Tables turned on Gordon, and Johnson should note

What goes around, comes around -- and Jeff Gordon is getting schooled by his onetime protégé in that lesson. However, the "Kid" isn't alone; Jimmie Johnson is taking to task everyone in Sprint Cup racing.

Gordon was the wunderkind when he burst on the scene in the early 1990s. He won the first of four series championships in only his third season; racked up three consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins at the ripe age of 26; hoisted his fourth Cup Series trophy at 29.

Inside the Numbers

Gordon career breakdown

	1993-2001	2002-Present
Races	292 *	282 *
Wins	58 *	24
Top-5s	147 *	114 *
Top-10s	190	167
Titles	4 *	0

* -- Ranks No. 1 in category

Since then, it's been tough noogies. In 2002, Tony Stewart won his first championship then added a second in '05. Between those two, Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch won titles (bookending the introduction and implementation of the Chase). Since 2006, it's been the Jimmie Johnson-Chad Knaus-48 freight train that has rolled to three consecutive championships.

Meanwhile, Gordon has become "that guy" -- the one who used to be the face of NASCAR. It happened to Dale Earnhardt as Gordon began distancing himself from the pack in the mid-1990s. Before that, Earnhardt assumed the mantle from Richard Petty. It's not a new phenomenon, but it is one that takes some getting used to.

On Sunday, Gordon finished second -- to Johnson, no less -- and lost two points in the standings, now 105 behind with six races remaining in the Chase. Is it too early to call this in favor of JJ? Maybe. But it's not too early to say Gordon's championship drought will reach eight consecutive years.

Johnson is now the go-to guy at Hendrick Motorsports. Need a win when the spotlight is on? Johnson is your man -- Atlanta after the devastating HMS plane crash; Daytona 500 in 2006; the return to Martinsville after the plane crash; Martinsville on the 25th anniversary of HMS; Fontana after the Together movie premiere (and, more importantly, to take the lead in the point standings).

While Johnson has become the man to beat, the Kid remains the one who reminds us of what could have been ... and what very well could be again (he's finished second eight times this year, so he's been close). But Gordon has become accustomed to grip-n-grin in Victory Lane -- congratulating Johnson & Co. more often than not.

Still, Gordon seems to be smoldering for a return to greatness. Whether it will happen remains to be seen, but if Sunday at Fontana is any indication he has a lot of fight left in the tank. His mannerism, this voice inflection, it all points to a guy who has tired of answering questions about how great his teammates are and would like nothing more than to remind all of us that it's OK to act like a Kid again.

What goes around, comes around. Remember that, Jimmie.

FIVE RANDOM THOUGHTS

• ... The final 50 laps at Fontana should be remembered for the front-of-the-pack racing; it will be most remembered for the rash of crashes --three cautions between Laps 235 and 245 -- that included a red-flag period.

• ... Juan Montoya continues to pile up top-five finishes; he has four in each of the Chase races to date. At Fontana, he proved that "points racing" isn't necessarily a dirty word. He was mixing it up with the leaders and "settled" for a third-place finish.

• ... Hello, Bakersfield, Calif.! Kevin Harvick (10th) and Casey Mears (11th) made their hometown proud. On a lesser note, RCR was racy on Sunday; Clint Bowyer finished ninth while Jeff Burton was much better than his 30th-place finish, the result of being caught up in a late-race accident.

• ... Richard Petty Motorsports' four-car stable was wiped out five laps from the finish. Reed Sorenson, Elliott Sadler, A.J. Allmendinger and Kasey Kahne finished Nos. 31-34. Cue the Hee Haw gang: Gloom, despair, and agony on me ... If it weren't for bad luck ...

• ... The Nos. 36, 66 and 71 cars retired from the race because of "overheating" within 12 laps of each other -- all at or before Lap 25. Just once I'd like to see the race report list "Broken Doomaflatchy." It'd be much more believable, and everyone can relate to a broken doomaflatchy.

HALL OF FAME VOTING

The voting panel for the NASCAR Hall of Fame will meet Wednesday in Charlotte, N.C., to choose the inaugural class of five to be inducted in May 2010.

Conventional wisdom has three names set in stone: Bill France, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. The remaining two will come from a pool that consists of Bobby Allison, Junior Johnson, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough ... at least that's the scuttlebutt.

About the Hall

The Hall of Fame will bring NASCAR's history to life and preserves that history in the appropriate environments. The facility will allow fans to have the opportunity to relive the sport's greatest moments.

• More on the Hall of Fame

I couldn't argue with any five of those men being in the charter class. The hard-to-swallow part is that many deserving names will not be called at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, when NASCAR chairman Brian France announces the inductees.

I'll be honest: This -- settling on only five nominees -- may be the toughest decision I've ever had to make. I have been debating the virtues of each of these men for the past few months. I have made plus-and-minus lists. I have made old school vs. older school arguments, making the case for and against each of these nominees.

In the end, I made the decisions that I'm most comfortable arguing for among peers. And then the absurdity set in: Who the hell am I to argue with Bud Moore? C'mon -- these guys have forgotten more about racing than many of us will ever know.

I believe there will be a lot of spirited debate among the members of the voting panel. I believe the public debate will be much more mean-spirited. Face it: You want "your guy" to be part of the first class, and if he's not it's gotta be because the voting panel is comprised of stupid people. I'll let you tell that to Junior Johnson ...

Wednesday will be a watershed day for the sport. A hall of fame has been long overdue, and casting a vote for the inaugural class is a tremendous honor. At its simplest level, these are our heroes. We grew up hearing the stories or listening to, watching the races. These men were larger than life, and even today it makes me appreciate my position.

I've interviewed many of the nominees and have always been cognizant of thanking them not only for their time to talk with a redneck who grew up in small-town Mississippi, but also for their efforts to make NASCAR what it is today. As journalists covering NASCAR, we're not asked to dig ditches through the infield, or teach the sons and daughters who will be tomorrow's leaders, or do brain surgery in the grandstands.

We hang out a race tracks in some pretty cool cities across the country. We have almost unfettered access to some of the biggest names in sport. We also have unfettered access to some of the best folks you'll never meet because they aren't the biggest names. We take it for granted seeing Bobby Allison walking down pit road while others fortunate enough to nab a Hot Pass are trying to get their point-and-shoot focused on their hero.

My daddy has never really understood that I actually get paid (enough to make a house payment, in fact) to cover sports. Or that the company foots the bill from food to hotel. And Wednesday I'll be in a room with 49 other people who will cast their lot with Nominee X. I cannot wait to call my momma to tell her a) who I voted for, and b) I did it without having to change my undershorts.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.