News for May 28th 2010

Jimmie Johnson is amused

If anybody was amused by the war of words between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, it had to be four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

After all, it was only a few weeks ago when Johnson was involved in a controversy of his own with teammate Jeff Gordon after some rough racing between the two at Texas at Talladega. But, as expected, Gordon and Johnson settled their business — apparently — behind closed doors and moved on.

Hamlin and Busch, on the other hand, acted out very publicly Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Having recently been in a teammate feud, Johnson was enjoying Busch vs. Hamlin, especially since they are two of his stiffest contenders for a fifth championship.

“With the teammate situation, it’s so much fun to watch it take place, and to hear what goes on, but when you’re living it, it sucks,” said Johnson. “Everybody wants to know what’s going on. But to walk into microphones and think for a few days how you need to handle what you want to say and you say your statements and you don’t know how they’re going to be received or what people are going to think or what your teammate is going to say or how it’s going to be received. There is distraction that takes place. So I’m glad it’s not me.”

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t having a good time watching the rival Joe Gibbs Racing melting down in front of him.

“It’s certainly fun to watch and I know we entertained a lot of people a few races back when Jeff and I were going through our thing, but it’s a tough environment as teammates and racing for wins and I guess it shows that it doesn’t matter what organization you drive for or who the teammates are, you’re seeing what we want week in and week out,” said Johnson. “We want to win races. You do have things that pop up. I think those instances make a team stronger. A month from now, Denny and Kyle will probably say that they’re stronger or smarter or have a better relationship because of it. I know that’s the way it’s been with Jeff and I.”

And if it were up to Johnson, the fussin’ and fightin’ between Busch and Hamlin would continue on indefinitely.

“From a competitive standpoint, I hope they keep fighting,” Johnson said. “I hope they keep entertaining us because it’s a distraction. From a friendship standpoint, obviously the sooner they get it behind them, the better. I want to see it continue on because they’re both fast drivers and have a chance at winning this weekend, so I hope it carries on.”

Then again, another championship hopeful, Jeff Burton, thought the rancor might have some unintended consequences. “My concern was that it would just make them (Busch and Hamlin) both want it more, and that may not be in our best interest,” said Burton. “They’re both very good race-car drivers; obviously, their equipment is very good and it might piss them off and put them in a position where they’re trying even harder. I’m not sure that that would be a good thing for us.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

Edited: May 28th, 2010