Daytona 500: Jimmie Johnson, other NASCAR stars taken out in 16-car wreck

Maybe not quite the “Big One” of years past, but a wreck in the final segment took out a number of notable cars.

Cars can go three wide at Daytona International Speedway and get away with it. Four wide? Not so much.

Even seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson isn’t immune to that reality. Johnson got spun around while racing close with Jamie McMurray and Trevor Bayne, setting off a chain reaction that involved 16 cars.

Several went to the garage right away, including Johnson and Danica Patrick, who was having one of her strongest performances ever, and her Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer. Patrick noted that before the new changes to the Damaged Vehicle Policy, she might have been able to return to the race, but the five-minute rule made it impossible.

After he left the infield care center, Johnson told Fox Sports that he felt other drivers around him were close to wrecking him down the back straightaway and that it was too soon to be jockeying for position in that manner.

Just a few laps after the race returned to green, another crash sent multiple cars spinning down toward pit road, including Elliott Sadler, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Bayne. That collision appeared to come about because Ryan Blaney signaled that he was headed to the pits and not enough cars behind him got the message.

Next: See how Kyle Busch's day ended in the 2017 Daytona 500

With other top drivers like Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth eliminated in an earlier incident, that left the door open for an underdog to have a shot at the 2017 Daytona 500 victory. Pole-sitter Chase Elliott also remains in the running. Time will tell if another crash will thin the field even further.