"It gave them an air of invincibility": When Jeff Gordon highlighted the point that Jimmie Johnson's career skyrocketed at his own expense

In 2017, Jeff Gordon looked back at one of his most iconic and underappreciated seasons in NASCAR. It was 2007, when Gordon recorded six wins and missed the top 10 on only six occasions, out of 36 total races.

Despite all of that, Gordan failed to win a championship. Instead, it was his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, the defending Cup champion of 2007, who went back-to-back for his second of what would turn out to be, five Cup titles in a row between 2006 and 2010.

Johnson was able to do so on the back of 10 wins in 2007, four of which came in a row during the Chase at Martinsville, Atlanta, Texas, and Phoenix.

Speaking about this season a decade later, Jeff Gordon claimed that in 2007, Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team came into their own.

"To me, I think 2007 was the year that the #48 team became that team themselves. They were so resilient and got it right back. When they won all those races in a row, it was devastating to us. In hindsight, it took the wind out of our sails. But for them, I think that championship and that battle catapulted them to where they are now. It gave them an air of invincibility that allowed them to win even more championships," Gordon said.

As for his own season, Gordon said that he couldn't believe they couldn't 'closeout'.

Jeff Gordon said that he never found himself in a position, until then, where he couldn't pull it off, even more so, considering he had 'some really elite teams' throughout his career and the #24 team 'always pulled it off'.

Jeff Gordon doesn't consider the 2007 season his best

Even though he won six races and finished inside the top 10 on 30 occasions, Jeff Gordon claimed that 2007 wasn't his best year. The title of his 'best work', as per the 4x champion, was the 1998 season when he won his fourth Cup title.

According to Gordon, he couldn't deem the 2007 season his best, knowing that he failed to win the championship as 'that's one that got away.' But for the 1998 season, Jeff Gordon said:

"Our 1998 season was flawless. Ray (Evernham, crew chief) was at the top of his game, and I feel like I did everything I was supposed to."

In 1998, Jeff Gordon won 13 races out of 33. And seven of those 13 wins came in a span of nine weeks between Sonoma and Darlington. In the other two races, in that span, which he didn't win, New Hampshire and Bristol, Gordon managed top 5 finishes. He closed out his year by winning three of the last four races in 1998.