Weekend That Was: PIR (cont'd)

Yes, that is what it has come down to -- they are their own combined noun now, JimmieandJeff. So much has been said and so much has been written about JimmieandJeff and their bond as friends and Hendrick Motorsports teammates that there is next to nothing left to be said or written.

Note, though, that Jimmie now comes first. Johnson has earned that right via a series-high 10 Cup victories this season, including his fourth in a row Sunday (watch video). But frankly, Sunday's win ranked as a surprise because so many thought Jeff would make his final stand in the Chase for the Nextel Cup by capturing the win instead. Plus no driver had won four races in a row since Gordon himself did it in 1998, when he piled up 13 victories en route to a championship. Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise that Johnson won to match that feat, but in most quarters it was; while Gordon fought an ill-handling car for much of the day and fell 86 points off the Chase pace by finishing 10th (official standings).

Both drivers have had outstanding seasons. Let's be perfectly clear on that. Perhaps the only thing in NASCAR more impressive than JimmieandJeff these days is the Penske Museum, now that we know it exists and even where it is (although some of us can only tell you how to get there by chopper).

Now the JimmieandJeff Show moves on to Miami, Fla., and Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final weekend of the long, grueling season. Stay tuned to see if there are any surprises left.

Brian's World

Brian France, chairman and CEO of NASCAR, touched on a few points in a brief question-and-answer session with a handful of media members Saturday at PIR (complete story).

Asked if NASCAR has had any more discussions with Bruton Smith of Speedway Motorsports Inc. about his future plans for the speedway in New Hampshire that he just purchased, France said: "We've had conversations, but they're not anything new. This will make some opportunities for SMI more possible. We'll have to see what they bring to us; what they think is going to work for them."

There has been speculation that Smith bought the New Hampshire track with the intention of moving one of its two Cup dates to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, which SMI also owns.

"I think two events that were working as well as those two events were (in New Hampshire), you would like to think they would work best there versus taking one somewhere else," France said. "But I think they've got to get in there -- Bruton and Humpy (Wheeler) and those guys -- and determine some of that on their own."

France also touched on the sport's declining television ratings and the fact that he recently toured a Formula One track in China.

Concerning the TV ratings, he said: "Television ratings for almost everything are down. Prime-time, day-time, sports. We're probably a victim of that to some level. You have to remember that we're still posting big audiences, and our TV partners are very satisfied. We'd love to be growing at better rates, but we're not contracting at all. We're pretty satisfied that the story lines of the future and as things go on in television, we'll be fine and comfortable with it."

Of visiting China and possibly looking to grow NASCAR globally down the road, he added: "Well, I went there and I took a look at it. I can tell you that there is nothing on the horizon beyond Montreal and Mexico City (where Busch Series races currently are being run). But we get opportunities to look at things all the time -- and we want to be able to be in position to take advantage of them, not maybe in the foreseeable future but at some point."

Not pleased

Gordon of JimmieandJeff fame was not at all pleased with fellow driver Kevin Harvick following Sunday's Cup race. The two swapped paint on two occasions late in the race.

"You can't touch Kevin Harvick, because if you touch him he's got a short fuse and he's going to be upset," Gordon said. "He rubbed on me because I was racing too hard, I guess. I didn't like it, either, so I rubbed back on him -- and for a minute, I thought we were all going to wreck." (watch video)

Harvick told reporters he basically didn't care what Gordon said or thought, and added that none of it was his fault. Official records on this are muddied and impossible to track for certain, but Sunday appears to have been the 213th time in 213 career Cup starts that Harvick refused to accept any blame for anything that happened on the track when his car ran into another.

Get on board

Hornish addressed the perception that he is deserting his fan base built on loyalty to open-wheel racing by making the full-time switch over to NASCAR.

"At some point in time, I was not going to be an Indy car driver anymore. I wasn't going to race those cars until I was 70 years old," Hornish said. "I hope the ones that are true fans are going to be able to follow me over here. And the other ones who are die-hard [open-wheel] fans will pick a new driver to follow. (Continued)