fourth for a second year in a row. Later that day, he entered the 2020 Busch Clash as the defending champion. He started 16th and finished 11th after a tire spun on the first restart in overtime. Next race was the 2020 Bluegreen Vacations Duels. He started and finished second behind team-mate William Byron in Duel 2. In his last Daytona 500, he started sixth and finished 35th after Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski triggered "The Big One". Next week in Las Vegas, he finished first in the final practice. He started 18th and finished fifth in the race. At his home track Auto Club, he qualified second, losing the pole position to Clint Bowyer by 0.007 seconds. In the race, his wife and children waved the green flag at the start of the race. There was a four wide salute before the race to honor him. For most of the event, he was in the Top 10 and led 10 laps; he finished seventh. In The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington, the first race back after the delay forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson was leading in the final lap of the first stage when he lost control of his car and crashed after contact with Chris Buescher who was a lap down at the time. It marked his 100th race in a row without a win. A few days later in the Toyota 500 at the same track, Johnson bounced back with an eighth-place finish in the same track. At the Coca-Cola 600, he qualified second, losing the pole position to Kurt Busch by 0.009 seconds. Johnson finished second in the 600 but was disqualified after his car failed post-race technical inspection. He bounced back with an 11th-place run in Charlotte's next race Alsco Uniforms 500. He enjoyed a pair of top-ten finishes at Bristol and Atlanta. At Martinsville, he overcame a start at 21st and finished third in the first stage, and scored his first stage win of the year and the third of his career in the second segment, but dropped back in the third stage and finished tenth. He fell back early due to car issues at Homestead but ended with a strong run to make his way to the Top 20 and finish 16th. The following week at Talladega, Johnson spearheaded a pre-race ceremony in support of Bubba Wallace after it was falsely reported