Take 5: Five Takeaways From The Daytona 500

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Logano And Johnson Make Statements At Daytona

During the off-season there were a multitude of storylines that people were talking about. Two of them happened to center around Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano. Some people decided after 2014 that Johnson had lost a step and that Logano’s run to the final-four in 2014 was more of a fluke than him etching his name as a dominant driver in the sport.

On Sunday both of those drivers answered the bell in a positive way.

Johnson was fast for two weeks in Daytona. He looked good in the Sprint Unlimited, he was fast in qualifying and he won his duel race. On Sunday Johnson led a nice portion of the Daytona 500 and might have had a shot at the win had the cautions fallen differently at the end of the race. It might only be one race but Johnson and company seem to be on point in 2015.

Logano might not make a run to the final-four again this season but after winning the Daytona 500 he has all but guaranteed himself the chance to do so. Logano’s win secures him (most likely) a spot in the chase. The win will also take off the pressure to win as the season goes on. As we witnessed in 2014 with Dale Earnhardt Jr., winning early goes a long way in this new chase format. Logano showed the same Penske speed on Sunday they helped him make a run at the title last season and will help him do the same again this season.