Accident forces Johnson and Logano to backup cars

Jimmie Johnson will go to a backup car after contact with Denny Hamlin during Wednesday’s second practice session for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams.

The incident occurred after Mike Bliss (Tommy Baldwin Racing) spun into Joey Logano (Joe Gibbs Racing) at Daytona International Speedway.

Johnson, Logano and Bliss will have to use backups in the Daytona 500 qualifying races Thursday, and start those at the rear of the field. They will be allowed to keep their starting position for the Daytona 500 that they earn Thursday.

The damage didn’t look too severe on the Hendrick Motorsports car of Johnson.

“When I hit the back of the 11 of Denny Hamlin, it kind of shifted the nose over and rolled it up," Johnson said. “We can beat it back into place where we think it’s going to be right, but there’s just no guarantees we can fix it right 100 percent.

“With the risk of tomorrow’s race, the fact that we might need a backup car, this one is going to be stripped down and taken back to Charlotte and fixed on the plates so it’s right. It’s more to make sure that we’re really ready with a strong bullet for the 500."