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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Minutes after the second Can-Am Duel concluded Thursday night, Jimmie Johnson‘s Hendrick Motorsports Racing team announced the seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion would be going to a back-up No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet for Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Johnson was involved in a dust up in Thursday night’s event — with David Ragan and Ryan Blaney — making contact multiple times in the midst of tight racing. He brought out a yellow flag with nine laps remaining after making contact with the wall in Turn 3. He ultimately finished 13th in the 21-car field completing all the laps.
RELATED: Blaney, Johnson make contact
His team sent word out about the car change, via Twitter, following the Duel. Johnson was 14th in pole qualifying on Sunday.