Dale Earnhardt Jr Won The Daytona 500 – Not Jimmie Johnson

A Chevrolet owned by Rick Hendrick did in fact win the Daytona 500. But, contrary to many reports, it wasn’t Jimmie Johnson. Those that actually took the time to tune in after a six-hour rain delay know that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. – NASCAR’s favorite son – was the real winner.

Before the race resumed around 8 p.m. central time, Jimmie Johnson told a reporter on the Fox broadcast how he had been receiving congratulatory texts and calls all day. The reason? Because Fox – like is standard practice during a rain delay – played last year’s race to fill the time. The winner of that race – Jimmie Johnson. Even Fox News announced Johnson as the winner on its facebook page. Imagine that, a 24-hour news channel reporting incorrect information. But that’s another issue…

Even more than Johnson winning, people seemed to be enamored with Danica Patrick’s eighth-place finish. Even an ESPNW twitter account congratulated her on “the highest finish of any woman ever at the Daytona 500.” Danica does hold that record, but again, this all happened last year.

At least the win by Junior should set everyone straight – as the son of the sport’s biggest star winning the race has brought a lot of attention to it. As for Jimmie Johnson, he probably needs to re-evaluate his contact list. How are you going to be “friends” with a six-time NASCAR champion and not even realize you are watching a broadcast of his win from a year ago?