( CNN ) -- Racing at the Daytona International Speedway can be like playing the lottery against 42 other drivers who all have a ticket , all seem to have an equal shot at winning . While luck can certainly help , so does experience , something Jimmie Johnson put to use as the laps wound down in NASCAR 's season-opening and most prestigious race of the season . Johnson won the Daytona 500 on Sunday , edging out Dale Earnhardt Jr. , who finished second for the third time in four years . Johnson , who won the race for the second time , led 17 laps on the track where speeds are limited by a restrictor plate . The result is close racing , with cars separated by hundredths of a second . It 's a race that often involves a big wreck near the end , so Sunday drivers were content to line up one by- ne and go around and a round and around for the first 180 laps . Then Johnson took over . `` I had a lot of confidence leading the train , '' Johnson said of being the first car in line as drivers raced around the 2 1/2-mile track . `` I knew I had a fast car . '' Bleacher Report : Johnson finds way to win . His crew chief , Chad Knaus said that despite the uncertainty of racing this season with the latest generation of NASCAR cars -- which are lighter and sleeker -- they knew for weeks what they wanted to do . `` Jimmie did a great job of following that plan , '' said Knaus , who sat out the team 's 2006 Daytona 500 win because of a suspension . Bleacher Report 's snap reaction . Danica Patrick , the first woman to win the pole position at the Daytona 500 , led three times , including five laps under green -- also becoming the first woman to lead a lap at the race not under a yellow flag caution . She finished eighth , the highest finish ever for a female driver at the race . `` At the end of the day , it was a solid day , '' she said . `` We stayed basically in the top 10 all day , so it was nice . '' Crew chief Tony Gibson beamed after the race . `` She did great under pressure , '' he said . Bleacher Report : Danica Patrick proves her chops . Earnhardt did his best to earn his second win in the `` Great American Race , '' but his last-lap charge came up short . With just over a mile to go , Earhardt , followed by veteran driver Mark Martin , went low on the track . With Martin 's car pushing Earnhardt 's the two pushed into contention , but Johnson maneuvered in front of his teammate Earnhardt . The 54-year-old Martin crossed the finish line third . `` We just kinda ran out of steam out of ( turn ) four , '' Earnhardt said . `` We made a good move , but there just was not enough race track . '' Some of the fans who were injured by flying debris Saturday during a crash late in the Nationwide Series Drive4COPD 300 were to attend the Daytona 500 , speedway president Joie Chitwood said Sunday morning . At least 28 fans were injured when more than a dozen cars piled up in the final curve of Saturday 's race . Some of the debris went over a 22-foot-high fence that was built in 2010 , and some of it went through holes as the fence was mangled when a car slammed into it and bounced back onto the track . Saturday 's wreck occurred when several closely packed cars were jostling for position at top speeds of about 175 mph . They got tangled up , setting off a dangerous chain reaction that ensnared several vehicles . Driver Kyle Larson 's vehicle ended up flying into a fence that separates the track from spectators . The car broke into pieces , including tires and a fiery engine . Larson walked away from the crash , even after the front part of his No . 32 car was gone . He and the other nine drivers involved told reporters that they were checked at a medical tent on the Daytona infield and released .
Jimmie Johnson led 17 laps , says he was confident in his car . Comment: Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a runner-up for the third time in four years . Some fans injured in Saturday incident were scheduled to attend race , official says .