Johnson’s 10th victory puts Cup in his sights

Jeff Gordon conceded the title following Sunday’s race.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — It’s not unusual for Jeff Gordon to visit teammate Jimmie Johnson in Victory Lane, but no one would have been surprised if he skipped it following Johnson’s win at Phoenix.

The victory was Johnson’s 10th of the season and gave him such a firm grasp of the Nextel Cup title, Gordon conceded the championship as soon as he climbed from his car.

But after changing into street clothes, he found his friend in Victory Lane, where he saluted him by bowing to Johnson then waving a white flag as if to say “I surrender.”

“I couldn’t believe he was there doing that, especially in front of all those photographers,” Johnson said Tuesday. “I thought ‘You are crazy, man, these pictures are going to be everywhere.’ But it just goes to show you his level of class. I don’t think in that situation that I would have thought about going to see him in Victory Lane.”

Johnson’s win was his fourth straight and gave him a comfortable 86-point lead over Gordon in the standings heading into this weekend’s finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He needs only to finish 18th or better to win his second consecutive title and end a season-long rivalry with Gordon, the four-time series champion.

Gordon had his own remarkable year, winning six races and dominating the “regular season” by opening a lead of more than 300 points. Either is a deserving champion, but Johnson isn’t capable of feeling sorry for beating his teammate to the prize.

“I don’t think it’s in a racer’s makeup to feel sorry for someone,” he said. “I look at how strong we had to be and how hard we’ve had to push to beat them. They are just great. A great race team, and they certainly are deserving of the title. And it’s not over yet. There’s still 400 miles left to go in this thing.

“But Jeff and his team have made us a better team, and I know how hard we had to push to beat them.”