Jimmie Johnson Just Got A Free Pass For The Daytona 500
Jimmie Johnson will be going for his third Daytona 500 win this year and he’s taking the easy route to the starting line.
His Legacy Motor Club team has been granted an Open Exemption Provisional (OEP) as the 41st car on the grid.
That guarantees his No. 84 Toyota a starting spot, but the team had to forfeit any points and purse money to get it.
NASCAR started the OEP program last year, when Trackhouse Racing took it to give Helio Castroneves his first start in The Great American Race.
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The original rule stated that if the OEP car qualified within the top 40, then only 40 cars would race and it would get the points and purse money, but Castroneves was wrecked out of his Duel qualifying race and had to use it.
Drivers and teams weren’t thrilled with the process, which they thought was too convoluted for NASCAR;s marquee race. The rule was later updated so that if a driver gets the OEP they have to use it and there will definitely be 41 cars in the race, regardless of where they qualify.
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If a driver is approved for the OEP and fewer than 41 cars show up, then the normal rules apply and the car can get points and money. That likely won’t be the case for Johnson this year as 43 cars are already signed up to qualify for the race.
Johnson won the Daytona 500 in 2006 and 2013 and impressed everyone with a third place finish in 2025, when he took the traditional qualification route into the starting lineup. Even if he uses the OEP, the will will count towards an All-Star Race berth. Johnson’s last win was in 2017 at Dover International Speedway where this year’s All-Star Race is being held.