Jimmie Johnson was uninjured in a hard crash during qualifying Friday at Phoenix International Raceway after his steering wheel came off.
He’ll go to a backup car and will start Sunday’s Good Sam 500 at the rear of the field. Johnson’s No. 48 Chevrolet slammed the wall in Turn 2, hitting with the right front.
“Certainly a lot of straight in an area of the track I didn’t need to have straight,’' Johnson told Fox Sports 2. “We’ll have to get to the bottom of it and see what went on. Just a really hard impact into the outside wall. Thankful that we have SAFER barriers and soft walls but very disappointed because we had such a fast race car. Thankfully, we have (Saturday) to work on the backup car and try to get it up to speed and get it going.’'
Johnson later clarified the reason for the crash in a tweet.
About qualifying, the steering wheel came off. I know my interview was vague, but wanted to tell the team first. I'm thankful for soft walls
— Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) March 12, 2016