“I’ve never seen anybody better”: When Jeff Gordon positioned Jimmie Johnson on ‘the top' of his list after winning 7 Championships 

About nine years ago, NASCAR team executive Jeff Gordon shared high praise for his former teammate Jimmie Johnson after he tied the record for most championships in history. Johnson joined Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) in the early 2000s and won five consecutive NASCAR Cup Series titles between 2006 and 2010.

In 2016, he earned his seventh chmpionship with the team. Gordon, who retired from HMS in 2015, called Johnson one of the greatest drivers.

"I already ranked him among the all-time greats because I raced with Earnhardt and I raced with Jimmie and I raced in the same equipment as Jimmie, and I got beat by it on a regular basis. So to me that already put him at the top of my list," Gordon said in November 2016 (via USA Today).

"I think the championships are harder to win today than they ever have (been). I think that’s sort of up to the public and the media to decide where he ranks, but I’ve never seen anybody better, that’s for sure," he added.

Johnson won his seventh title at Homestead-Miami Speedway and became the only third driver to do so, joining Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. The Legacy Motor Club co-owner still races part-time in the Cup Series for his team.

Meanwhile, Gordon is the Vice Chairman and the second highest ranking member of HMS after Rick Hendrick.

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"Tension that comes with that is pretty intense" - Jimmie Johnson on competing with Jeff Gordon for wins

Jeff Gordon had been with Hendrick Motorsports since the early 1990s and had already won four Cup Series championships before Jimmie Johnson moved to the team after about a decade.

During a 2021 interview, Johnson talked about his relationship with Gordon outside the sport and recalled competing with him for the championship in the late 2000s.

"We had some tense moments in our competing years, especially when you get to, probably '07-'08, when I'd won a championship or two. In '08 or '09 we literally, it was just between [Jeff Gordon] and I fighting for the championship... It's hard to not want to beat your teammate, especially when you're both fighting for wins week in and week out. The tension that comes with that is pretty intense," Johnson said in January 2022 (02:50 onwards).

Jeff Gordon finished second in the Chase for the Championship (playoffs) behind Jimmie Johnson in 2007 but struggled afterwards and won only one race in the following three years. He retired from full-time racing in 2015 at the age of 43 and ranked third in career wins behind Richard Petty and David Pearson.