Dale Earnhardt Jr. avoided an embarrassing situation with Jimmie Johnson during Daytona 500 weekend. On Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt shared a story of unsending a text on his Apple iPhone to Johnson during the Daytona 500 Duels.
“We ran the duel, and we got ourselves locked in, go and do media and all kinds of crazy stuff,” Earnhardt said. “We’re having a great time, and the second duel is running. I’m walking through, the bus lot, and somebody goes, ‘Hey Erik Jones won.’
“I sent Jimmie Johnson a text, ‘Congratulations!’ Literally, they’re probably just still coming around the cool-down lap. I know that Jimmie’s not got his phone. And then they were like, ‘Oh nope, Austin Cindric is the winner.’ I was like, ‘Shoot.’ I grabbed my phone and I went to that text and held it down and I said ‘Unsend,’ and it goes poof. Jimmie saw that I have an unsent text message to him, but he has no idea what it was. …I was like thanks for this feature. This is nice.”
Erik Jones drives the No. 42 Toyota Camry for Legacy Motor Club, a team owned by Johnson. While Jones didn’t win the second duel, he came in second and followed that up with a P12 finish at the Daytona 500.
Why Dale Earnhardt Jr. should have not unsent his message to Jimmie Johnson
In reality, Dale Earnhardt Jr. could have sent the “Congratulations” message to Johnson because he finished third in the Daytona 500. This was Johnson’s first top-five finish since finishing fifth in the Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix in 2020. After the 2020 season, Johnson retired from full-time racing and has been competing in the Cup Series part-time for the last three years.
“This feels incredible,” Johnson said after the Daytona 500. “I have emotions that I didn’t expect to have. I’ve never been in this position as an owner, and it’s really opened up a different set of emotions. And the pride that I have in this result and the pride that I have in this company, now that we’re trying to achieve and the journey we’re on, I am so satisfied, so happy right now.
“Excited that we have two cars in the top 5. I hope Shaq is watching. Thank you, buddy. We got your car in the top 3. A big thanks to Carvana and their continued support, Mobil 1, AdventHealth, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree. It’s been an interesting couple of years and to have our cars come out and be this strong, this Toyota was rocketship fast. I’m just smiling inside and out.”
