The inaugural NASCAR weekend in San Diego starting with the Truck Series race was rightly supposed to be a celebration. It had a historic setting, packed grandstands, and a homecoming moment for Jimmie Johnson. Instead, the race quickly turned into survival mode. There were several cautions, torn-up trucks, and nonstop contact that left drivers battling more than just the track. And for Jimmie Johnson, what started as racing through the field quickly became something else entirely. Afterward, he didn’t hold back about what he believes modern NASCAR has become.

“Maybe the Cup Series has changed, but there is so much carnage and so little respect. I have never experienced anything like that. Racing up front is always a bit more give and take, but trying to come through the field from 10th or 12th wherever we were. Every truck was wasted.”

That was Jimmie Johnson sharing his thoughts with Bob Pockrass after the Truck Series race, offering advice to his drivers on how to handle late-race situations and overtime. That annoyance also didn’t originate from a single, isolated incident. It was the culmination of an afternoon when it felt more difficult to just survive than to race.

Johnson had an early scare. He barely missed making contact with Brenden Queen while navigating traffic, but in the process, he doored Jackson Lee out of the groove. It was the type of domino effect that spread across the race. One driver saves it, but someone else pays for it.

Later, Johnson found himself on the receiving end. While attempting to regain his position while running inside the top 10, Nathan Nicholson spun him in the same section of the racetrack, dropping him back around 14th and returning him to the chaos he had been attempting to escape. And Johnson wasn’t alone.

Returning veteran Jamie McMurray destroyed his No. 25 truck at the conclusion of Stage 2 when he miscalculated his sight line over a bump and crashed into the final-corner exit wall at full speed. The chaos of the late race followed.

Tyler Ankrum slammed the pit-road concrete barrier with four laps left to go. His truck’s right side was torn up by the impact, which also raised a long red flag for wall repairs. Things only got worse when racing started up again. Race leader Chandler Smith was spun after Kaden Honeycutt went wide out of Turn 2 and struck the wall on the overtime restart. Parker Kligerman and Andres Perez de Lara were caught when Ben Rhodes locked the brakes and hammered the tire barrier behind them.

Even the struggle for victory descended into chaos. Tyler Reif, who was chasing the victory, overshot the penultimate chicane before Turn 16 on the final lap, completely missing the bend, and came to a stop. This allowed Riggs to take the victory. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson was never given another opportunity.

After the red flag for Ankrum’s crash, his truck wouldn’t refire with three laps remaining. His hometown event ended in 30th place. This, in turn, raised his Truck Series career average finish only to 32 after his previous appearance also ended early in a crash. And after witnessing personally how merciless San Diego can be, Johnson now needs to quickly recuperate with the Cup race still left.