Updated throughout the day with quick takes from staff.
by Jeff Gluck • Feb 20, 2010 10:00 AM EST
Jimmie Johnson did hit the infamous Daytona 500 pothole, causing a flat tire, but that wasn't the root of the problem that relegated him to a 35th-place finish.
"Something with the left rear hub assembly failed, and then it got so hot it started melting things inside of there and then actually broke the axle," Johnson said. "I don't think the pothole had anything to do with that."
So wait a minute. Does that mean Johnson's No. 48 car actually suffered a rare part failure? That typically doesn't happen to him.
"It was kind of a fluke - a fluke and a concern," he said. "We haven't had any issues with our hub assemblies in a long, long time. Same people, same stuff, same assemblers and all that; so we're concerned.
"We haven't had a rash of these problems, so we're kind of like, 'All right, maybe it's just a fluke deal.' At the same time, we want to figure out why."
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Comments
2006 only decent 500
Isn’t it typical of the 48 team? Except for 2006, they have never done well during the Daytona 500. Seems they get all the ‘bad luck’ (or flukes) out of the way early in the season, and then dominate at the end.
by Shirley Buttacavoli on Feb 21, 2010 1:58 PM EST reply actions
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