finished seventh and third in the two races while Byron was 28th and fourth, which placed Johnson below Byron by four points with one race before the playoffs, and nine points behind DiBenedetto. The final race, the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, began with a strong first stage for Johnson as he finished fifth, ahead of Byron and DiBenedetto. The second stage saw him pit early to avoid having to save fuel, and he took advantage of the drivers pitting later in the stage, for another fifth-place finish. Although the three bubble drivers avoided a late wreck in the final stage, Johnson was collected in "The Big One" with two laps remaining. Although his team was able to salvage the car to meet the minimum speed and finish 17th, DiBenedetto beat him for the last playoff seed by six points. In his post-race interview, Johnson lamented his misfortunes during the year including the Coca-Cola 600 disqualification and the positive COVID-19 test; he drew praise from fans for his humility when he congratulated Knaus, who moved to Byron's team, and expressed his gratitude to Hendrick Motorsports for his career. In the first playoff race, the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, despite being out of the playoffs, Johnson ran in the top five for most of the night in a throwback scheme that combined those of Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, to honor the two other seven-time champions. His teammates at Hendrick Motorsports also drove in throwback schemes to honor him in his last year. During the fall Texas race, Johnson would gain publicity by running a special scheme created by designer Noah Sweet, otherwise known as Lefty or Lefty Designs. Sweet, four months earlier in June, had created a mock Jimmie Johnson scheme adorned with pride flag colors, which had led to an excess of harassment towards Sweet and led him to take a temporary break from social media. During his break, encouragement came from most in the NASCAR community (with the hashtag #WeLoveLefty created and spread), including Johnson himself. In a few weeks, Ally president Andreas Brimmer and Jimmie Johnson would tell Sweet on a video call that he would have his chance to get his design on Johnson's car. Sweet, whose favorite driver throughout his life had been Johnson, said “I’m going to remember it for the rest of my life. I am.” The car eventually ran