Gordon, Johnson poised to battle again at Martinsville

MARTINSVILLE, Va. -- The last time Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson made laps together during a race at Martinsville Speedway, their friendship of today was tested by the Car of Tomorrow.

Lap after lap as the Goody's 500 wound down, Gordon beat on Johnson from behind and tried in vain to get around him. But Gordon stopped short -- several times -- of blatantly moving Johnson out of the way, partly because he didn't want to wreck his Hendrick Motorsports teammate and partly because he couldn't figure out how to in a COT that apparently can withstand quite a bit of contact.

Track Smack

Jimmie Johnson fended off Jeff Gordon to win at Martinsville earlier this year, but that was in April. What about now, with a Cup title on the line?

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That latter fact is known today; it wasn't the last time.

As they prepare to race at Martinsville again in this Sunday's Subway 500, Johnson said that they surely will take whatever they learned from the last encounter and apply it to this one. And as with the last time, he is sure their friendship will survive.

He said that he's also fairly certain that if it comes down to a similar finish again, it's quite possible that Gordon will have figured out a way to get around him in the COT that Gordon didn't have full knowledge of last time.

Johnson, currently second and trailing his Hendrick teammate by just 68 points in the Chase for the Nextel Cup, also insisted that Gordon's failure to move him out of the way last April 1 certainly wasn't for a lack of trying. It was the first time in the relatively new history of the COT that two cars had banged on each other in such a manner with the outcome of the event hanging in the balance, so it was a learning experience for everyone.

"I was shocked," Johnson said. "The impacts were pretty severe, where you see [the back of the car] lifted and where, with a light touch of the current cars, it would have be putting you out of control and really messing you up. The impact I was getting [from Gordon's COT] was pretty severe and I was shocked -- not as shocked as Jeff -- that I wasn't moving out of the way.

"I was pretty impressed that he could not move me out of the way. I knew he was hitting me hard. So we all did learn a lot through that. And I think we had a great short-track finish here that the fans enjoyed."

The fans may have enjoyed it. Gordon didn't enjoy it much.

He can joke and laugh about it now -- but then he's in the mood to joke and laugh about lots of stuff after winning the past two Nextel Cup races for a total of six overall. That ties him with Johnson for the series lead, and with five races remaining in the Chase, Gordon clearly is the man to beat. (Continued)