JIMMIE WINS 55TH 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson sped away from the field after a restart with six laps left in Sunday's Daytona 500 and held off a charging Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the 55th running of the Great American Race at Daytona International Speedway.

The victory was the 61st of Johnson's career in his 400th start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and his second win in NASCAR's
most prestigious race.

Earnhardt finished second for the third time in the last four Daytona 500s. Mark Martin ran third, followed by defending series champion Brad Keselowski and Ryan Newman. Greg Biffle ran sixth and Regan Smith seventh.