Jimmie Johnson wins Daytona 500

Jimmie Johnson drove his Chevrolet to victory in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, holding off the Dodges of Casey Mears and Ryan Newman in an incident-packed race that finished under a caution flag.

A week after Johnson's crew chief Chad Knaus was barred from the event for a rules violation, the 30-year-old steered clear of trouble to claim NASCAR's biggest race.

The race was marred by a record 11 cautions for accidents which eliminated several of the front-runners, including a collision between favourites Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart's on lap 47 that effectively ended both drivers' chances.

Although he did not lead until well past the halfway point of the race scheduled for 200 laps, Johnson hit the front for good on lap 187 when he passed team-mate Brian Vickers and held on to record a 19th NASCAR victory.