Johnson fights a 'vanilla' image of political correctness. Those who know him, however, have seen a wilder, more mischievous side to his personality. On the track, Johnson is intensely competitive. Mark Martin likes to refer to his Hendrick team-mate as 'Superman'. Off the track, publicly, he's Clark Kent.

Johnson fights the perception that success has come easy to him. There are those who know otherwise, those who remember the ASA days when he was living hand-to-mouth, sleeping on couches and trying to get his racing career off the ground. Perhaps Johnson's unfailing humility masks the realisation that it took him many years to become an overnight success.

Gordon entered Cup racing as the foil to Dale Earnhardt Sr, and was reviled passionately for stealing the Intimidator's thunder. Johnson has superseded Gordon as the Cup's most prolific winner much more gradually and quietly. The transition hasn't been lost on Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick, whose empathy for Gordon is tempered by the acknowledgement that passing the torch is the natural order of things.

“He (Gordon) has been in that top position just like Jimmie, and one day Jimmie is going to have to face it with somebody else,” Hendrick said. “If you're going to do this long enough, you've got to deal with it.”

Before that happens, Johnson deserves to get the recognition he's due for the Hall of Fame career he's building –without a mean bone in his body.

by Reid Spencer / Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service