J. Gordon: No comment on Playboy article

BRISTOL, Tenn. -- Jeff Gordon chose not to comment Friday regarding an article published in the October edition of Playboy that claims he engaged in an 11-month affair with model Deanna Merryman.

"I have a lot of opinions on it," said Gordon of the two-page article. "But I don't think there's any reason for me to share them with anybody here."

In the article, Merryman details her relationship with the four-time Winston Cup champion, saying the two "used to talk on the phone for four or five hours a night" and that "Jeff became a wild man. He used to tell me all the time that he never had a chance to have fun."

Gordon's former wife, Brooke, filed for divorce in March 2002, citing the couple's seven-year marriage was "irretrievably broken as a result of the husband's marital misconduct."

The couple recently reached a settlement and the divorce was made final.

Now this.

"It's not even worth commenting on," Gordon said. "All I want to talk about is being fast here at Bristol. I'd really rather just stay away from that and focus on racing."