There was an era when Jeff Gordon was past his prime, and had not been winning championships anymore. A new contender had entered the ring and was constantly in a tussle with him. We are obviously talking about his Hendrick Motorsport teammate, Jimmie Johnson. Back in the day, Jeff Gordon sat down and had a word with the iconic Larry King where he revealed his side of the story, in the rivalry and relationship between himself and Johnson.

Larry King asks Gordon, “You had some controversy with him (Johnson)?” stated, “I mean we are competitors, even if we are teammates or friends… If I think he’s done anything it’s out of his pure desire to win you know and he races hard, he’s aggressive, he’s very talented. You know there’s a lot of guys out that I’ve maybe bumped heads with or whatever you want to call it, fenders.”

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He concluded by stating, “You know Jimmie is one of those guys where that can happen on the track and we walk away and you know we pat one another on the back saying good race.”

What did Jimmie Johnson say about his rivalry with Jeff Gordon?

Jimmie Johnson also had an interview with Larry King where he revealed his side of the story. He particularly focused and stated what he seemed was the primary reason for their intense rivalry.

Johnson stated, “Jeff Gordon’s been the man you know and I wanted to take him down and that’s uh, that certainly was the root of what went on.”

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Their rivalry is possibly one of the things that made the sport great to watch during that time. Would you agree? Let us know in the comments section.