Johnson smiled as he answered the post-race questions which focused on the scandal of the week. In victory, he bluntly addressed the critics of Knaus and his Chevy team.

“I dedicate this win to all the haters of the 48 team,” said Johnson. “We felt this was the chance to show the world about all those headlines that said we were cheating.”

So, shove that up your tailpipe.

“You don’t know how proud I am to be sitting here,” an emotional Johnson said after claiming a race that saw the co-favored 2005 Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart, defending Daytona 500 champion Jeff Gordon and sentimental pick Dale Earnhardt Jr. all have their chances ruined by problems.

“We overcame everyone being against us. Every single media person. Every rival and crew member. Some of it has been deserved. Chad has made mistakes. I have made mistakes in the past. Last season, I  made mistakes in a restrictor-plate race at Talladega that caused an accident.

“We admitted that there was an infraction last weekend. We paid a price. We’re still paying a price. There has been more pressure on us than we’ve ever had. We had to pull ourselves together.”

With Knaus watching the Daytona 500 from his home outside Charlotte, N.C., it was Darian Grubb who was calling the shots in Johnson’s pits. It was the first time that Grubb had been put in the position of being a crew chief. But it was still Knaus’ plan — which had Newman wondering if Johnson was a fitting winner.

“You know, it’s just disappointing,” said Newman. “I mean, I think a lot of Jimmie and his talent and stuff. But I’m pretty sure at least three of his last four, if not three out of his last three, wins have had conflicts with the cars being illegal.

“You know, that’s not necessarily good for the sport. Some drivers know what’s going on with the car as far as what the crew chief’s initiatives are. Some drivers don’t have a clue. But I think the point should be driven home that if we have repeat offenders or if the situation happens time and time again with a certain individual, there’s something that should be done other than suspension. I think that’s important to the sport.”

Welcome to NASCAR. Drivers wear their emotions on their fire suits. Often, they settle scores on the track with 3,400-pound hammers. Just ask Stewart and 2003 series champ Matt Kenseth, who spent parts of the Daytona 500 assaulting each other at break-neck speeds.

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And NASCAR’s Super Bowl is the beginning rather than the end. There will be 35 more races over the next 40 weekends. As big as the Daytona 500 is, it can’t even be used as a predictor of what is to come.

Since 1979, only one winner of the Daytona 500 — Gordon in 1997 — has gone on to win the Nextel Cup title. Just more than 10 percent of the schedule is run on the superspeedways of Daytona and Talladega. The NASCAR season is 10 months long.

And almost every step of the way, Johnson could face more questions about the events leading up to the Daytona 500 than those about the biggest victory of his career.

”This is just the opposite of being a black mark,” said Johnson. “If  you think of what we overcame. This is a huge, huge statement. We’ve done everything we can do. We stepped up and did everything we can do.”

Right ...

But did you cheat?

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