Jimmie Johnson wins rain-shortened Clash at Daytona

In a controversial and rain-shortened Clash at Daytona, Jimmie Johnson unofficially ends his winless streak and takes home the first checkered flag of the NASCAR season.

Paul Menard, who drew the pole position yesterday, led 7 of the first 8 laps before the first red flag came out due to rain. The red flag lasted a little over 20 minutes before the race went back to green. The field remained single file on the high lane until another short stoppage in the action due to rain once again. At this point in time, the race was past halfway and was official.

With rain imminent on lap 55, coming off of turn 2, Jimmie Johnson makes a bold move for the lead but made contact with Menard, which set off a huge wreck that took out a majority of the field. Johnson made it back to the start/finish line first and soon after the skies opened up, the race was called in Johnson's favour.

The controversy with Johnson's move is that some believe the move was too aggressive, especially with about 15 laps to go. Even with rain on the way and the race likely being called within a few laps from the time of the incident. The other controversial aspect is that Johnson was the main beneficiary of the wreck that he caused.

Besides the controversial finish with Johnson, there really wasn't much to write on about this race since the field was a single file for the majority of the race. It is important to note that the rules package used for today's race will be the last time it is used, as the Duels on Thursday and next Sunday's Daytona 500 will have a completely different package with tapered spacers. I would expect the action to be more fierce next Sunday with much more on the line and about 20 more cars on the track as well.