Jimmie Johnson’s New Allegiance With Toyota Off to Rocky Start as the Veteran Was Left Stranded at Daytona Duel

Back when Jimmie Johnson and Legacy Motor Club decided to leave Chevrolet to partner with Toyota, fans of the Hall of Famer were not sure it was going to be the right call. After all, Johnson spent his entire career with Chevrolet leading up to this moment. Reportedly, Johnson and LMC have been hard at work trying to incorporate Toyota’s data systems and are also working closely with other TRD teams on various collaborations. However, the newfound partnership seems to have put Johnson’s appearance at the Daytona 500 in jeopardy.

Toyota’s poor performance put Jimmie Johnson on the back foot

Entering the 2024 Daytona Speedweek, Jimmie Johnson and Co were caught off guard during the time trials. The Toyota Camry XSE seemed to have dismal time trial performance, meaning that Johnson would fail to earn a spot at the Daytona 500 through speed alone. Johnson would have to fight his way through the field and fend off the other open cars to make his way to the Great American Race.

Speaking to Jordan Bianchi about Toyota’s poor time trial performance, Jeff Gluck shared his view on Johnson’s near miss. He stated, “They were so slow in qualifying; it was like there’s no way they’re even going to be able to stay on the same lap, they’re gonna get dropped immediately, and Jimmie, you know, yeah they didn’t qualify that well but none of the Toyotas did so.” 

Although the Toyota proved to perform miserably during the time trials, that would all change at the Duels, with a Camry XSE winning both the races with Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell behind the wheel. While Johnson carved his way through the field until the lead draft, the Hall of Famer found himself stranded after a late spin. With JJ Yeley out in front of Johnson in the closing laps, the veteran could have gone home before the Daytona 500 for the first time.

Gluck added, “You just figured okay, he’ll roll on up there because of that and the next thing you know, we’ve got a battle on our hands here because Yeley is ahead of Jimmie on the last lap! And it’s like woah what is happening here? Jimmie is actually gonna miss this thing. And then just, the way it all worked out, magically, Ross Chastain was just stalled in the middle.”

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Ultimately, Ross Chastain, being at just the right place at the right time, ended up sending Yeley on the wrong path while Johnson managed to sneak through by bump-drafting Chastain. While Johnson also got a little help from fellow Toyota racer Martin Truex Jr at the very end, the insiders also discussed Johnson’s panic after finding out no Toyota was ready to assist him earlier on.

Could TRD have done more to assist Johnson against Yeley?

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Heading into the weekend, the entire community was almost certain Jimmie Johnson would make it through. Not only did he have a capable car underneath him as the Camry XSE began to deliver during the race, but other TRD drivers were also around to offer help when needed. After all, being a key partner comes with its own set of benefits. So with his confidence in Toyota fairly evident once the car made it to lead draft, no one expected it all to unfold so suddenly.

After spinning out and finding himself in a sticky situation behind JJ Yelley, Johnson was rather frantic on the radio with his crew, trying to get all the help he could from fellow TRD races such as Erik Jones and Martin Truex Jr. Gluck and Bianchi highlighted the anxiousness of the moment.

Gluck stated, “Pretty close, it’s like, (Johnson said) “Get the 43 to drop back here! I need help!” while Bianchi concluded, “(It was) more than once. Like he was screaming, “I need help” emphatically, he wasn’t getting it because Eric Jones was stuck and he couldn’t really do anything, and Truex Jr was kind of out of line and it just didn’t align for Johnson to get that push. And if Chastain didn’t slow up, Jimmie Johnson would not have made it to the 500.”

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Ultimately, despite Truex Jr making it just in time, Johnson made it through largely based on Chastain’s loss of momentum and JJ Yeley’s unfortunate decision to go around the outside. With a lot of miscommunication already revealing itself with the TRD drivers, has Johnson really made the right move?