In the qualifying round for the 60th Annual Daytona 500, the current NASCAR champion saw his car get completely destroyed and took down two other vehicles in a crash that had everyone gasping.
Jimmie Johnson, a 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, is currently the only active driver with multiple Daytona 500 wins – but that didn’t do anything to help him avoid a wreck that torched his car and forced him to start at the rear-end of the pack during Sunday’s Daytona 500.
2018 marks Johnson’s 17th full-time season and has a chance to beat out both Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Petty by taking home an eighth championship title, but that means he needs to fight his way to the front this weekend.
During the Can-Am Duel qualifying round on Thursday, February 15th, 2018, Johnson had some tire issues and got loose after falling out of the single-file line on Lap 8. He slammed straight into Aric Almirola and Daniel Suarez. Almirola is running the No. 10 Ford for Stewart-Haas racing as Danica Patrick‘s replacement.
“Jimmie (Johnson) blew a right rear tire and just came across the race track,” Almirola explained to Fox Sports, according to MSN. “There was nothing I could do. I saw him pull out of line. I thought he was just checking up but he came back across the track. It is disappointing. Not the way I wanted to start speedweeks with our Smithfield Ford Fusion but we will get another car out and get ready for the rest of the weekend.”
Watch the full video from NASCAR below and let us know if you think Jimmie Johnson is going to be able to make it up on Sunday.