After more than 24 hours of delay, the 2012 Daytona 500 is off to a wild start. The second lap saw Jimmie Johnson and Danica Patrick prominently involved in an accident after Elliott Sadler nudged up on Johnson. Johnson swerved into a couple cars and had his car get totaled. Patrick took a hit and ended up in the grass but recovered enough to avoid any subsequent hit. The car is being looked over and if she does get back in the race she will lose a lot of laps.
Johnson's departure takes one out of the early top ten after an eight place start in the race. He has struggled a bit at Daytona in recent years and will see his struggles continue. For Bay Area representatives Jeff Gordon and A.J. Allmendinger, it gives them a chance to move up a bit and removes a major competitor from the race. Through five laps, Allmendinger and Gordon are 13th and 14th, respectively.