DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The 55th Daytona 500 is in the history books. The rain never arrived, but Jimmie Johnson "reigns" supreme in winning his second 500 by beating Dale Earnhardt Jr. to the checkered flag. It's the 4th time Junior has finished second to go with his one Daytona 500 win here.
Danica Patrick brings home the best finish for a women in the history of the Great American Race. Her 8th place finish bests Janet Guthrie's 11th place finish in 1980. Patrick led five laps and had a top 5 car down the stretch before fading to finish in the top 10.
"It was a steady day," said Patrick. "Got off to a nice start. Wish I would have led at the beginning. It was nice to lead later on in the day. Overall steady day. Steady day for me. Nice day for GoDaddy and the crew did a nice job in the pits."
Johnson gets to enjoy the win with crew chief Chad Knauss. It's their first one together. Knauss was suspended the last time he won. Johnson gets the win in his 400th career start. "It's a great shot in the arm," said Johnson. A big boost for our sponsors, our crew members.
There are a lot of hours put in during the off season and everybody back in North Carolina right now is smiling and knows that all that hard work and time they put in was worth it."
Now, it's off to Phoenix for the NASCAR folks.
