Filed under: Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Michael Waltrip, Regan Smith, Sprint Cup, Hendrick Motorsports

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson started the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season as he ended 2009 -- as a winner.

Johnson nipped Kevin Harvick by less than a foot at the finish line after 60 laps around the high banks of Daytona International Speedway on Thursday in the first of two Gatorade Duels. The official margin of victory was five one-thousandths of a second -- the second-closest Duel finish since the advent of electronic scoring of NASCAR races in 1993.

Harvick had the lead coming off turn four, but he lost this race ins the same fashion he won the 2007 Daytona 500. That time, he was on the inside of Mark Martin and edged past him. This time, Harvick was on the outside of Johnson, and suffered the same fate as he dished out to Martin.

Johnson won the race in his backup car after a crash in practice Wednesday damaged his primary car.

"I didnt feel like beating this thing up anymore," Johnson said. "It just showed we build good race cars at Hendrick Motorsports. It wasn't easy driving a car that loose. But I'm really stoked."

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments