Johnson crashes from lead moments away from Stage 1 win
Jimmie Johnson's promising day ended up abruptly while leading towards the end of Stage 1 in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Hendrick Motorsports looked strong early in NASCAR's return to racing at Darlington Raceway Sunday.
At one point, the team was running 1-2-3.
With eight laps to go in the first stage, Jimmie Johnson was able to get around teammate Alex Bowman and take over the race lead.
Johnson was trying to fend off a hard-charging William Byron and Denny Hamlin for what would have been on first stage win of the 2020 season.
On the final lap of the stage, calamity struck as Johnson got into the back of Chris Buescher, who he was attempting to lap. The No.48 machine spun sideways and slammed the inside wall, ending Johnson's day.
"I don't want one single person to get down," crew chief Cliff Daniels radioed following the race-ending crash. "We've got a great race car. So don't you get down."
"Gosh what I would do to get that corner back to do it over again," a dejected Johnson told FOX after being released from the infield care center. "Coming to the end of the stage and just trying to make sure I got a good run off of Turn 2.
"I felt like I was going to be able to exit the corner side by side with him (Buescher) and things just went horribly wrong there. God what a great car, I feel terrible for my team, everybody at Hendrick Motorsports.
"We got great race cars and everything is going in the right direction. Just unfortunate that things didn't really turn out there out of Turn 2."
Johnson will finish 38th.
Soon after, Byron found the wall as well, sustaining significant right side damage after complaining about a possible loose wheel.
NASCAR's Real Heroes 400 from Darlington as it happened
Harvick grabs 50th win in NASCAR's return at Darlington
The ex-F1 driver taking on NASCAR with a new team
Saddled with uncompetitive Minardi machinery, Tarso Marques didn't manage to score points in his three partial seasons of Formula 1. But now the Brazilian has the chance to show what he can do in NASCAR, and explains the story of his comeback with new Cup Series entrant Team Stange
The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car
NASCAR’s new stock car generation is encouraging an influx of fresh blood into its top tier. But there are concerns that parts are in short supply as the entire paddock tries to build up stocks at the same time
How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style
After holding his nerve and hip-checking his teammate on the run to the line, Austin Cindric made a perfect start to life as a full-timer in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. Here's how the Penske Ford man emerged first across the line in the first points-scoring race for the much-anticipated Next Generation cars
Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season
There are plenty of uncertainties ahead of the 2022 NASCAR Cup season as an all-new fleet of cars take to the track for the first time. Ahead of this weekend's Daytona 500, our experts explain what you need to know
How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of Next Gen arrival
The NASCAR Cup kicks off with the Daytona 500 this weekend, but a major engine overhaul and a subsequent mountain of work has been required to be ready for the arrival of the Next Gen cars.
How Larson took the long way round to NASCAR Cup glory
From villain to hero, Kyle Larson had to reach his lifelong goal the hard way and go through a very public shaming after a ban for using a racial slur, but his talents shone long before his name grabbed the headlines...
How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022
It’s not just Formula 1 that’s set for upheaval in 2022, as the NASCAR Cup series adopts its Next Gen cars that will cast any in-built advantages aside and require teams to adopt a totally new way of operating. Far more than just a change of machinery, the new cars amount to a shift in NASCAR's core philosophy
Why Bubba Wallace’s Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR
Bubba Wallace claimed his maiden NASCAR Cup Series at Talladega on Monday to become the first Black victor in the category since Wendell Scott in 1963. Both Wallace and Scott had faced obstacles and racism in their paths to their breakthrough wins, and NASCAR is trying to put it right with its range of diversity programmes