Johnson Makes History at Daytona

Picture By: Roger Blake

Jimmie Johnson became the first driver in 31 years to win both the Daytona 500 and the July race in Daytona, the Coke Zero 400, within the same year.  The last NASCAR driver to perform this feat was Bobby Allison in 1982.  The win makes Johnson only the fifth driver in NASCAR history to be able to sweep both Daytona races in a single season.  Besides Johnson and Allison, the other drivers to accomplish this were Fireball Roberts, Cale Yarbough and LeeRoy Yarbough.

Race Series Now Tied

Prior to the Coke Zero 400, Matt Kenseth was leading the Sprint Cup racing series with four wins, but Johnson's win draws him even with the driver of the #20 car with eight more races to go until The Chase begins.  The Chase will determine the NASCAR championship, which Johnson has already won five times. 

Kenseth, who has performed well all season long, is going for his second championship in the Sprint Cup series.  He won the championship back in 2003 when the series was still known as the Winston Cup.  Kenseth drives for Joe Gibbs Racing, which is owned by a former NFL coach.

Overall Points Leader

Jimmie Johnson, the driver of the #48 car, sponsored by Lowe's Home Improvement, still holds the points lead with 658.  Clint Bowyer improved to second in the points standings, but is 49 points behind Johnson.  While the points standings are important, when The Chase begins, the top 10 drivers in the points standing, plus two wildcards, will no longer count those points in order to win the championship.

The driver who gets the most points in the last 10 races of the season will be the Sprint Cup series champion for 2013.  Brad Keselowski, the driver of the #2 car, won the series championship in 2012.

Historic Daytona

The Daytona Speedway has seen its fair share of history this year.  The premier racetrack of NASCAR, the track where stockcar racing began, saw the first woman to take the pole at the Daytona 500 and the best finish at the 500 for a woman when Danica Patrick, a Sprint Cup rookie finished 8th to kick-off the season.  She performed well again in the Coke Zero 400, finishing 14th.  Now with Johnson's history making win, that is three historic entries into NASCAR record book that has taken place at the restrictor plate track this season at Daytona.