Jimmie Johnson uses desperate late push to qualify for his 21st Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jimmie Johnson raced his way into the Daytona 500 with a three-wide move through the final turn of Thursday night’s first qualifying race. Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing won the 150-mile race that is part of how the field is set for Sunday’s season-opening “Great American Race.” Johnson has Sunday’s race on what he expects to be a nine-race schedule this season. He’s co-owner now of Legacy Motor Club and, in his second season, switched the team from Chevrolet to Toyota. But the Toyota’s lacked speed in Wednesday night time trials and Johnson failed to earn a guaranteed spot in what will be his 21st Daytona 500. It meant that he had to beat J.J. Yeley in the first of two qualifying races Thursday night at Daytona International Speedway.