrecked Byron.

Logano tried to straighten his car, but Matt DiBenedetto rammed into his rear bumper and caused him to lose control for good. Johnson looked like he might escape the carnage, but Logano spun into Matt Kenseth, who made a hard right into Johnson’s driver- side door.

Johnson sat on pit road in his mangled mess during a red flag and surely realized that the “storybook ending” he had talked of was gone.

“The last couple of months, we’ve been really getting our act together and running well,” Johnson said after finishing 17th, missing the final postseason berth by six points. “Definitely disappointed to not be in the playoffs.”

Johnson would have been safely in the 16- car field had he not missed a race following a positive test for COVID19 and had a second- place finish thrown out at Charlotte after failing post- race inspection.

Johnson handled the latest disappointment with grace and dignity — no surprise given the way he has gone about his business in an oftenglaring spotlight. He walked to victory lane to congratulate Byron and his team, including crew chief Chad Knaus. Johnson and Knaus were together for all seven titles in the 48.

“I feel awful,” Knaus said. “Let’s be quite honest, right? Jimmie shouldn’t be in this position. … That hurts. I hate it for Jimmie. He’s one of my best friends. He was the first guy that came by pit road and looked up at me, revved up the engine, gave me a thumbs- up. He means the world to me. He’s a great man and brother of mine.”

Regardless of how it plays out, Johnson already has left an indelible mark on stockcar racing. He won five consecutive championships ( 2006- 10), forcing other drivers and teams to play catchup, and added two more ( 2013, ’ 16) years after the unprecedented run. He’s a first- ballot Hall of Famer with a racing career that will be hard to match, let alone top, for anyone moving forward.