Where else do you go and barely make the field and cry tears of joy?” The answer is Daytona, the place that means so much to the Earnhardt family.

There will be no agonizing wait for Jimmie Johnson to make the Daytona 500 this year. A year after a white-knuckle trip into the field through a harrowing qualifying race, the seven-time Cup Series champion had an easier time in qualifying Wednesday night for the 67th edition of the Great American Race.