“He was just newly divorced”- When Jimmie Johnson reflected how his ‘single-life schedule’ matched with Jeff Gordon

Jimmie Johnson sat with Graham Bensinger back in 2022 to discuss everything about NASCAR. During their conversation about the sport, the former NASCAR driver reflected on how when he was single, and his schedule perfectly matched with his former Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon.

Johnson and Gordon are two of the renowned names in the NASCAR fraternity. They have multiple Cup Series championships under their belt and handed their team, Hendrick Motorsports, numerous owner's titles during their time as Cup Series drivers.

The duo shared a close relationship during their NASCAR days, where Gordon acted as Johnson's mentor. Notably, it was Gordon who realized Johnson's potential and brought him to HMS to drive for Rick Hendrick's team.

As the seven-time Cup Series champion conversed about his NASCAR days and how he synced well with Gordon, he revealed how when he was single, his routine matched very well with the latter.

"He was just newly divorced when I came into the scene and joined racing, and you know his means, ability, and desire to see the world worked perfectly with my single life schedule, and on that journey, I'm with my wife. [Jeff Gordon] helped introduce me to my wife," Johnson said.

"There were some summer trips to France and Italy that were just mind-blowing. I meant to stroll over there in my early 20s; Channy [Chandra Janway] and I, together with Jeff, checking out various parts of the world was pretty wild." (1:37-2:12)

Johnson, the El-Cajon-born driver, retired from full-time racing at Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the 2020 season. Whereas Gordon retired four years earlier, at the end of the 2016 Cup Series season.

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Jeff Gordon explained his on-track skirmishes with Jimmie Johnson: "Out of pure desire to win, he races hard"

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson were hard racers during their NASCAR days. From sharing a close relationship to fighting hard on track, the duo left no stone unturned at Hendrick Motorsports and in NASCAR as a whole.

During one of his interviews with Larry King 10 years ago, Gordon opened up about his on-track tussles with Johnson and shared that the latter never bumped him without a reason.

Jeff Gordon (24) races alongside teammate Jimmie Johnson - Source: Imagn

Here's what he said:

"Not really. I mean, I think if he's done anything, it's just out of pure desire to win, and he races hard. He's aggressive. He's very talented, and while there's a lot of guys out there that I’ve may be bumped heads with or whatever you want to call it, offenders, you know, Jimmy's 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 and say, hey, good race."

Jeff Gordon is currently the vice chairman of his former Cup Series team, Hendrick Motorsports. Jimmie Johnson returned to NASCAR as a co-owner of Legacy Motor Club and races for his Cup Series team under part-time obligation.