Truex, Johnson All Smiles After Locking into Daytona 500 Field

A pair of NASCAR Cup Series champions were able to secure their places in the starting field for the 67th annual Daytona 500. Martin Truex Jr., the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, and seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson were the two-fastest drivers among the nine "Open" entries in Wednesday night's Daytona 500 qualifying session.

Following what had been a pressure-packed Wednesday for the two legendary drivers, ended with both cracking wide smiles in their joint post-qualifying press conference. The reason for the sigh of relief was obvious. The drivers don't have to worry about being caught up in an incident in Thursday's Duel Qualifying Races, which could end their bids to make it into The Great American Race.

"It's huge. It's speedway racing, so, a lot could happen. You know, you could have a great car, a great plan, execute a great race and something could take you out of it," Truex explained. "So, we can just go concentrate on working on our car for Sunday now, and be smart for [Thursday] night if we need to be."

Johnson, who along with Truex was one of the most vocal detractors of NASCAR's new Open Exemption Provisional rule, which has secured a place in the Daytona 500 field for Helio Castroneves regardless of how the driver ran in qualifying or Thursday's Duels, during Wednesday's Daytona 500 Media Day, nearly missed the Daytona 500 field a season ago in a fevered final lap battle with JJ Yeley for the final starting spot.

Now, the driver of the No. 84 LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota Camry XSE doesn't have to worry about that potential nightmare scenario this year.

"Yeah, it's a big weight lifted off, to say the least," Johnson admitted. "You know, the experience I had last year has been ringing through my brain at night. I've jumped out of bed a few times with some nightmares as the day got closer. We're doing so much to turn LEGACY MOTOR CLUB around and have it pointed in the right direction."

While Johnson has been vividly dreaming about last year's near-disaster in the Duels, he had forgotten about one key detail that led to him making the Daytona 500 last year.

"I pushed him into the show last year," Truex stated. "Short memory."

To which Johnson responded, "That's right. Totally right."

It appears if the two former Cup Series champions find themselves in a position to work together in Sunday's Daytona 500 that Johnson owes Truex a bit from the 2024 Duel Qualifier Race.

Truex (22nd-fastest in the session), and Johnson (29th) will have a chance to improve their starting spots (currently 39th and 40th) in Thursday's Duel Qualifier Races, but regardless of the outcome of Thursday's events, which will set the starting lineup for the Daytona 500, Truex and Johnson will be in the race.

By making the Daytona 500 field, Truex secured the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series start for TRICON Garage, a powerhouse NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series organization, which is fielding his No. 56 Toyota for this event.

While Truex did secure a spot in the field for TRICON Garage, the driver saw his former ride -- the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota -- take the pole position for Sunday's race with Chase Briscoe behind the wheel. Was it awkward for Truex, who decided to retire from full-time competition at the conclusion of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season to see his former car atop the scoring pylon at the end of qualifying?

"No, not really. I mean, it sounds funny, but I've been there before," Truex quipped. "In 2010, I went and drove the No. 56 car, and the Bass Pro car won the Daytona 500. So, I've been in these shoes before. But I'm happy for [Crew Chief] James [Small] and all of those guys, I know they worked hard. Toyota put a big effort in this offseason in their Speedway program."

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