Poor Speedweeks ends apropos for Johnson

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A year ago, Jimmie Johnson was the toast of Daytona and the entire NASCAR world.

But Sunday night in what may have been the greatest Daytona 500 in the 49-year history of the race, the defending 500 and Nextel Cup points champion was just plain toast. Much of the rest of the race was spectacular; Johnson's run was not. He wrecked on Lap 174, taking himself out of the race -- and four others along with him.

Johnson slammed into the outside wall, collecting David Reutimann, Tony Raines, Jeff Green and Denny Hamlin along as they all eventually slid down into the infield grass at Daytona International Speedway. Johnson ended up being credited with a 39th-place finish in the 43-car field.

"It's certainly disappointing to lose control of the car like that and get caught up in a wreck and cause a big pileup," Johnson said. "We were trying to come up through the center and make up some time. Unfortunately, we got loose in the center, and fought it for most of Turn 2 -- but then I lost it on the exit and got into the wall and took us out."

Reutimann said that it all transpired so fast that he wasn't even sure what happened.

"We got up into the 48 car. ... My spotter just said that there was a wreck in front of me -- and you know by the time you hear that, it's too late," said Reutimann, a rookie. "I saw a car cut across in front of me and I got into him. I don't even know who it was.

"I'm just disappointed for us. I thought we were going to have a pretty decent finish, just kind of plugging along and staying on the bottom of the racetrack."

Of course, Reutimann was not the only one who left Daytona on Sunday night disappointed. It was not the kind of finish Johnson was looking for as he opened defense of the points title. But crew chief Chad Knaus, who could not enjoy last year's Daytona 500 victory because he was suspended from the race by NASCAR for violating rules, admitted that the No. 48 race team struggled with finding the right setup for Johnson's car throughout Speedweeks.

"We were off a little bit the whole time down here," Knaus said. "We never quite got it the way we needed it. Whenever we got the car where it had some speed, it wasn't handling quite right. Whenever we got it handling well, it wasn't fast enough. It just didn't happen.

"It's unfortunate. These guys put a lot of hard work and effort in this car. But it happens down here sometimes."

Johnson, who started 21st, never spent a lap Sunday in the top 10. The highest he got was 12th, which he reached on Lap 20.

Johnson said that the irony of wrecking when he did was that he finally felt like his car was beginning to handle better to where he was moving up the field.

"We had a problem with the car being really tight. We finally got it turning a little bit better," Johnson said. "That caution [prior to the one caused by his own wreck] came out and we were making up ground, making our way to the top 10. Then I crashed, unfortunately."

Despite struggling earlier in Speedweeks, Johnson said that he entered Sunday's race expecting to do well.

"Our expectations certainly were high," he said. "I knew we had a good racecar. I knew our guys would put me in position to compete for the win. I just didn't make it to the finish, unfortunately."

Johnson's 39th-place finish put him 40th in points. It's the first time since March 2004 that he's been out of the top 10 in points. It broke a streak of 105 races in which he had been in the top 10 in points, the sixth-longest streak in NASCAR history.

Johnson said all he can do now is try to shrug it off and begin to prepare for hopefully a better finish next weekend in California.

"This is one race of many, and this race is so much different than what the bulk of the season is," he said. "We certainly wanted to get off to a good start and not have a DNF right out of the gate, but there's still a lot of racing left and we've got a good race team. I'm not worried."