Johnson comes out on top at Daytona

(via Nascar.com)

All week long, NASCAR analysts and fans alike talked about so many different "favorites" to win the Daytona 500. Danica Patrick, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart,  and many more names were talked about the ones who would likely win at Daytona.

Hardly anyone thought of what NASCAR analysts call "Ole Five Time", Jimmie Johnson.

As the 500 unfolded, there were several different leaders that looked stout enough to bring home the big trophy. There was Matt Kenseth, who led 86 of the 200 laps, Denny Hamlin who led 33 laps, and Jeff Gordon who led the first 31 laps.

But it was Jimmie Johnson who took the lead at Lap 191 of 200, and never gave up that lead.

With Johnson's second 500 win, he'll look to string another good run together at Phoenix to give himself a bigger cushion in the championship points.

Summary of Hendrick's Drivers

Jimmie Johnson-Johnson not only came out as the winner of the Daytona 500, but gave him a leg up on the competition when it comes to reaching the ultimate goal of winning that championship at the end of the year.

(via knowconcussion.org)

Dale Earnhardt Jr-Earnhardt Jr started the race mid pack at 19 out of 43 drivers and found himself teetering back and forth from sixteenth to the top five. Junior eventually found himself finishing second after making a last lap move going from fourth to second. This puts Junior in a good spot going forward in the chase for the championship

(via sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

Jeff Gordon- Gordon started the race second and took the lead in the first lap and never let go of it until lap 32 when he started to experience water temperature issues.  This caused Gordon to have to lay low and move mid pack so he could try and make a run to the front at the end. Gordon though, found himself in the middle of a three-wide situation between two other cars and was sucked back to twentieth position, which is where he finished. Gordon and his crew will have to learn from their water temperature troubles and work to come up with a better finish at Phoenix.

(via espn.go.com)

Kasey Kahne- Kasey had a solid car that many people believed had a chance of winning the big race. Although, to his dismay, he found himself being spun around at lap 33, and into the wall. This caused him and his crew to go back to the garage and fix what they could, come back out and put some laps down to gain as many championship points as they could even though they were down 50 laps. Kasey finished in position 36 out of 43. Kasey will need a better go around at keeping out of harm's way at Phoenix this coming weekend if he wants to get back in contention for the championship at the end of the year.

Now, that Hendrick's team picked up a 1-2 finish, they'll look to capitalize at Phoenix International Speedway by all four drivers finishing at least in the top 15. But, who will try to stop them? The Joe Gibbs Racing team of Matt Kenseth, Kyle Busch, and Denny Hamlin all took turns at leading in Daytona. Can they somehow muscle themselves in as the top team in NASCAR? Or will another team such as Roush-Fenway team prove they can run with team Hendrick? We'll just have let it all decide itself on the track in Phoenix.