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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Showcased in the middle of the Carolinas Aviation Museum is the Airbus A320 that in 2009 Capt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger successfully landed in the Hudson River.

One-hundred fifty-five lives were saved.

None were lost.

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Chris Trotman/Getty ImagesAn early exit at Kansas left Joey Logano 39th in the race and 20th in the Sprint Cup standings.

Makes the feud between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin seem kind of small, doesn't it?

So does standing in front of an Air Force war plane surrounded by military personnel promoting the Memorial Day weekend Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"A tough day at the track is hard," Logano said during the Tuesday event outside the museum. "Nothing compared to what these guys are doing. It does put it in perspective. Compared to what all these military guys are doing, I'm not really doing much at all."

Logano has had a lot of tough days at the track lately. It began March 24 with his last-lap crash with Hamlin at Auto Club Speedway that ended his chance of winning and sidelined his former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate with a compression fracture in his lower back.

It continued two weeks later at Texas. NASCAR confiscated the rear-end housings of his No. 22 car and the No. 2 of Penske Racing teammate Brad Keselowski, then penalized the drivers 25 points each and suspended their crew chief, car chief and lead engineer pending an appeal.

It continued on Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Logano was the innocent bystander in a spinout of another former JGR teammate -- Kyle Busch -- that destroyed his car and left him with a 39th-place finish.

So in four weeks Logano has gone from a potential win at California and move near the top five in points to 20th.

"I'm still very confident and I know my team is very confident and I'm going to lead that team to make sure it stays confident," Logano said as he awaits a May 1 appeal of the penalties. "I don't feel like it is as big of a downswing as it may look on the outside.

"I feel like I'm still right where we need to be, like we were at California, to make sure we can go win."

No, Logano isn't concerned that JGR and Hendrick Motorsports have won seven of the first eight races and have led about 73 percent of the laps.

"They obviously have some great race car drivers, they have great teams," he said of JGR and HMS. "But I don't feel like it's anything we don't have.

"So, yes, the numbers may show one thing, but the way I feel doesn't relate to the numbers."

Logano also isn't worried about whether his issues with Hamlin will continue once Hamlin returns over the next few weeks.

He took the high road when given the chance to respond to a tweet by Hamlin -- "I know Joey felt bad but he doesn't have to keep falling in the points on my count :) #seeyasoon" -- after the Kansas crash.

"Personally, I don't like being in drama and I stay away from drama and I'm not going to get carried into any drama on this situation," Logano said. "I'm going to stay focused on what my task is, and that's winning the race.

"And the rest of it is whatever to me. I'm here to win and put the past in the past."

And keep things in perspective.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- There's been an outcry on social media to suspend Ron Hornaday Jr. for wrecking Darrell Wallace Jr. under caution in Sunday's Truck Series race at Rockingham Speedway.

People contend that the four-time Truck Series champion deserves the same punishment that Kyle Busch got when he was parked for the weekend after wrecking Hornaday in 2011 at Texas Motor Speedway.

They argue NASCAR has painted itself in a box.

And they're right that there is a precedent.

But here's a major difference, at least in my mind, and an argument why Hornaday should be fined, but not suspended: Busch wasn't a Truck Series regular.

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Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesRon Hornaday Jr. knows punishment may be coming for spinning Darrell Wallace Jr.

Hornaday, 54, and Wallace, 19, are. They have to deal with each other on a regular basis. When they race each other hard -- and even retaliate -- as was the case on Sunday, they do so understanding both are trying to win a title.

Busch had nothing to lose, at least in that series. His actions cost Hornaday, who was 15 out of the points lead heading into Texas, a chance to compete for another Truck title.

It fueled the argument for why Cup drivers shouldn't be in the second- or third-tier series.

"[Busch] was just doing it for racing because he loves racing like everybody else does," Hornaday said on Monday. "Darrell and I, we've got to race each other however long I'm going to continue in the series."

There's another reason why Hornaday shouldn't be suspended. Busch wasn't apologetic about the Texas incident until after he was suspended. Hornaday went out of the way to immediately call himself an idiot for turning Wallace into the fence, explaining that that was not his intent.

He was so regretful that he went to his pit stall after the race and told his crew to stand back so he could accept whatever Wallace and his team did.

"If they wanted to come punch me in the nose, which I deserved, they could have," Hornaday said. "I took my helmet off and was going to take it like a man.

"I didn't mean to do it [wreck him]. I know in my heart I didn't mean to do it."

Busch made no excuses in 2011. He admitted he had enough of being wrecked several weeks in a row "and ended up losing my cool." Replays show he got on the rear bumper of Hornaday's truck and pushed until Hornaday turned into the wall.

Hornaday appeared to brush his front bumper across Wallace's rear bumper and clip the right side to turn him sideways. He apologized profusely afterward and again on Monday, saying you wouldn't turn "your worst enemy into the fence" intentionally.

"I don't know if I was too far up or he slowed, or whatever," Hornaday said. "It just happened so quick. I feel like an idiot about it.

"Any other racetrack, he probably wouldn't have hit the fence. He probably wouldn't have spun out. It's one of those things that happened and I've got to pay the consequences for it."

And there should be consequences. Wrecking another driver under caution shouldn't be allowed without penalty. Hornaday gets that.

He also believes there are major differences between what happened on Sunday and in 2011.

"I put them in a box," Hornaday said of NASCAR. "We shouldn't even be talking about it today. I guess you've got to take whatever they give you. I hope it's not too harsh."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Bruton Smith was in one of the downstairs offices of his Ford dealership two years ago when I asked if fear, jealousy and politics once again played a role in his not being nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

"Probably, probably," the chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc. said with a smile. "Why don't you ask them? You're chicken if you don't."

I did.

And although I didn't get a satisfactory answer, I asked again a year later.

I won't have to ask anymore.

Smith, one of NASCAR's greatest innovators and, yes, aggravators, was among the Hall's five new nominees announced Wednesday. That means the 86-year-old native of Oakboro, N.C., will be among the 25 nominees from which the five-member 2014 class will be chosen on May 22.

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AP Photo/Jim ColeBruton Smith joins Dale Jarrett, Maurice Petty, Rex White and Larry Phillips as newest nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

It's long overdue.

Smith has built SMI into one of the most powerful entities in NASCAR. He has spent more than $4 billion in purchasing and upgrading the company's eight tracks that host 12 Cup events. He introduced condominiums, VIP suites and club-like restaurants to raise tracks to the standards of facilities in other sports.

A few years ago he introduced the world's largest HD screen at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he began his racing empire in 1959.

As I argued several times the past few years, Smith easily could have been among the original 25 nominees for the Hall. He wasn't -- and nobody will admit this -- because he ticked off many on the selection committee with his unwillingness to conform, his willingness to question and even his willingness to seek legal action.

That Smith suggested I was "chicken" if I didn't ask NASCAR why he hadn't been nominated says it all. Smith never has been chicken to ask or do anything.

He's said many times he doesn't care about being recognized for Hall consideration, suggesting he's not on the list for the same reasons NASCAR never has given him a Sprint Cup date without taking one from one of his other tracks.

But you know he cares. He wouldn't have accomplished everything he has without caring.

"At the time when I told you that, I meant it," Smith said Wednesday night. "What's occurred is my employees and friends … a lot of people have stated how important it is that this is occurring. I don't know. It's a different perspective than where I was a few years ago.

"Now with all the input from all the employees I have [about 15,000], it seems it meant an awful lot to them. I've been impressed by that."

Does this mean the end of politics in the Hall selection process?

"In the past there has been an awful lot of it," Smith said with a laugh. "I don't know if this will change anything."

It definitely won't change what Smith is all about. As he's told me many times, "I like to build things" and "I like to be where the action is."

Even NASCAR chairman Brian France, who has bumped heads with Smith more times than most, predicted this moment when asked two years ago why Smith wasn't on the list.

"Bruton Smith clearly is one of the most accomplished track owners in the sport, and his contributions have been significant," France said at the time. "He oversees some of the greatest, most anticipated events on our schedule. Clearly his contributions have had a profound influence on the sport."

Whether Smith will make the cut for the 2014 class remains to be seen. There are many deserving pioneers, from Fireball Roberts to Fred Lorenzen, who have been overlooked far too long.

But at least now Smith has a chance, along with the other deserving new nominees -- Dale Jarrett, Maurice Petty, Rex White and Larry Phillips.

And I won't have to ask why he's not on the list anymore.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Remember the little kid in kindergarten who stood almost invisible in the corner and smiled while the other kids got in trouble?

That's Dale Earnhardt Jr. right now.

NASCAR's most popular driver has avoided all of the drama of the past few weeks between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, Logano and Tony Stewart and the question of who will replace Hamlin while he recovers from a compression fracture in his lower back.

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Jerry Markland/Getty ImagesSprint Cup points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. is working on a streak of five top-10 finishes to start the season.

He's gone about his business in workmanlike fashion without drawing much, if any, attention to himself. It hasn't gotten him into Victory Lane, but he does have five top-10s that have him in the points lead heading into Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway.

Avoiding the spotlight -- for a driver who always seems to be in it -- is just fine with him.

"I feel like it gives us the opportunity to keep focusing on what we need to do," Earnhardt said of the attention being focused elsewhere. "We've finished well, but there's a lot of areas that we can improve, and we get to focus on that sort of being out of the scope and out of the spotlight. We can pay more attention to how do we get better as a team.

"You know, if we go out and win some races, we'll get credit where credit is due."

With a little luck -- and continued avoidance of the drama that could unfold if Stewart decides to take short-track revenge out on Logano for blocking him on the final restart at Auto Club Speedway -- a win can't be far away.

It could be staring him in the face.

Martinsville statistically has become Earnhardt's best track. Before a 21st-place finish last fall, he had four straight finishes of seventh or better, including a second and a third in the past two spring events at the quirky half-mile track.

His driver rating at Martinsville is 99.8, better than any track on the circuit -- including Michigan (97.1), where he has scored his past two wins. He's led more laps here (868) than any track by more than 100. He has as many top-5 finishes here (10) as he does Daytona, where he once was the restrictor-plate king.

He's come a long way from being the rookie who once hit everything at Martinsville but the concession stand where they sell the famous hot dogs.

"I ran into other race cars, walls, pace cars ... just about everything that could be ran into, I found it," Earnhardt recalled.

Even an ambulance.

"Yeah, the ambulance wouldn't move, so I had to give him a bit of the bumper," Earnhardt said. "I ran over everything and finally Dad was like, 'Man, tell that kid to park it.' "

But Earnhardt finally learned the rhythm it takes to maneuver the paper-clip-shaped track. After an average finish of 25th in his first four attempts, he rattled off five straight finishes of fifth or better.

His 14 career top-10s here now rank second to the 15 he has at Daytona.

He really loves this place -- from the nostalgia standpoint, little has changed here from the first Cup race in 1949 to the tight racing.

"Every track has something about it that you like or something characteristic about it that you enjoy," Earnhardt said. "But Martinsville is just a fun place, really fun track to race on.

"The fans get a great event. They get a great show when we're there. I think it's a good ticket between it and Bristol and Richmond. It's some of the best short-track racing in the country that you can see."

He'd like it better with a win.

And if he gets it, he won't be so invisible anymore.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Can Denny Hamlin still make the Chase?

Yes.

And it might not be as difficult as it appears.

Hamlin is expected to miss the next five races recovering from a compression fracture in his lower back suffered on a last-lap wreck with former Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Joey Logano on Sunday at Auto Club Speedway.

He had 180 points during that span a year ago, which is a ton for one of only two drivers -- Jimmie Johnson is the other -- to have never missed NASCAR's 10-race playoff. It basically ends any chance he has of automatically qualifying in the top 10.

But earning one of the two wild-card berths, given to the drivers with the most wins inside the top 20, isn't a reach at all.

A year ago, Jamie McMurray was 20th in the standings with 640 points when the Chase was set after 26 races. Hamlin, now 10th in the standings, has 145 points.

Hamlin would need approximately 495 points -- and one or two wins -- over the 16 races before the September Richmond race to be in position for the top 20 under 2012 standards. To do that he would need an average of 30.9 points per race, or an average finish of around 13th.

Throw in bonus points for a few wins in which he leads the most laps for a maximum 48 points and his average finish could be slightly higher.

It's possible. A year ago, Hamlin's average finish was only 14.1 from race 11 to 26. But he won at Bristol and Atlanta and accumulated 499 points, three more than he would have needed to get into the Chase.

If he did the exact same thing a year ago after missing five races, he would have knocked Jeff Gordon out of the final wild-card spot.

Based on what 20th place has done so far this year Hamlin may have even more leeway. Ryan Newman is in the bubble slot with 121 points, an average finish of 24.2. Average that out over 26 races and the total is only 629.

If you need more proof this is possible, 13 of Hamlin's 22 career wins have come at the tracks he'll compete between his likely return at Darlington and Richmond. Four have come at Pocono, where he'll have two opportunities to win.

As wild as it sounds, the Chase remains a realistic goal.

FONTANA, Calif. -- Finding the Phoenix Racing hauler used to be easy when arriving at Auto Club Speedway -- or any Sprint Cup track.

Just go to the back of the garage and count forward.

In case you didn't know, haulers are parked according to where teams rank in owner points. Before this season, the single-car team out of Spartanburg, S.C., never had been ranked higher than 23rd after more than one race.

Now it's tied for seventh.

"I can tell you there's a lot of people who came looking for us that went down there and had to come back this way," general manager Steve Barkdoll said with a laugh.

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Jared Wickerham/Getty ImagesPhoenix Racing has taken the tag-team approach with three different drivers: AJ Allmendinger (51), Regan Smith and Austin Dillon.

And get this: James Finch's No. 51 team, which gets its Chevrolet engines and chassis from Hendrick Motorsports, ranks ahead of four other teams with the same equipment and all three Richard Childress Racing cars that field Chevrolets.

"Don't think we haven't noticed," an executive from one of those other organizations told me last week at Bristol.

HMS's Kasey Kahne ranks ninth and four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon is 22nd. Stewart-Haas Racing's Tony Stewart is 25th, Ryan Newman is 24th and Danica Patrick is 30th.

RCR's Paul Menard is 11th, Kevin Harvick is 19th and Jeff Burton is 26th.

Did I mention that the Furniture Row team that gets its engines from RCR is 18th? That's nine spots behind the Phoenix Racing team that Kurt Busch said was not on par with the Denver-based organization when he left late last season.

And Phoenix has been able to do this with three different drivers -- Regan Smith, AJ Allmendinger and Austin Dillon. It'll be four by the time the team gets to Richmond and puts Ryan Truex behind the wheel.

"For them to be where they are in points, not only with three different drivers, but just in general, is a real testament to what they're doing," Burton said.

And if Phoenix -- unsponsored this weekend -- could somehow stay in the top 12 after 26 races and become eligible for the owners' championship in the Chase?

"If they could be in the top 10, it would be one of the bigger upsets in NASCAR's history," Burton said.

Barkdoll credits part of the early success to the new car that is easier to build. Because most of the parts are stamped out and body builders don't have to waste countless hours rolling sheet metal, they can spend more time in other areas.

Barkdoll spent part of that time two weeks ago explaining to his crew of 18 that there's a different routine for getting on the track for practice.

"When you're 27th in points, you go to templates first," Barkdoll said. "You don't get on the track. They send out 25 cars in practice for the first part until they start coming off. So we had to prep ourselves to know that we've got to get ready and do different things."

He hopes that continues.

"We know we've got to stay on top of things to stay here," Barkdoll said. "But think about the head table [at the banquet] if we happen to stay up here and James Finch gets to be the owners' champion and they have to split the title."

Then Phoenix Racing would be easy to find.

Special to ESPN.comIntrepid ESPN.com NASCAR writer David Newton holds up the title contenders for best chip in the media center on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- A battle was brewing Saturday between two superstars at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Jeff Foxworthy versus Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Grit Chips versus Dale Jr. Chips.

Let the chips fall where they may.

"I didn't know Junior had chips," said Foxworthy, the honorary sponsor of Jeff Foxworthy's Grit Chips 300 Nationwide Series race. "We may have to go rasslin in the infield after this."

This is big, folks. The world's most popular comedian of redneck jokes versus the most popular driver of a sport some call redneck. The host of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" versus a Sprint Cup driver who made it past the fifth grade.

It has to be settled.

Here.

Now.

As any good investigative reporter will tell you, research is the key when you get involved in controversies such as this. For the sake of chip lovers everywhere, and against my heart doctor's advice, I performed a taste test.

First Dale Jr.'s zesty jalapeno, which Earnhardt is on record saying he likes better than the Carolina barbeque. The texture is light and crispy. The jalapeno flavor is initially mild before kicking in just enough spice to tickle your taste buds.

I cleanse my palate.

Foxworthy's jalapeno cheddar is a bit more overpowering. The chip, due to the nature of the grits, has a stiff tortilla texture. It is good, but the aftertaste leaves me wanting a beer.

That's not necessarily a bad thing.

So which is better?

"Mine are better," Foxworthy declared in the media center before the race.

The pick?

Dale Jr. Chips.

It was the only choice. I don't have to deal with Foxworthy for 36 weeks.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Well, NASCAR, you wanted to reach a broader audience.

So far in 2013, you've done that.

The past few weeks the sport has been all over CNN, MSNBC and even MTV between Danica Patrick setting history at the Daytona 500, the Daytona Nationwide Series crash that left more than 28 injured, little-known Nationwide driver Jeremy Clements being suspended for using a racial slur and the NRA sponsoring a race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Only a few days ago you had CNN host Piers Morgan passionately talking about the sport -- albeit in a not-so-positive way -- in a gun control debate with a Texas politician.

"I'm slightly baffled why you can't have a tobacco company sponsoring this race because, presumably, it's bad for Americans' health -- but you can have the NRA, which is basically funded by gun manufacturers," an outraged Morgan said to Texas State Sen. Dan Patrick.

Speaking of outraged, Denny Hamlin kept the TMZ mood going on Thursday when he lashed out at NASCAR for docking him $25,000 for being critical of the new "Gen-6" car.

It probably won't land on headline news, but it'll draw national attention.

When will it end?

Next thing you know Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be on "The Dr. Oz Show" talking about his detox diet.

In case you missed it, Earnhardt told reporters in Phoenix last weekend that he's down 15 to 20 pounds after a 15-day diet that included prune juice and carrot juice.

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Chris Graythen/NASCAR/Getty ImagesA slimmer Dale Earnhardt Jr. is coming to a track near you.

It apparently was prompted by a "shrinking" firesuit last year.

"That's really what it's about for me is just trying to maintain my weight so I don't have to keep getting my driver suits altered throughout the season," Earnhardt explained. "Last year, I was like, 'Man, they're shrinking, something is wrong with the washer.'

"This offseason I lost a lot of weight … just trying to do a better job of managing my calories and stuff like that. I never really worried about it before. Just eat all kinds of stuff like pizza and wings and stuff every day and not really watching portion controls and stuff like that. Just getting out of control so reining all that back in. Not getting too crazy about it though. I'm no health freak by no means."

That is a relief. The sport may not be able to handle its most popular driver being a health freak around all the other issues.

The good news is all these other issues drowned out much of the debate -- much of that negative, too -- over whether the new Gen-6 car has been a success or failure yet at Daytona and Phoenix.

Hopefully, all will settle down and we'll get a better grip on that this weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, one of the mile and a half tracks.

It's time for the talk to return to the drivers and competition, although NASCAR fining Hamlin for what seemed like harmless comments about the new car and single-file racing at Phoenix probably didn't help any.

Particularly since Hamlin is so mad he nearly begged to be suspended.

The bad news? The drivers and competition likely won't connect to a broader audience like everything else has.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The image of five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team has been vanilla in the minds of those who don't really know them.

Businesslike.

Boring.

That might change if people get to see the video of Johnson, on top of the No. 48 hauler parked on the front stretch of Daytona International Speedway, doing the Harlem Shake with his crew dancing below.

It happened at about 9:15 p.m. ET on Sunday, four hours after Johnson won his second Daytona 500.

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Special to ESPN.comJimmie Johnson performs the Harlem Shake atop his hauler at Daytona International Speedway as his crew plays along Sunday night.

The good news is Johnson didn't fall off the hauler and break his wrist, as he did while surfing the top of a golf cart after winning the 2006 championship, in which he won his first Daytona 500.

"No broken wrist! I survived," Johnson said with a laugh during Monday morning's championship breakfast.

Was anybody concerned?

"I have concerns about him all the time," crew chief Chad Knaus said. "I'm not going to lie, I did have some flashbacks to broken wrists on top of the golf cart and all that. We were keeping everybody in check pretty good."

This priceless moment was totally impromptu. Knaus wanted a picture of the 48 hauler parked on the front stretch of DIS with the track logo painted in the background.

"One of the pit crew guys jumped up and said, 'Let's do the Harlem Shake,' " Knaus said of the contemporary dance that has gone viral on YouTube. "I was, 'All right. Let's see if we can get this thing rolling.'

"We found a photographer from somewhere. He was on a motorcycle. He went back and got his tripod. It was funny."

And it defied the image of Johnson and the 48 team.

"People don't understand what this team is about," Knaus said. "We're serious racers. We want to come out, race to win. And when we have an opportunity, we have a good time. That's the way this team has always been and always will be.

"Jimmie is a guy that likes to have a lot of fun. I like to have a lot of fun. But when it's time to get to work, we work."

Johnson won the 500 in workmanlike fashion, being patient most of the day and then surging to the front with about 16 laps remaining.

Four hours later, he was gyrating his upper torso in a way you've never seen.

"One of the guys arranged it all, and he has some editing to do," Johnson said. "We'll see if it's worthy to put out there. Clearly there's some discussion about it, so I think we might be forced to put it out before long."

As Johnson and Knaus discussed the celebration, team owner Rick Hendrick interrupted.

"Why wasn't I invited?" he said.

There are shakes, and then there are shakes. NASCAR may not be ready for that one.

But Hendrick is glad to see Johnson and the team enjoy their success, something they haven't always done.

"They need to have more fun," Hendrick said. "It's a hard deal out here on the road all the time."

Hendrick also liked the video of four-time champion Jeff Gordon and his team doing the Harlem Shake before the season. Approximately 4 million people have viewed that.

Who knows how many will view Johnson's Shake. Maybe it'll change a few impressions about him, though.

"Jimmie is a funny guy," Hendrick said. "He's the life of the party if you get him … "

Hendrick paused, then continued: "But what you see with Jimmie is he's such a professional. When he walks into that gate he goes into that mode where he's totally in focus. He's not going to clown around in the garage area.

"He might do it later."

He did on Sunday night.

And it was anything but vanilla.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- There's a picture that didn't make the book Jimmie Johnson and his wife published last year that sums up how the five-time Sprint Cup champion feels about restrictor-plate racing.

The picture is entitled "Farewell Talladega." It didn't make the book because it showed Johnson delivering a one-fingered salute to the Alabama track from the seat of his private jet.

He probably felt like doing it again -- this time aimed at Daytona International Speedway -- after Saturday night's Sprint Unlimited, when he crashed out in the first segment.

"I keep telling myself I like plate racing, but it's getting harder and harder," Johnson wrote on Twitter after the race.

Here's why. Counting last year's Budweiser Shootout and this year's Sprint Unlimited, Johnson has gone six consecutive races on a restrictor-plate track without finishing -- mostly due to wrecks.

His average finish in the past six points races at Daytona International Speedway, the site of Sunday's Daytona 500, is 31.8. He's finished on the lead lap in only one of those.

His average finish in the past three Talladega races is 26.0, and that includes a 17th last fall when he crashed coming to the checkered flag.

So if you're looking for a driver to bet on Sunday, Johnson may not be the best choice.

"It's such a balance, too, because one win and you are in Victory Lane and it's the coolest rush because you are gambling the whole race," said Johnson, who won the 2006 Daytona 500. "When it hits, it's a lot like hitting it in the casino. The rush is amazing.

"But it's a different kind of racing. Especially for the No. 48 team, we have had a lot of torn up race cars lately. It's starting to get a little old, but we will keep racing. We will keep building cars and be out there trying to get all the points we can."

A year ago, after waiting an extra 24 hours for the 500 to start due to a rain delay, Johnson crashed hard into the wall after a nudge from Elliott Sadler. On the first lap.

"Last year's was about as bad as it gets," Johnson said. "Leaving the first lap crashing, that wasn't a good one. We will hopefully make 2.7 miles this year before anything happens."