Johnson “torn” over Daytona 500 finish

CHARLOTTE (AP) — At first, Jimmie Johnson thought Mark Martin should have won the Daytona 500. Now, he says he's torn over the way last Sunday's race ended.

Despite a multi-car accident coming out of the final turn of Sunday's season-opening race, NASCAR did not call a caution and Kevin Harvick beat Martin to the checkered flag in one of the most dramatic finishes in recent history.

Johnson says his initial thought was that caution should have been called for safety reasons and Martin should have been awarded the win. But he also believes the biggest race of the season should not be decided that way.

Johnson says when he first saw it, he thought Martin should have won and the caution flag should have come out. But he says after Mark's opinions and fan opinions, he's torn.

Martin was initially critical of NASCAR's delay, complaining over his radio that the caution flag came too late. But he appeared to accept the outcome by the time he reached the post-game news conference.