For a brief moment, it looked like perennial favorite Jimmie Johnson was going to deal his competitors another blow when it comes to Sunday's Daytona 500.
As he stormed toward the front in the closing laps of Thursday's Can-Am Duels qualifying race, it appeared Johnson would finish in the top five or even win — and perhaps start alongside teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the season-opening NASCAR Sprint Cup points race.
MORE: Daytona 500 starting lineup | Dale Earnhardt Jr. is race favorite
Then things went horribly wrong. Johnson crashed on the final lap, destroying his car. That relegated him to a backup car, forcing him to start Sunday's race at the rear of the 40-car field.
Jimmie Johnson's car tangles with Martin Truex Jr.'s No. 78 and Matt Kenseth's No. 20. (Getty Images)
That's certainly not an insurmountable obstacle, not in a restrictor-plate race where one strong line of cars working together can challenge the leaders quickly, where one move that drops you from that line sends you to the back anyway. Odds are, Johnson would have spent time at or near the rear on Sunday anyway.
Still, it's not the most comfortable spot on a track where tight packs lead to numerous crashes — ones that generally pull in several of the cars chasing the field.
For Johnson, though, Thursday's crash was just another part of racing at Daytona — something unexpected happens that pushes you to the side.
He's already faced unusual adjustments at the track this year. It's his first race without Jeff Gordon as his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Gordon, a four-time champion, retired at the end of last season and now spends his time analyzing Johnson and his competitors from the Fox booth.
MORE: 2016 Sprint Cup predictions | 10 things you need to know about Daytona 500
While Johnson has had a little time to get used to the idea, he still admits it was a bit of a jolt when Chase Elliott won the pole position for the 500 — and there was Gordon standing next to the car.
It could be even weirder on Sunday as Johnson works with a teammate that he is still learning about in terms of how he'll react on the track.
"It is strange, but I still haven't raced against [Elliott] yet, so I don't know exactly," Johnson said earlier this week. "But it was really weird seeing a picture of him posted. I think I saw it on Twitter. [Gordon] was standing around the [No.] 24 car with Chase and [crew chief] Alan [Gustafson]. The car was on pole. Jeff was standing there in street clothes. I never thought I would see that."
Meanwhile, Johnson focuses on his own effort. A six-time Cup champion, he faces questions about whether or not e can tie one of the sport's greatest records — the seven championships won by both Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty.
Asked by reporters if he could live with ultimately not matching that mark, Johnson joked that it would be "terrible" — and then offered his perspective on the drive to hit that mark.
"Man, honestly, my goal was to win a race when I came in," he told reporters. "I thought, 'Man, if I can win a race, they'll keep me around for a couple more years, make a little money, then I'll go back racing dirt, life will be good.'
"To win three in that first year, I realized quickly that I needed to reframe my goals, set some new marks out there for myself. Then I looked at a championship, then we knocked off five straight, on and on. So, yes, I'm very happy with where I'm at. Am I satisfied? No. But I'm very satisfied with where I'm at."
MORE: Daytona 500 winners | Best races over six decades
That, in many ways, appears to be his approach to Sunday's race as well. Johnson doesn't seem to be fazed by the fact that he'll begin his attempt to win a seventh title in a backup car.
"The guys were real confident about our backup selection, so I feel good about it," he said. "I was asking what our strategy was [in the Duels] and if we needed to protect and [crew chief] Chad [Knaus] of course wanted me to, but he said, 'Go race. We've got a great ones sitting in the truck.' "