Gordon's no dummy

If you're going to recruit a driver who's going to beat your brains out, you might as well get a piece of the action.

That was Jeff Gordon's facetious take on his recruitment of teammate Jimmie Johnson to Hendrick Motorsports.

Gordon, who has a financial interest in Johnson's #48 team, hasn't won a title since Johnson began racing full time for HMS in 2002.

Gordon surrendered the lead to Johnson on lap 251 of Sunday's race and finished third and acknowledged wryly that there are times he has regretted discovering the four-time Cup champion.

"Today I do," he said. "Five, ten years from now, when I'm cashing in on it, I'm not. Somebody once told me that, if you're going to get beat, make sure you're getting a piece of it. That's one positive to take out of it."