Johnson plays down wrist injury

Johnson fell from the top of a golf cart during a golf tournament in Florida on December 8th and had to withdraw from the Race of Champions that month due to his injury.

The Californian says he is fully recovered, but he arrived at the Daytona International Speedway on Monday wearing a splint on his left wrist.

"My wrist is good; I'm feeling good," Johnson said. "I'm going to wear a splint in the car, just to be smart and to be sure, but my cast is off and my hand is working. The timing was perfect; I had the off-season to heal up, and I'm ready for Daytona."

Johnson arrives to the season opener not only as the defending Nextel Cup champion, but also winner of last year's event.

"The best motivation we have is experiencing what we did in New York and being honoured as the champions," Johnson said. "We want to do it again. We're just as hungry as we've ever been."

He also confirmed on Monday that he's proceeding with his plans to race in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona at the end of the month.

"I'm going to be able to race in the 24 Hours of Daytona coming up here real soon, and so it's just something that kind of slowed me down over the off-season - Beyond that, everything is good."