“When I look back on the years I’ve had so far at NASCAR, I fall back to the experiences of the people…Not holding the trophy in Victory Lane.” Jimmie Johnson’s words are still true five years after retiring from full-time NASCAR racing. As the sport implements the 41st rule which guarantees a spot to IndyCar star Helio Castroneves, the current Cup Series drivers are sympathizing with Johnson – including Kyle Busch.

After all, the seven-time Cup Series champion as well as 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. needed to earn their way into the Daytona 500. Castroneves on the other hand, will get a spot regardless of his qualifying result. This is deeply troubling for Kyle Busch, a two-time champion veteran of the sport.

Kyle Busch opens up against NASCAR’s policy

What Jimmie Johnson has achieved in NASCAR cannot be overstated. He won championships on a five-peat strike between 2006 and 2010. His 83 Cup Series race wins are tied with Cale Yarborough’s for sixth all-time in NASCAR history. When people dream about entering the stock car racing series, they look up to him first. The Open Exemption Provisional guarantees a spot for “world-class drivers who enter a NASCAR Cup Series race.” So, what flabbergasted the Cup Series garage is NASCAR not acknowledging the world-class winner in its premise. Instead, four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves will be guaranteed a spot that bothers Kyle Busch.

Denny Hamlin claimed that the rule “reeks of desperation” while Alex Bowman believes that it “hurts the whole thing.” Two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch chipped in his own opinion during an interview. “We talked about the 41st rule…and I listened to a couple of other drivers. Hearing their take on it, I have a different stance in which you are opening up a spot for someone from outside our realm to be able to get in a show. But you could take away from a Jimmie Johnson making the show or a Martin Truex Jr. making the show.” So Busch laid down his verdict: “So I disagree with that.”

If Helio Castroneves fails to qualify, NASCAR will expand the field to 41 cars to occupy him. Kyle Busch suggested expanding the field for past NASCAR champions as well. That is needed especially because Next-Gen car is unfamiliar to past veterans like Jimmie Johnson. “I think that past champions provisional like, ‘may the best man win the past champions spot’…six or seven guys that are racing for the four open spots…Those three guys, past champions, that race for that one.” Then Busch outlined the utter disrespect to their legacy. “Jimmie Johnson or Martin Truex (Jr.) would probably still wanna be in the race regardless if they were making bank or not. If they don’t make it through a Duel, automatically Castroneves gets it. I don’t like that.”

However, Kyle Busch and the others can relax a little bit. Their NASCAR heroes have carved out places despite the huge odds against them.

Overcoming the hurdles

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Apparently, the Open Exemption Provisional is open only to drivers whose teams put in the request 90 days before the event. Only Trackhouse Racing requested the provisional for Helio Castroneves. However, even if Jimmie Johnson or Martin Truex Jr. had requested, NASCAR would have ultimately decided whom to designate as the ‘world-class driver.’ So the two past NASCAR champions had to earn their spots anyway. Despite these massive hurdles in their path both expertly defeated them.

During Wednesday’s qualifying, both Johnson and Truex Jr. notched the two fastest times, thereby locking two of the four open spots at the Daytona 500. At least they were more fateful than Mike Wallace, whose Daytona 500 dreams to honor his dead wife came crashing by because of the OEP. NASCAR proposed a roadmap for him to compete in the Daytona 500 in 2026. This left fans furious and veterans questioning the integrity of the sport towards its former participants. But, seeing Johnson and Truex Jr. compete is like a breath of fresh air.

So the entire Cup garage including Kyle Busch can now breathe easy. Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. invalidated the entire 41st rule by showcasing stellar performances already. Johnson looked relieved during the postrace interview, hailing his people at Legacy Motor Club. “After what I went through last year I’m so thrilled. Very proud of everybody at Legacy Motor Club and the effort they put into this car and the evolution we’ve been on from the end of 2024 to now. … It’s gonna be a lot of fun. So I’m thrilled.” Last year, Johnson could wash up 28th after running into a multi-car wreck only 6 laps in.

Hopefully, the legendary driver can reverse that finish this time. Let us look forward to a resurgence of Jimmie Johnson’s past glory!