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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
CUP: Gordon Hunting For Way To Dethrone Johnson
Jeff Gordon hasn’t finished ahead of Jimmie Johnson in points since 2002...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted December 04, 2009   Las Vegas, NV
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions Jimmie Johnson (Right) and Jeff Gordon (Left) at the Jimmie Johnson Charity Roast. (Photo: LAT Photographic)

The statistics speak for themselves: 82 race victories, 68 poles, four Sprint Cup championships and more than $107 million in earnings in a career that stretches all the way back to 1992.

But when it comes to Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon is every bit as frustrated as the rest of the Sprint Cup garage, maybe more so. Gordon, who along with Rick Hendrick is a co-owner of Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports car, was one of the people responsible for getting Johnson a ride in the first place.

And in 2002, Johnson’s first full-time season driving the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Gordon finished ahead of him by a mere 7 points, coming home fourth in the final Sprint Cup points standings to Johnson’s fifth.

That’s the first and only time Gordon has finished ahead of Johnson in points. For the last seven years, Johnson has had the measure of his teammate, and for the last four, the entire Sprint Cup field. So like everyone else in the Cup garage who’s a legitimate title hopeful for 2010, Gordon’s spending the off-season trying to figure out what in the heck he needs to do to knock off Johnson next year. Already, he’s got some ideas.

“One of the things that I’m working really hard on right now is our in-race communication,” Gordon said Thursday in Las Vegas. “I feel like with this car, and some of the challenges that it’s brought, the intensity that the Chase brings, I think that you’ve got give a lot of credit to Jimmie and that 48 team. They didn’t show all of their strength during the season and when the Chase came around, they stepped it up. And they didn’t just step it up by going fast. I think it was a lot of different areas.”

Gordon took note of that and is working with crew chief Steve Letarte to do likewise with the No. 24 team. “I feel like one of the things we do really well is start the race strong. But I don’t feel like we did a great job of making the car better as the race went on or keeping up with the changing conditions. And I think I play a big part in that.”

That singular skill, more than any other, has been a hallmark of the reign of Johnson and his crew chief, Chad Knaus. The No. 48 almost never gets worse as the races wears on. Instead, Knaus uses feedback from Johnson to consistently improve the car as the race goes on, something Gordon said he and Letarte are working hard on for next year.

“We had a very good year, no doubt about it,” said Gordon. “But we’re pretty realistic. It wasn’t enough, obviously. While we were third (in points), it was a big step up from last season, and I’m very proud of that. I feel like our efforts, and the direction those efforts went into, were very beneficial. But they weren’t enough, and so we’ve got to do more.”

And that’s what’s happening over the offseason. Will it be enough? Tune next year and find out. Until then, it’s an open question.

“We’re analyzing and breaking down all those details,” said Gordon. “As we speak, they’re being worked on. Steve and the team aren’t here. Steve’s not here this week for the banquet because he’s focused and working hard for 2010, and I’m really excited about that.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of "Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED," and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com. Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to



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