500 but had to go to a backup car after wrecking in his Duel. On lap 59 of the Daytona 500, he got caught up in a wreck started by Ryan Blaney, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., which also involved his teammate William Byron, Erik Jones, Daniel Suárez, Trevor Bayne, and Ty Dillon and ended up 38th. Since then, Johnson struggled throughout the 2018 season with only two Top 5s and eight Top 10 finishes by the time he barely made the Playoffs for the 15th season in a row. Johnson's only great run of the season came at the Charlotte Roval race where he ran in the Top 10 for most of the day and battled Martin Truex Jr. for the win on the final lap, but he locked his brakes on turn 17 and spun out of control, taking Truex out with him in the process while Blaney passed them to win the race. Johnson finished eighth, and as a result of a three-way tie with 0 points, he was eliminated in the Round of 16. Johnson scored only one more top-ten finish afterward and wound up a then career-worst 14th in the final point standings since running full-time in 2002, winless for the first time in his career along with equaling a career-low 11 Top 10 finishes for the second season in a row. Johnson notably gave teammate and friend Chase Elliott a push to the front stretch when his car ran out of fuel when being congratulated by the rest of the drivers after recording his first career win, at Watkins Glen. On March 14, 2018, Lowe's announced they would no longer sponsor the No. 48 car after the 2018 season; Ally Financial assumed primary sponsorship of the team in 2019 on a two-year deal. Johnson and his long-time crew chief Knaus parted ways at the end of the season, ending a 17-year partnership, the longest in NASCAR history. Johnson was paired with JR Motorsports crew chief Kevin Meendering in the 2019 season. 2019 The 2019 season started on a positive note for Johnson, as he won the 2019 Advance Auto Parts Clash after contact between him and Paul Menard sent Menard spinning while battling for the lead and triggering "The Big One" on lap 55 right before the rain arrived. It was also the first race with new sponsor Ally Financial and crew chief Meendering. He