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Chances are, Johnson and Gordon can handle the rivalry. The two have been close friends since before Johnson’s 2002 rookie season — they vacation together, and Gordon served in Johnson’s wedding party — and it was Gordon who helped Johnson land his Hendrick ride.
But the mentoring relationship changed when Johnson began beating Gordon, and the four-time champion often had to turn to his protege for help in jump-starting his program.
Yes, they are teammates committed to strengthening the Hendrick organization. But they are also rivals, and neither wants to lose.
“Jimmie has been putting the pressure on me for the last four or five years,” Gordon said. “Right now the momentum is on his side. We know that team is going to step it up when we get in the Chase, they always do.
“But we are excited about what we are going to be able to do because we step it up in the Chase as well. There are 10 other guys out there that are going to come in fired up and ready to do the same thing.”
Should it get out of hand, Johnson knows Hendrick will get his drivers back in line. The two have had minor incidents before and memorable on-track battles, including a race to the finish at Martinsville in April when Gordon used Johnson’s notes to beat him.
Hendrick didn’t allow any resentment then, and he won’t going forward.
“Rick does an awesome job of helping us all see the big picture,” Johnson said. “Jeff is largely responsible for where Hendrick is today, and he’s not going to let anything get between us. We’ve had heated moments on the track where we thought we’d been unfair to one another and different things went on — and it’s not like it’s this blissful experience all the time.
“We have our problems, and we man-up and talk about them. You hate losing, but I guess it’s ingrained in our minds that as long as it’s a teammate, it’s OK.”
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