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.

The fact that Gordon won the pole Friday could make it even more difficult for others such as Johnson to catch him. Gordon knows one basic fact: If no one can catch him at the outset and he stays out front most of the day, it will be hard for a repeat of the last Martinsville finish to occur.

"There is no question that when we win the pole, our chances for winning the race are increased. We have statistics that show that and back that up," Gordon said.

Friday's pole was Gordon's series-high seventh of the season. When it was suggested that his latest hot streak is demoralizing the rest of the Cup garage, Gordon did not apologize and said he intends to keep the pressure on.

"We cannot afford to get complacent," he said.

Johnson certainly doesn't intend to, either. He said that even though the bumpers line up on the COT and make it difficult to move someone out of the way who is running in front, he expects that Gordon might have learned something that will make it possible if they find themselves fighting for another win in similar circumstances as last time.

"We're a lot smarter now," Johnson said. "We've all had a lot more experience with the bumpers and passing people. I think it was so new into the COT phase that we were all sitting back on our heels saying, 'I can't believe that you can get away with that.'

"But it doesn't take long for us to figure it out. We know how to move each other now."

They also know how to put the drama of the last Martinsville race behind them, according to fellow driver Matt Kenseth.

"I don't think either one of them were that mad because they still finished first and second a few feet apart," Kenseth said. "I think it's fun when you can battle with friends or a teammate, and I think they're probably friends more than they're teammates.

"At the end of the day, you're still there to do the best you can for your respective team and sponsor and the guys who go over the wall. You still want to win. But if you can't win, you want a teammate to win or a friend to win. But certainly you're all out there for yourself at the end of the race and that's really the way it should be. That's really kind of what this sport is all about."

Johnson agreed with Kenseth's assessment.

Smiling, he added: "I wouldn't change a thing. It worked out well for me last time. I won the race."