Jimmie Johnson Up for the Challenge to Make Daytona 500 as Open Car

By David Morgan, Associate Editor

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson comes into the 67^th running of the Daytona 500 in a precarious position for his No. 84 Legacy Motor Club team.

Not yet locked into the Great American Race, Johnson will have to run the gamut in pole qualifying on Wednesday night and in Thursday’s Duels to earn his place in the field and make a run at banking another Harley J. Earl Trophy.

Johnson is among nine open cars that are not locked into Sunday’s race, along with former Cup champion Martin Truex, Jr., Anthony Alfredo, Justin Allgaier, Corey LaJoie, B.J. McLeod, Chandler Smith, J.J. Yeley, and four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves.

To make his 21^st start in the Daytona 500, Johnson will either have to be one of the two fastest open cars in single-car qualifying on Wednesday night or be the top finisher among the open cars in his particular Duel race on Thursday night.

A year ago, Johnson barely squeaked into the field over J.J. Yeley and is hoping to not have to go through the wringer again this year as he looks to make the 40-car field.

“It’s awful. What I went through last year to get in. I wasn’t in until the last half-mile of my Duel race. Hopefully I don’t have to go through that again,” Johnson said, reflecting on the agonizing wait he had to endure in 2024 to secure his starting spot.

He added that the caliber of open cars that have ties to bigger teams will make the challenge of making it into the race will be even tougher. It may very well come down to the luck of the draw to determine who makes it in and who will be among those going home early.

“Especially this year, cars trying to get in on speed have an affiliation with a bigger team. And I imagine, everyone’s trying to put their best stuff on those cars,” Johnson said.

“RCR (Richard Childress Racing) with the No. 62 and Hendrick (Motorsports) with the No. 40. That’s interesting on speed, but with the Duels and how they’re split up, if you’re in a Duel without your teammates and have to look to the OEM, and if I’m in a Duel without my teammates and I have the Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing) cars and Martin (Martin Truex Jr.) is there, they’re going to push Martin.

“It’s a wild scenario and hopefully we cure all of that by being in the top two (of open cars) tonight. Every year has its own challenges and for us, where I am now, it’s just getting in the race. In year’s past, it’s been the race and how we’re going to win. Of course, we want to do all of that but we haven’t thought about that yet. Everything’s been about getting into the race.”

One wrinkle among the open cars comes with Castroneves, who will race on Sunday no matter what courtesy of NASCAR’s new Open Exemption Provisional, a new rule that was placed into the new Charter agreement to allow the sanctioning body to provide a starting position in races for drivers of notable caliber.

Johnson’s resume would have qualified him for the provisional, but his team did not meet the 90-day deadline to make him eligible for this year’s Daytona 500. He explained during Media Day on Wednesday that the new provisional rule caught many off-guard, including himself when he heard about the free pass that was being granted to Castroneves.

“We didn’t know about it until the rule came out,” Johnson said. “Evidently, it was buried in the charter agreement that came out. But when the rule came out, I forget the time of the morning, three minutes later, we were on the phone with NASCAR and recognized it wasn’t within the 90 day-window and we weren’t eligible.

“So, we’ve had a lot of talks with everyone at NASCAR and I have a better understanding of the intent of the rule, and I would anticipate some changes following here (Daytona) to better define and clarify that.

“When first read, our reaction wasn’t great, but it is what it is and hopefully, we have a fast-enough car to get in.”