For NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, holders of a combined nine titles, the good news coming out of the Daytona 500 is that in one important respect the schedule’s signature event pays the same points as this week’s Subway Fresh Fit 500 and the 24 races that follow leading up to the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup™.

To say it wasn’t their night – despite having won The Great American Race a combined four times – would be an understatement. Johnson was the second car out in 42nd. Engine failure relegated Gordon to a 40th-place finish. Until last night’s D500, Johnson and Gordon had finished 40th or worse a combined 21 times, and never in the same race.

Both will have to dig out of big holes in terms of the Chase picture, but last year suggests it is anything but an impossible task.

Four drivers who finished 27th or worse in the 2011 Daytona 500 – Johnson, Gordon, Kenseth and Kevin Harvick – qualified for the Chase.

In fact, NASCAR’s 10-race postseason field was comprised of just three drivers who finished among the top 10 in the season opener.