#48-Jimmie Johnson took the blame for making a mistake that ultimately led to teammate #24-Jeff Gordon’s wreck at Talladega Superspeedway. Johnson said he was trying to slide in front of Gordon late in Sunday’s race so the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers could draft together toward the front. But, he said Gordon was coming too fast. Johnson’s move instead had the effect of a block, and Gordon was forced off the apron in a defensive move. His momentum gone, Gordon slide back in traffic and was caught moments later in a multi-car crash. “I misjudged the closing rate,” Johnson said. “We all make mistakes, I am no different. Certainly, that was my fault. I made the mistake there.” Gordon, who drove his damaged car to a 22nd-place finish, was furious with his teammate after the race. “The 48 is testing my patience, I can tell you that,” Gordon said Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. “It takes a lot to make me mad.” Johnson was involved in his own accident later and finished 31st. Johnson had already left the track when Gordon, also a four-time series champion, talked of his frustration with his teammate. “I would have stuck around if I knew what was waiting for me,” Johnson said. But Johnson again dismissed any notion of a rift with Gordon. The two tangled a week ago at Texas Motor Speedway, but downplayed any potential tensions. “There’s no doubt after the fact that frustrations are high, the wreck just compounded it,” Johnson said. “I think he was speaking out of frustration.(Associated Press)(4-27-2010)
UPDATE: Behind the scenes at Hendrick [Notorsports], the four-time Cup champions [Johnson & Gordon] needed a second straight week of talks after curt words followed incidents on the track. Johnson said on Thursday team owner Rick Hendrick told him and Gordon not to let their bubbling feud start “breaking apart the organization.” Johnson, Gordon and Hendrick spoke together on the phone this week to smooth over a rough patch in the relationship between the drivers. The championship teammates tangled on the track in successive weeks, leading Gordon to lash out at Johnson after Sunday’s race at Talladega Superspeedway. Johnson said Hendrick understood they are competitive drivers who just want to win. But Hendrick didn’t want the rivalry to split apart the race teams that work so closely together. Johnson said Hendrick told him, “You guys need to voice your opinions, handle things on the track as you see fit, but let’s not let this carry on too far and affect the race shop.” Johnson made a mistake that ultimately led to Gordon’s wreck at Talladega. That came a week after the two had a run-in at Texas Motor Speedway.(Full story and more quotes at the Associated Press)(4-30-2010)
