What an afternoon it was at Daytona! And what a day for Jimmie Johnson!
Jimmie started off his day by running the Daytona Beach Half Marathon, where he finished in 14th place overall with an official time of 1:38:18. That's blazing fast for someone to run 13.1 miles!
Jimmie then hopped in his cup car, where he qualified third for Thursday's Duel at Daytona. In fact, Hendrick Motorsports claimed the top four positions! William Byron was first and Alex Bowman placed second, followed by Jimmie and Chase Elliott. Because of their finishes today, Byron and Bowman will start first and second at next Sunday's Daytona 500. Everyone's starting spot will be determined by Thursday's Duels.
Jimmie then raced in the Clash. Things got interesting on lap 56 of 75. Paul Menard was running first and Jimmie in second. Jimmie knew that rain was coming, so in an aggressive move, he tried to dip below Menard to take the lead. Unfortunately, there was a small bobble, and what happened next is certainly a debate as to whether Jimmie got into Menard or Menard slightly moved down on Jimmie, but the result is that a crash ensued and 17 of the 20 cars racing were involved in "The Big One." A caution was thrown, the rain came, and in a rain-shortened race, Jimmie was called the winner.